Fare and wares at Willett's Winery for half price

Willett's Winery & Cellar in Manito is the next business to be featured on WEEK.com's Hot Deal. Starting Thursday, receive $20 worth of food, wine or merchandise for only $10. The Ironstone Room restaurant at the winery serves creative cuisine for lunch and dinner. The hot deal runs through Friday, so don't wait too long.

Noted

A "paint your own" pottery and glass fusing studio is opening soon on the square in Washington. Watch for Created Just By Me Pottery & Art Studio.

The former Pizza Hut in Peoria Heights will soon reopen as Kaydee Kats, which will also serve pizza.

Noted

I hear that The Mix Sandwich Works will open a new location on SW Washington Street in Peoria in the former Hardee's/Gyros King spot.

You may have heard that Running Central will leave their Main Street location in Peoria at the end of this month, heading to Heritage Square in Peoria Heights.

Next Thursday 309 in Peoria Heights hosts the 3rd Thursday Pack the Place lunch. Get your coupon for buy one lunch, get one 50% off, valid on July 21 between 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Noted

Wild Berries is opening soon in the former Dane's Bar & Grill location in Peoria. Their Normal location has been open for two years. They plan to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Peoria location.

Le Bistro

Last week I visited the newly opened Le Bistro in Peoria's Metro Centre for lunch.
Although impressed with the idea of their "picked by you" salad option where you pick from four types of greens, four ingredients from a large list of add ins and your choice of dressing, I decided to try the Asian salad due to the description. The salad ($7.95) is a combo of romaine and baby spinach topped with Granny Smith apples, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, strawberries and slivered almonds tossed in a toasted sesame dressing. You can also add grilled chicken for $2 more, which I skipped. I placed my order at the counter to the right, added an iced tea and headed to the left counter to pay.
I took a seat in the dining area (updated with new cheery paint colors) and soon my name was called to pick up my salad. Accompanied by a sesame-topped soft roll, the salad was wonderful and the dressing was light, yet flavorful. The owner also stopped by my table to see how everything was.
Of course since I had such a healthy lunch, I meandered next door to Le Bakery to get a snickerdoodle cookie for a mere 80 cents.
In addition to salads, Le Bistro offers panini and various sandwiches, soups, quiches, pastries and Espresso drinks.

Noted

BBQ is returning to University Street near Pioneer Parkway in Peoria with the announcement that Grandpa John's BBQ will open a restaurant next to Elliott's.

Last month Pink Sugar Boutique moved from the former Hunt's location on Farmington Road to a new location at 4921 N. Sheridan Road in Peoria.

Sam's Roadhouse is now open in the former Cheddar's/Brickhouse restaurant off of War Memorial Drive in Peoria.

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I hear that Lester's Donuts has reopened their Glen location in Peoria.

There is a crew working outside of the former Vallarta's restaurant on University in Peoria. I did notice the sale or lease sign was removed a few weeks ago. I wonder who the new tenant will be?

Retro American Tap

Last week we decided to try Retro American Tap for lunch, newly opened in the former Old Chicago spot along Peoria's river front.
As we were greeted and taken to a booth we were told that our lunch options included a Retro potato bar, horseshoes or selections from the sandwich menu, and were welcomed to take a look at the potato bar.
I did walk by the bar and noticed a decent selection of items in addition to the several potato options, such as a southwest corn pudding style dish, Jalepeno cornbread and lots of potato toppings. I decided to eat from the potato bar for lunch.
My husband ordered a bacon cheeseburger, and I was informed that my potato bar came with soup or salad ($9.99 including a soft drink). I opted for their  Greek style salad.
Sandwich options included catfish, a Philly, honey chicken, pulled pork and more paired with a choice of three types of fries or bacon potato salad.
While we waited for lunch the chef visited our table and asked what we had ordered. When he found out that we had not opted for the potato soup, he soon brought a sample by. The made from scratch soup was creamy, rich and flavorful, and even had bits of sausage in it.
For my tuber from the bar I took a yam and topped it with a bit of butter (or spread) and a scoop of brown sugar. I seemed to notice a bit of cinnamon, which I'm guessing was mixed in with the brown sugar that added a nice touch. I also sampled the corn casserole and the cornbread, both of which had a decent kick.
On a side note, my husband did dart over to the room off to the side to check out the "arcade". I didn't take a look, but commented that maybe a sign might be in order telling people it was back there because I never would have realized it.
Our server was very cheery and did a good job taking care of business.

Noted

I've been watching with interest the renovations going on at the Kickapoo Building on Main Street in Peoria. My husband heard on the radio this morning that it is going to house a coffee shop complete with the former Jumer's bear.

Le Bistro has opened in Peoria's Metro Centre.

Lost & Found

Last week I stopped by Lost & Found in Peoria Heights. What a cute shop!
There were vintage items mixed in with fun new stuff. Things like home decor, colorful drink tumblers, pretty gift wrap, handmade earrings, stationery, junk free soaps and bath salts and much more all artfully arranged in the Lost & Found shop.
And today I see that they are featured on Seize the Deal with a $20 store credit for just $10.
If you have some gifts to buy or are looking for something fun for yourself, stop by and take a look.

Tobin's Pizza

A couple of weeks ago on my husband's date night he announced that we were going to Bloomington to try Tobin's Pizza.
In business since the 1960s, Tobin's is one of the top names in pizza in the Twin Cities. From what I hear, either you are a fan of Tobin's or you are a fan of Lucca, kind of like the whole Beatles/Rolling Stones debate.
I would have to say after trying Tobin's, I am a fan of both.
The decor was what a pizza parlor should be: not too bright, not too new, cozy and well loved. I would have preferred hearing some Italian mob hits, but that's because I'm not a fan of country music, which is what was playing during our visit.
We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table during the height of Saturday night dinner, which many other people were happily doing.
After hearing that this was our first time there, our waitress told us about their most popular deal, the Family Buck Stretcher. Order a 16" pizza and for just $1 more you can receive the same topping pizza in a 10" size to take home for later. We opted for their "Special" with sausage, mushrooms, onions and pepperoni but skipped the green peppers.
The piping hot pie was thin crust, nice and crispy and the toppings were of nice quality, simple and flavorful. I especially enjoyed their sausage, which I usually just tolerate to appease my husband.
I did see that a ton of what appeared to be birthday cookies were going out of the kitchen and noticed that they have a birthday club that seems to be wildly popular.
We also noticed that a gentleman who appeared to be an owner was visiting each table to make sure everything was OK, and was also pitching in to help bus tables on a busy Saturday night.
They also were doing a bustling delivery business and the parking lot was an almost never-ending stream of delivery cars.
If you're not a fan of pizza, Tobin's has many other items on the menu such as fried chicken and spaghetti, but I can't imagine not having pizza when I come back.
If you're already a fan or want to give it a try, there are currently a few $50 gift certificates available for $25 to save you some dough on your pie.

Noted

Retro American Tap has opened in the former Old Chicago spot on Peoria's riverfront. We plan to check it out next week.

The former Cheddar's/Brickhouse location in Peoria will soon be home to a new restaurant. I believe it's called Sam's Roadhouse.

I noticed a hot dog vendor among those now set up near the courthouse in downtown Peoria. We plan to check it out in a week or two.

This Saturday at 8 a.m. the Peoria RiverFront Market opens for the season. Looks like there are some new vendors including a coffee roaster and a kettle corn vendor.

Basta Eastport (East Peoria) and Basta O'Neills (Washington) are the Pack the Place lunch spots for June 16. Buy one lunch, get one half off with coupon.

Peoria's Illinois Antique Center is now closed.

Davis Bros. Pizza in Peoria Heights has closed.

Noted

Barrister's Pizza and Pub has opened in Deer Creek.

 Manito's Wine, Art, Balloon and Jazz fest is this Saturday. You can purchase two tickets for $20, a half price deal, from WEEK.com.

Noted

Palanza Pizzeria in East Peoria has reopened.

Noir Tapas & Rendezvous Lounge in Peoria Heights is featuring Salsa on the Sidewalks every Tuesday from 7-10 p.m. starting tonight.

Noted

The Other Dawg restaurant has opened in the former Lester's Donuts shop on Prospect in Peoria.

Lou's Drive-In in Peoria is open for the season.

Illinois Antique Center in Peoria will be closing.

The Mix Sandwich Works

A couple of months ago one of my readers asked if I had tried The Mix Sandwich Works in Peoria yet. I had not, but last weekend we visited there for lunch.
Housed in a former KFC, you can view the menu on the wall over the counter where you order, or you can place your order at the drive thru. Perusing the menu on the wall, my husband asked if their Philly steak sandwich was served with green peppers, so the server asked if it was our first visit and gave us a paper menu which had descriptions of the sandwiches. He also pointed out their "Make it a Meal" offer where you can add a large order of fries and a 20 oz. drink for $2 more.
I opted for a grilled chicken pita ($4.99) and my husband ordered the chili dog meal ($4.29) after finding out that the chili did not have beans in it.
Our order came up quickly. My pita was soft and warm, topped with piping hot chicken strips and paired with a generous portion of gyro sauce. My husband enjoyed his 100% Vienna beef chili dog and we shared the fries, which were of the skin-on variety.
The dining room was tidy, but a bit smoky on our visit. The signage inside was a nice touch and except for the outside style of the building, it didn't remind me of a KFC.
Sandwiches range from gyros, burgers, Polish sausages, subs and croissants and they also offer salads, wings and fish dinners. There are kids meals available from $2.99-$3.29. I also noted with interest that they were offering Baklava and cheesecake for $1.99.

Beignet's On The Corner

Last week I had lunch at Beignet's On The Corner, which replaced Water Street Wines at the corner of State and Water streets in Peoria.
I love what they've done with the decor. The changes aren't big, but they do have a nice impact.
I couldn't decide between the Creole onion soup or the shrimp bisque to go with my salad. I went with the shrimp bisque, deciding that I could order the onion soup another time. However, the bisque was so good I don't know if I will ever be able to bring myself to order anything else.
The salad I chose was the Ensalada de Berros which was an interesting mix of artichoke hearts, grapefruit, and almonds topped with avocado and a vinaigrette.
Other items on the lunch menu include po' boys, burgers, chicken, brisket, sausage and more, most with a Creole flair.
My server was prompt, polite and efficient and I was able to get in and out in a reasonable amount of time for a work-day lunch. Another thing I appreciated was when asked how many checks and I said one is fine, the server brought the check to me (a female) and not my male companion.
Can't wait until the patio seating is open for the season!

Noted

The Hick'ry Stick has a truck set up at Peoria Palace skating rink for the season.

Most local ice cream shacks are now open for the season including M & M Twistee Treat in East Peoria.

I've been hearing things about Salt restaurant which will open soon on Prospect in Peoria Heights. They will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner and the restaurant name stems from the specialty salts they will use.

Time flies

So, I have been briefly mulling over ideas for a blog post regarding my fifth anniversary with my blog, Support your local central Illinois businesses. Problem was, I thought the anniversary was in May. Turns out it came and went March 5, and I didn't realize my error until this week.
Once I realized how far gone the anniversary was, I had decided to let it slip away.
But I thought it fitting to point out that today is National Mom and Pop Business Owners' day. So get out there and support your favorite Mom and Pop. Pick up some meat at your local butcher shop, have a drink at your favorite watering hole, pick up a bottle of your favorite Illinois wine or stop by your favorite bakery for a treat. Mom and Pop are always glad to see you!

El Mexicano

Just down the road from the Hofbrau on NE Jefferson sits a pretty non-descript restaurant serving Mexican food. In the early 90s the building housed a Daylight Donuts.
We've been to El Mexicano twice now for food, and I know my mom is a fan as well.
The food is good, prices are reasonable and the servers are efficient and polite.
There is seating for a few inside if you want to dine in. There are several picnic tables outside so you can enjoy your burrito alfresco, and they also do a good carry-out business.
They currently don't accept credit cards, so you can leave home without your Visa card.