Noted

Lee's Family Restaurant in Peoria has closed.

Noted

Deany's Sippys & Eats (in the former Grant's Inn in Mossville) has closed.

Round up

My recent Peoria dining experiences include hummus, pita and a garden salad with strawberry poppyseed dressing at One World and a combo featuring garlic tomato soup and a half of a chicken salad sandwich on soft wheat bread at Café 401.

At long last I also had dinner at PV II in Peoria. The standout here was the food: acorn squash soup, like a decadent dessert, served piping hot; rich spinach rotolo, again served piping hot, with an incredible flavor;
and my husband's lasagna, topped with a vibrantly red tomato sauce. The bread was standard fare, accompanied by a quality olive oil. We also tried the flourless torte, which, despite not saying so on the menu, I thought it had a distinct coffee flavor which I preferred over a chocolate only torte.
Service was fine and we also got to take advantage of a bottle of half price wine, which is a Thursday special at the restaurant.

We also stopped for wings and a thin crust pie at Firehouse Pizza in Washington. Yum on both counts!

The Flame Family Restaurant

Some friends of ours told us that The Flame Family Restaurant in Metamora was a great place to eat, so on a recent Sunday we headed over to give it a try.
Walking in to what my husband says long ago used to be an A&W, we were greeted by a case filled with scrumptious-looking pies.
We were welcomed by a hostess who took us to a booth, and soon had placed our drink orders with our waitress.
Once my husband saw they had hot turkey on the menu, he ditched the breakfast section of the choices. I almost did the same, but I decided I could try a bite of his turkey, so I ordered French toast with bacon.
My French toast was well-coated in egg batter and the bacon was surprisingly tasty compared to a lot of breakfast places we've been.
My husband had selected a cup of French onion soup to go with his turkey dinner. It arrived not looking like the ordinary variety capped with cheese, but had an almost tomato-looking base, and had a great flavor.
The turkey was not some pressed turkey loaf but was a nice quality bird, and once he took a bite of the mashed potatoes my husband exclaimed with excitement "They're real, with lumps!"
Service was good and all of the employees seemed to be working together, grabbing plates when they were empty and keeping things tidy.
The bill was reasonable, well under $20 for two meals and two drinks.

Noted

The Dome Tap in Peoria has closed.

The Loft salon and spa opened in East Peoria last summer.

Closing the book on 2010

Here we are just a week into the new year, and my thoughts have turned to the locally-owned businesses we lost in 2010.
The list includes:

Happy Hanger
Water Street Wines, Café & Coffees
Mushrush's Irish Pub
The Bean
Youssef's Deli
Diana's Family Restaurant
Kaiserhof Restaurant
Velvet Freeze
Goodness Café
Cummins Drive-Thru
Sullivan's
Tingleff Pharmacy
Twin Tower Cafe
Jane Dough
Chef Leo's
Heavenly Delights BBQ
Harolds Hamburgers
St. Pauli Pub
The Sports Page
Jane Dough

I'm sure I missed a few.
We've already lost a couple of businesses this year as well. Let's keep supporting those businesses we love and may they thrive in 2011 and beyond!

Caffé Italia Ristorante

My husband works in Bloomington every so often, and he has been raving about a little place called Caffé Italia Ristorante.
He had been hooked by their cheese pizza, and had also tried one of their pastas of the day and raved about the sauce.
I had a chance to have lunch at Caffé Italia a few weeks ago. I ordered the Pizza al Formaggio and a drink and took a seat in the café to await my meal.
Several of the diners appeared to be regulars, possibly from nearby State Farm. Many of them were also partaking of the Italian holiday treats the restaurant had in stock.
My pizza arrived shortly, and it was indeed delicious, with a wonderfully crisp crust.
Beer and wine is available, as well as a couple of my favorites: Gelato and cannoli.

Over Easy Café

We've eaten at the new Over Easy Café on Lake in Peoria twice now.
The first time we ordered off the lunch menu. My husband had a burger and I had turkey.
The restaurant, open for breakfast and lunch, features a daily lunch special and a soup of the day.
A couple of weeks later we sampled the breakfast fare. I had a corned beef hash skillet, which was tasty and plenty to fill me up. If I recall, the husband had biscuits and gravy. We were drinking coffee, and this is one place where they know how to keep the customers' coffee warm. Our waitress and others stopped by several times to top our cups off.
A menu item of note is their cinnamon roll pancakes, which we are eager to try. We weren't feeling the sweet tooth on our last visit, but we'll be sure to try them soon!

Noted

Mickie's Pizzeria has closed their Peoria location. Visit them in Dunlap, East Peoria or Pekin.

I just heard the sad news that Haddad's grocery in West Peoria has burned down and the building is a total loss.

World Gourmet Foods

World Gourmet Foods comes up almost every time I talk to one of my friends about shopping in Bloomington. She and her boyfriend love to stop in and sample cheese each time they are in town.
I visited World Gourmet in November and perused their wide selection of coffees, teas and ethnic and gourmet items. Eventually I made my way to the cheese sampling and tried six cheeses they had available for tasting. Knowing my husband's taste, instead of going with one of those I selected a half pound of a six year aged cheddar from Wisconsin.
I tossed in two pieces of Baklava for myself and a bag of ginger chews (something I don't have to worry about the husband bogarting) and I was set.
After trying the cheese melted on burgers and breakfast sandwiches, I think I may become a cheddar snob. The flavor was incredible.
My Dining Companion, who was my partner in crime for this shopping event, also made off with a few hunks of cheese.
Before leaving we wandered past the buffet area in the restaurant and saw that it was not a run-of-the-mill selection. Several people were enjoying lunch in the dining area.
World Gourmet will be on my list of stops the next time I am shopping in Bloomington.

Noted

Peoria has a new breakfast and lunch spot at 201 E. Lake, Over Easy Café. We've tried lunch and I am looking forward to going back to check out the breakfast fare.

Amber and Marty's Fillin' Station restaurant is open at 2400 Washington Road in Sunnyland.

Mickie's Pizzeria has opened a new location in Dunlap.

If you haven't heard the good news, Emo's of Peoria was purchased by the owners of the Ice Cream Shack of Peoria, so the tradition will carry on at the corner of War Memorial and Prospect.

I've also heard from a reader that a hair salon and spa called Pure Bliss will be opening soon in Glen Plaza.

Mediterranean Mart

Mediterranean Mart, located at Glen Avenue and University Street in Peoria, carries a plethora of Mediterranean goods.
The compact store stocks some produce, dried fruits, pita bread (small and large), baklava, tahini, coffee and much more.
On my first visit they had fresh eggplant and citrus fruits, in addition to some other produce, plus a wide array of other items.

Noted

There are signs posted at Water Street Wines, Café and Coffee in Peoria stating that the location is opening soon under new ownership.

Recently I've enjoyed lunches at Rizzi's on State and Avanti's in Peoria and Ming's in East Peoria.

On Small Business Saturday last weekend we shopped the Metro Centre in Peoria, and visited many of the merchants there where I found some nice gift items.

Noir Tapas & Rendezvous Lounge

This month for date night I chose a movie followed by dinner at Noir Tapas & Rendezvous Lounge in Peoria Heights.
We arrived at Noir shortly before 7 p.m. on a weeknight and were able to get a seat right away, but within less than an hour of our arrival there would have been a wait for a table.
There were chocolate leather couch style booths, bench booths and tables plus tall tables available for seating and some fun vintage horror flicks were being broadcast against the back wall.
We chose a bottle of wine from the list of many and decided to start with two tapas (appetizers meant to share) selections: sauteed mushrooms with garlic and the bruschetta.
Our order arrived quickly.
The mushrooms, in this case Crimini mushrooms sauteed with garlic, parsley and applewood bacon, were incredibly rich and flavorful. The bruschetta, toasted crostini topped with tomatoes, feta cheese and a balsamic reduction was great.
Next we ordered the spicy Chorizo skewers, which were presented like upside down meatball lollypops. The Chorizo was paired with Gruyere cheese and the balls were coated in a breadcrumb-type crust. Not being a huge fan of Chorizo, I was surprised at how good they were.
After enjoying some more of our wine and allowing our food to settle, I couldn't get the gelato I had noticed on the menu out of my mind so we ordered it to share.
The gelato, vanilla bean and roasted banana served with fried plantains topped with rich whipped cream was a nice finish to the meal.
Our server was helpful and attentive, and with our wine selection (about $30), our bill with tip came to about $80.

Apollo Theatre

October 30 we caught a show at Peoria's Apollo Theatre, which I've wanted to do for ages.
The main feature was Vincent Price's "The Tingler", a black and white film from 1959.
Admission was just $5 each and we received some candy and popcorn and sodas were also available. I see now on their site that $5 is a suggested donation, and had I known that, I would have gladly paid more.
We were treated to an old Red Riding Hood cartoon, an episode of "Thriller" (a 1960s TV series), and then we got to enjoy "The Tingler".
The Apollo opened in 1914 and showed movies for more than 40 years. For several years now the theater has been used to show classic, foreign and independent films.
Once inside you can see much of the Art Nouveau grace the theater shared with so many entertainment fans over the decades.
We have also heard a couple of people talk about private parties they have attended at the Apollo, which sounds like a blast.
I thoroughly enjoyed our evening and will be keeping an eye on their future events.

Noted

Dane's Bar & Grill in the former Feldan's location off Brandywine in Peoria is hosting a grand opening Saturday, November 13. Find a coupon for a buy one get one 50% off sandwich in today's Washington Times-Reporter.

With weather like this, who knows, it may just rain on your winter wedding day! Bremer Jewelry (Peoria and Bloomington) offers a full refund of the purchase price of your wedding bands if the National Weather Service at Peoria Regional Airport measures an inch or more of precipitation between 12:01 AM and 11:59 PM (Central Standard Time) on your wedding day.

Jones Bros. Jewelers in Peoria is giving away an Everlon diamond knot pendant and chain valued at $600. Visit their web site or Facebook page for details.


As a brief round up...

We met a group at the newly re-opened Kep's Place in Washington recently. Things were hopping, but we did manage to snag an order of their soft pretzels. They may be deep fried (I'm not entirely sure), but were very good, and I will be keeping them in mind for future bar snackage.

We had dinner at Noir in Peoria Heights tonight. I should be posting about our experience soon!

Noted

I got the scoop from a reader: the former Cummins drive through location at War Memorial and Route 91 in Peoria is now called Meat-n-Place. I will have to check it out.
Meanwhile, if you were jonesing for some of Cummins corn fritters, I did see them on the specials board at their Washington family restaurant last weekend.

Noted

Just heard via Peoria.com that Water Street Wines, Café and Coffee in Peoria is closing their restaurant this Saturday. I will miss their cheese fondue and black bean burgers!

309

This month I visited 309 in Peoria's Junction City twice, once for drinks and once for dinner.

On my first outing my husband and I sat at the bar. He enjoyed an Oktoberfest beer and I had a glass of the Cigar Zin for $8.
We selected two of their artisan cheeses to accompany our drinks, the Fromager dʼAffinois, described as a rich French double cream made from cowsʼ milk, and the Gruyere de comte, a semi-soft unpasteurized cowsʼ milk cheese from France. The bartender said that the Gruyere is their most popular cheese.
Two artisan cheeses were $10 and came served with wild flower honeycomb, quince membrillo, and crackers. We also had some of their wonderful warm crusty bread with butter.
My husband preferred the Gruyere but I liked both cheeses, perhaps even enjoying the d'Affinois better, and the honeycomb and quince fruit spread were a great accompaniment.

On my second visit, I met some friends for dinner.
The dining room, like the bar area, featured a contemporary flair and the soft tunes piped in reminded me of nightclub music.
A fellow olive lover at the table ordered the fried olives stuffed with goat cheese and herbs de provence ($3) for a starter and was kind enough to offer me a bite. The whole dish came with three or four olives and I sampled a half of one, but wow, what a taste explosion!
With a backup meal choice of the half roasted chicken served with olive oil mashed potatoes and a lemon-rosemary pan sauce ($16) in mind for me, we asked about the days' grilled market fish selections and there were quite a few. I selected the rich Hawaiian butterfish served with spicy aioli and had asparagus as my side. Both were wonderfully prepared.
Another friend ordered the Caprese Burrata with heirloom tomatoes, basil, and aged balsamic ($8) and I tried a bite of the cheese which was rich, creamy and delicious.
Our server was professional, and recognized when my fish arrived with the wrong sauce without me having to point it out.
309 is also open for lunch and has private party rooms available.

August 2012 — 309 has closed.

Noted

Kep's sports bar has opened in their new building in Washington. If you've been waiting to get back in there, you can also enjoy $30 worth of food for $15 by purchasing the Seize the Deal offer today.