Think Smoothie King but with food…read more Starting off my 2025 travels with a healthy place and some coupons I got in the mail. On this particular day, my friend Jeremy and I decided to drop in for lunch since we were both bored and had the rare same day off together. I had some coupons that Tropical Smoothie Cafe sent me in the mail to entice me to visit. I used the combo coupon that netted me a flatbread, a side, and a smoothie for the low cost of $5. Jeremy used a 50% sandwich coupon and grabbed a smoothie himself. It wasn't entirely too busy when we arrived. There was a couple sitting inside and the person behind the counter was working on an order. It took awhile for another person to come out and acknowledge us but quickly took our order. I ended up with the chicken bacon ranch flatbread, a jetty punch smoothie and some jalapeno chips. Jeremy got the buffalo chicken wrap and the same smoothie as me. We waited probably 10-15 minutes to get our food, which felt a bit longer than what a smoothie place should take but it wasn't like we were starving for our food. The interior was a bit sparse but I don't think this is a place you'd come and sit for a full meal and conversations nor a place to plop down with a laptop and do some homework or professional work. It had the vibe of sit and enjoy but don't hang around too long. That's neither bad nor good as we had plans to visit another friend after eating so we dipped out pretty quick after finishing up. We dug in once we got our food and it didn't take too long to demolish the food. After we finished, we both kinda looked at each other and both agreed that while the food was good, paying full price would've felt like it was a bit much. The quality of the food and the cooking were great, it's just that we both found it to be lacking something. Same with the smoothie. It was good but it felt like the strawberry nor the banana really shone through and it tasted like a generic blend of healthy. It's a bit of a bummer that the food and smoothie were decent but nothing to write home about. We both wished the food and smoothie had just a bit more of a punch to the flavor instead of being more on the bland side of things. Despite all that, I am typing this up about 4 hours later (around 7pm) and don't really see myself cooking dinner. Maybe a small snack but definitely not a full meal. It may have been lacking in the flavor department but between the smoothie and meal, it wasn't lacking in filling me up and that's considering I didn't even eat the chips. Stay smooth, everyone.

My sister and I were spending the day together and we just happened to be driving by American…read moreKolache. We were talking about how we both had wanted to stop by and check it out, so we did! We parked the car and started walking up to the door. I noticed how small the building was in person, look like there was just enough room for maybe 8-10 people to fit comfortably inside, but it was nice, you could tell that it was freshly remodeled. We didn't even make it to the door before a young lady opened the door to greet us. I think her name was Kayleigh, I apologize if I have that wrong. Anyway, she comes right out the door as we're walking up to it and she hands us this large box and tells us that we can have what's left free of charge because they were getting ready to close. The box was a hefty box too, it was hardy like this was the most durable box I've ever held that contained food. I love the fact that they want that extra measure to make sure that the box stayed durable during transportation. Impressive choice! We thanked her and thought that was really kind! I had asked her if she was the manager and I believe she said she was the owner's daughter. I asked if I could snap a quick picture of the inside since it was my first time. She said yes of course and was really sweet and accommodating. My sister and I went back to the car an opened up the box. There was a dozen kolaches on the inside and some of them were still hot! We thoroughly enjoyed sampling all of them! We didn't get any of the sweet ones but out of the ones we did try I really enjoyed the sloppy joe and the chicken bacon ranch. I love the fact that I was going in there just to be able to do a Google review, walked away with free food, and I'm able to write a positive review about this business. Looking forward to going back and trying out some of their desserts because they all do look amazing!

I really love these kolaches! I really wish the amount of filling in the kolaches would be…read moreconsistent! I love a lot of the options including buffalo chicken, Philly steak, Italian beef, and pulled pork. Recently, I stopped by and picked up a few franks Italian beef kolaches and was disappointed with the lack of Italian beef!

Great place! welcoming atmosphere, high-quality drinks, and efficient, friendly staffread more

This place kicks butt!…read more My friend Tim told me about this place awhile back and has been waiting patiently for it to open. Fast forward 2 months when we planned a day to hang out and play board games when I suggested we check it out. Matt, Tim, and I popped in on a Saturday afternoon and all was quiet. As we walked up, we almost turned around as it looked closed (there was a big lock on one of the doors) but I wanted to 100% be sure it was closed so I walked up to visually confirm there was no one inside. Come to our surprise that it was open. We quickly dipped inside to avoid the humidity and heat of the day and made our ways to the giant tvs that displayed the menus. Said menus quickly irritated us as they were on a continuous scroll every 5 seconds or so... of the same photo. There are 3 tvs and each one displayed one portion of the menu. Each one was set up to a slideshow effect and would transition to the next photo of the same photo it just showed you. So, we kept having to re-focus on where we were despite it being the same image. It took a bit longer to figure out what we wanted to order because of this. But once we knew what we wanted, we ordered with the cashier and waited for our drinks. Tim was distracted with his phone when Matt and I got distracted with something behind the counter. It was this machine that shook the drinks and let me tell you... we were mesmerized by it. We both commented on it at the same time and kept watching the workers load drinks in it. Then we were mesmerized by the machine that put a seal on the cups. Both Matt and I said we could watch this process all day. I've had sealed drinks like this before but never one that was done within viewing range. Any who, like us getting distracted by that machine, I am getting off topic here. We were served our drinks and we walked over to Costco to get some pizzas for our game night. My first sip of my drink (which was a caramel macchiato) and I knew I made the right choice. It was a delicious mix of what you would expect a caramel macchiato to taste like but in a slush-form. For it being a hot and humid day, it was the perfect thing to sip on during the walk over and through Costco. I can see myself coming back here for a special treat once in awhile. The Levee District in East Peoria has a lot of cool shops but severely lacks a place that I think Kung Fu Tea fills in nicely. Sure, there is a Starbucks and Dunkin' nearby, but this place adds something to the area that I feel that it's lacking. This was evident by the fact that when we walked in, there were only 2 people in there but when we left, there were about 12-15 people milling about, waiting to order or waiting for their drinks. I hope they continue to do well as the landscape of most areas needs some diversity over the usual big chains and corporations.

Review Visit: October 28th, 2014…read more Not an actual factory. Short story time: Back before I started traveling, I once thought the Cheesecake Factory was a building that churned out cheesecakes. I took the name literally and was confused on why people loved the place. Turns out, it's a delectable restaurant that just looking at the menu will exceed your daily recommended caloric intake. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is no Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory. It's your typical small store that has a ton of goodies inside. Everything from sweets to things that are nutty and everything in-between. Matt, Tim, and I wandered in during a day of hitting up a few Peoria locations. We came here after The 50's Diner to get our dessert fix. I've been to a few baked goods/candy stores at this point in time but I am never not amazed at the variety of goodies they offer. A lot of them carry some of the same chocolate-covered (item) but so many of them do it in their own way. Or do their unique twist on it. That's why I love small chain/locally owned businesses. They all have that personal touch that seems to be missing from Big Name Stores. Tim ended up stocking up on some goodies. Matt got a small item or two. I snagged a cookie or two. I don't remember what cookies I got but I do remember it being pretty dang good. I ended up eating it as we walked back to my car. To rewind time a bit, before we headed in to the store, we stopped and took photos with this giant bear that was sitting on a bench outside. That's just the nature of these kinds of things. If you can pose/sit with a goofy thing, you gotta take a photo with it. Lets wrap this up. If you need a chocolate covered (item), Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory can hook you up. It might be a smaller business but they do have multiple locations, so check their website below if you are interested in checking them out. I can't promise you they will have a bear to take a photo with but if you go and there is one, do yourself a favor and take a fun photo with it. Sometimes we need to throw off the burdens of being an adult and let our inner child out.

If you have a sweet tooth and are in the area I would highly recommend RMCF! The apples and fudge…read moreare always delicious; The quality can't be beat!

The Sheridan Road Hy-Vee has deteriated in the past six months. Not enough check- out lanes opened…read moreon a Saturday, poor produce and no cash self-service lanes. Had guest baggers today and a butternut squash placed on top of bread. Over charged for a product, told checker and she said I'll take care of that for you...you guessed it, had to wait in line at customer service. Wasn't able to get several items on my list. Grand Prairie a much better managed store. I will drive a little farther for better service.

Great Steak Dinner at a great price. Mallory went above and…read morebeyond to make sure I could get this deal, while stuck in a hospital. The epitome of customer service done right!

Placed a grub hub order and needed to change something. Called the store was on hold for 6 minutes…read more The girl did apologize. I asked if they could put birthday picks in my order instead of the flowers as it was for my son's birthday. She said "let me pull your order". When she got back I was told it was already picked up. She was so sorry. Well she must not know that I can see where my delivery driver is. He wasn't even there yet!!! I text him to be sure and he said no 5 minutes away. I wanted to call back so bad but was afraid I would have my order ruined! So ridiculous and lazy of the employee.

Service was fast. The butt cakes tasted delicious…read more The cakes that we had were extremely moist and flavorful !