Review Visit: October 28th, 2014…read more If you are a diner aficionado, do not confuse yourself. Yes, there is two diners in Illinois that have nearly the same name. This one is THE 50's Diner located in Peoria, IL and the other is THAT 50's Diner in Dwight, IL. The similarities do not end there. They are both themed from the 1950s. They have a big love of Elvis and other 1950's stuff decorating the diner. That's about where it ends. Matt, Tim, and I rolled up on a sunny autumn afternoon for some nostalgic trip. Not that we were alive in the 50's but it is always fun to visit a place themed after a time period one isn't alive for. I am still waiting for someone to open a Cafe 80's modeled after the one from Back to the Future II. This diner was screaming 50's from the moment we walked in. Black and white color scheme for the seating. 50's decor and memorabilia lining the walls and counters. A menu that screams styling from the time. But none of that matters in the end. It's the food. The menu emhpasizes the Loosey Sammich and that is just what I ordered. While looking over the menu, I did notice they served curly fries, which seems like a rarity outside of Hardee's/Carl Jrs. The diner wasn't busy so our server was timely and our food was delivered after a short while. The food was served in those plastic baskets with wax paper (but sometimes served on plates). To me, I enjoy food being delivered in those things. Why, only foggy childhood memories can explain. The food was dropped in front of us and the Loosey sandwich was... not appealing. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it if you've read enough of these blog posts, you know I save my judgment for how it tastes, not how it looks. Chomp. Chomp. A few bites in and my mouth ran in to dryness without flavor to cover it up. The sandwich was somehow disappointing despite being their signature sandwich. I am going to guess that the meat was sitting in a warmer and dried out. Ah, what a bummer. The fries were good, at least. I've been back a few times with my friend Maria for random breakfasts and lunches and the food from those visits mirrored my first experience here. Bland. Not to say the food is awful or should be avoided, but don't expect anything to make you crave coming back time and time again. But, on the other hand, maybe you'll love the place. Don't let me bland experience deter you from checking it out. Maybe my taste buds are compatible with the 50's. Ah, but this isnt the end of this blog. Nope, one little thing left to talk about. There is a store that takes up the right side of The 50's Diner. Yes, you heard it here. A store. I've browsed the merchandise for sale and I am not sure if this store is a consignment-based or what. The assortment of items is rather eclectic. There's novelty candy, jewelry, random clothes, and other odds and ends. It kind of makes visiting here exciting because you just never know what they will have on sale.

Cute little diner. Good size portions. Large and think pancakes. Ordered the Mega skillet.read more

Food was cooked as ordered! Delivered quickly and hot! Wonderfull breakfast!…read more Service fantastic as always!!

Outstanding breakfast. I try to eat here whenever I come home for a visit. The food and service is…read morealways awesome. We had pancakes, biscuits and gravy and the hearty breakfast with poached eggs, bacon, pan fried hash browns. Their hash browns are excellent. Coffee is served piping hot with a small carafe on the side. It's a cute little restaurant that typically has a short wait on weekends. I highly recommend.

Love this little restaurant in Dunlap. It opens at 6am, Tuesday through Friday, 7 am on Saturdays…read moreand Sundays, (closed on Mondays). We usually arrive at 6:01am with already 2-3 of the regulars already here. Besides having excellent food and service, the local customers bring interesting and informative stories about their daily operations and experiences which I love listening to. I usually get bacon and eggs, but today opted for their steak skillet because I had seen a customer order it a couple of weeks ago and thought it looked really good. Guess what? It was really, really GOOD! Service is provided by Jennie. She's the epitome of a perfect restaurant employee. She remembers people's orders, greets everyone coming in, constantly walks around with a coffee pot refilling customers cups, and is a happy person. If you're in the area be sure to check this place out, but they're only open until 2pm, so plan on a breakfast or lunch. You won't be disappointed.

Service was good, food was bland, and I would say mediocre at best. No flavor, sausage gray tasted…read morelike it was a packaged mix with dehydrated sausage in it. Denver omelet had WAY too much onion and sparsely had green peppers, but there was a lot of cheese. Best tasting item was the toast. Disappointed after seeing it was rated 4.6, must have been friends that gave that rating.

I had really high expectations for this place and unfortunately they fell flat for me…read more To start with the good, we got the immunity juice and that was amazing, our waitress was also very nice! Unfortunately this location didn't have alcohol, which was not what we were expecting but also wasn't the end of the world. I got the best breakfast in Peoria and it also fell flat for me, the biscuits and gravy had a weird taste to them and the hasbrown and eggs have virtually no flavor. The sausage patties were really good though! My friend got the avocado toast, and it's not a mash, it was just a few slices on a piece of toast, which normally wouldn't be a huge deal except the avocado wasn't ripe so it was really hard to then mash down on to the toast. I don't know that I would go back to a Childers eatery and if I did I may not come to this one. The menu items looked soooo good and I was just a little disappointed in the food itself.

Childers Eatery has a little of everything for the family. The menu has a wide variety of options.read more

There were 12 of us after church went there. We all had something different and we all thought our…read morefood was very delicious! And our server was excellent!

My first time here. The menu was comprehensive and featured so many visually tempting options that…read moreI finally just asked our waitress Quincy to suggest something. She recommended the Cuban Pulled Pork Sandwich. My sandwich was huge and contained a large portion of pulled pork meat. It was delicious and the homemade chipotle bbq mayo made it all the more satisfying with its rich smoky flavor! The Cuban-style black beans were right out of Miami! Very nicely prepared and included green peas, carrots, corn, and bell peppers, as well. My dining companion, for her part, ordered the Falafel platter, with a side order of gyro meat. The falafel (a dozen), were fresh, tasty, and just the right consistency. These were served with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, pita, and hummus. The side order of gyro meat featured a generous portion of decadently succulent lamb shavings and included two portions of homemade tzatziki sauce. Everything we ate was prepared to perfection and could easily compete with exceptional restaurants in Chicago! Yes, the food at One World is that good. As for the service, our waitress Quincy was friendly and professional. As for the ambiance and decor--we arrived ahead of the lunch crowd, so it was pretty quiet. The decor, however, is nicely done. The premises were clean and well maintained. Ditto the restrooms. The restaurant is actually huge. There are multiple dining areas and in the summer there is an outside patio behind the restaurant, as well. As for pricing and affordability--quality costs, and the food here is definitely a cut above. That being said, the owners have priced the entrees quite reasonably considering the generous portion-size and quality of the food. My overall opinion? If you want a dining experience worthy of comparison to the best Chicagoland has to offer, but don't want to make the long drive--or pay twice as much--then I highly recommend this little gem of a locally-owned restaurant in Peoria!

This cafe is located in downtown Peoria at the twin towers? You will drive right past it if you…read moredon't know what you looking for. My brother found this on Google. I was surprised no one had this business on Yelp. Appreciated the service received and the recommendations offered. I come to Peoria I ften and seeing a soul food establishment finally is good. The location is interesting. It's unfortunate it's not in a more "inviting" space. Maybe it's when I cam, but there weren't any other establishments open cept for a barbershop, which I will come to next time. Now my brother wanted to try this place out because of the reviews on Google. The food was good? Hmmm, per my brother, the chicken was to oily. The catfish was nicely prepared. Just a SMIDGEN to much salt. The Mac n cheese was good. The greens were good per my brother and me since we both ordered it. Foot traffic was steady in the place.

Review Visit: June 8th, 2013…read more A seasonal place that sells Christmas trees during the cold weather days. That's right, Lou's is a place you can get food during the warm days and Christmas trees during the cold days. At least, I've always seen them selling Christmas trees in the fall and early winter. But, this was a bright and sunny summer day and my father and I were wanting to try Lou's for lunch. If you don't know Lou's, its kind of one of those old places that you order at this small building and then you eat outside, in your car, or get the food to go. Think an ice cream shack, but a focus on food instead of soft serve delights. I could picture this place in the past being one of those places that you ordered from your car and a lady wearing skates would be the one to bring your food out to you. Not so much anymore. We pulled up and had to look around for a parking spot. The parking situation here isn't ideal but with the space they have and the layout of Lou's, it's the best they can do with what they got. We hopped in line and waited our turn. The menu here is not any different than most places. Again, think ice cream shack but with the main draw being the food instead. I knew I would have to try their root beer. Something in my memory told me that this place was well known for that and I knew I would have to try it. I also like root beer, so that's another reason I wanted to try it. I think we both got your standard burger with some french fries. With the heat, we didn't want to spend too much time trying to figure out what we wanted. Burgers, fries, and a soda. A classic lunch. Despite the crowd at Lou's, we were able to sit down at one of the few tables that had an umbrella. For two Irish guys, this was a blessing. While we waited, we took the lovely photo used above. It was a bit of a wait as they were busy and places like this usually cook their food to order. That was fine by me as it gave my dad and I time to chat and people watch. At long last, they called out our name and we quickly grabbed our food so we wouldn't lose our table. The first thing I tried was the root beer. It was a great root beer. But truth be told, all root beer is great to me and tastes the same for the most part. So, the root beer at Lou's was great but didn't taste much different than others, in my opinion. After using the root beer to cool down a bit, I started working on my food so that wouldn't cool down too much itself. First up, burger! You don't come to these places expecting to be blown away by gourmet food. You come here for the experience of eating at a unique place, the low price, and the staple foods they offer. That is to say my burger was just that. It did everything a burger should do without showing off. It tasted good but didn't feel the need to blow my socks off and sometimes that is all you need. The same can be said about the french fries. Not every meal has to be the best ever. Sometimes getting exactly what you ordered and expected is all you need. Lou's is a fun place to stop at in Peoria for a meal that will be exactly what you expect and nothing more. Should there be snow outside, you can stop and get a Christmas tree instead.

Best root beer ever! I've been coming here for like 30 years. I love that the look hasn't changed…read moreat all. Still has the old drive in feel. Great food- I usually get a burger, fries, and a root beer. Service is always quick even when they are busy.

It's a hot Tuesday afternoon. We're on vacation in need of a cooling beverage. Silver Dollar was…read morethe nearest venue. So glad we stopped. The bar was clean and thankfully air conditioned. The beers were cheap and the cocktails strong. Thanks to "Crazy Mary" (who provided excellent service and was vey attentive) we received some valuable information on places to visit and local restaurants. She was fun to chat with and we're sorry we are just passing thru and cannot be regulars.

service was horrible, bartender didnt know how to look at an out of state ID 0/5 atarsread more

Schooners is a perfect little hole in the wall with a mighty fine kitchen!…read more There's no frills to be had; the menu, while hilarious, is pretty basic. They do have something called a "horseshoe" though and the Illinois classic pork tenderloin. Food is exactly as described and a lot of it is hand/scratch-made! Everything hit the table hot and ready for consumption all at once, after hardly a wait at all. My party was six people and we ordered two orders of wings, a tenderloin, a ham horseshoe, onion rings, corn fritters, and mozzarella sticks. Everything was delicious. The tenderloin was perfectly crisp and hilariously huge. The horseshoe was messy and silly, a fun novelty as well. Service was absolutely great and the vibe inside amongst the patrons is jovial. I'd definitely come back for a pint and a tenderloin!

Service was above Par just like always.! If you haven't…read moreexperienced their food and their wait staff. You owe it to yourself to go and experience this. Way above what you will get anywhere else.

Food was phenomenal, the potatoes that came with my dish were perfectly cooked and had great flavor…read moredepth. However, I run into a few problems with the cook on my steak, and the plating. This dish was 57$ and I requested the steak be cooked medium rare but more on the rare side. My steak was bordering blue rare. It tasted amazing regardless. I also wish to add that the plating was sloppy, obviously this is just nit picking, but it is something I wished to include. Service was alright, I had to ask multiple times for my sparkling water that I had ordered. This was during a work party and we had a group of around 10 while the restaurant was already pretty full so I understand how it could have slipped their mind, however at a restaurant as professional as this I would have expected better regardless.

Ambiance = to any other restaurant in the country…read more Service = to the finest restaurants in the US. Food = to anything worldwide. The owner/chef came out to introduce himself since he was informed that my wife and I were celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary. This was our first time ever at the restaurant and I am disappointed that while living in Peoria, IL for 50 years I never had been there before. Now it's the only place I will go out to dinner at when I am in Peoria. The address is actually listed as 3218 N. Dries Lane in Peoria, IL and is across from the old Landmark Theatre on Dries Ln. You can actually locate it off of University St. also.