Road Tips

Tilted Kilt - Peoria, IL

I had to do an early morning training in Peoria earlier this spring, so I ended up spending the night at the Hampton Inn at Grand Prairie, a new hotel next to the Shoppes of Grand Prairie shopping and entertainment complex on the northwest side of town. I noticed a sushi restaurant on the east side of the mall and decided to eat there that evening. However, after I checked in at the hotel and went back over to the restaurant I found it wasn't open yet as there was construction equipment inside. From the outside, it looked open. It was time to go to Plan B. Right next to the hotel was a place called the Tilted Kilt. It looked sort of like an Irish pub and I thought I'd just cut my losses early and go there for a bite to eat.

I'll have to say that the Tilted Kilt is quite interesting. I would categorize it as a three-sided combination of a Buffalo Wild Wings, an Irish/Scottish/English pub and a Hooter's with waitresses running around in short tartan skirts, matching tops that lift and compress their boobs until they look like they're ready to pop out, and white knee socks. It was easily a ratio of 19-1 men vs. women in the place, and I'm not too certain about the sexual preference of the women that I saw dining in the Tilted Kilt that evening.

I also wasn't certain if I'd ever heard of the Tilted Kilt before my visit there. The first Tilted Kilt opened in 2003 as part of the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and was founded by Mark DiMartino, the owner of the Tillerman in Las Vegas (for my visit to the Tillerman, click here). DiMartino, along with business partners John Reynaud and Shannon Reilly, conceived the Titled Kilt to be a "contemporary, Celtic-themed restaurant staffed with beautiful servers."

Not long after the Las Vegas Tilted Kilt opened, an Arizona businessman by the name of Ron Lynch visited the Rio and fell in love with the restaurant's concept. He approached DiMartino and his partners about the possibility of franchising the Tilted Kilt theme. Lynch bought the franchise rights to Tilted Kilt in 2005 and opened his first franchise location in Arizona the next year. The restaurant began to grow as DiMartino and his partners began to sell franchises. Many Tilted Kilt's have gone into what were old Bennigan's location that closed when that chain of Irish-themed restaurants declared bankruptcy in 2008 and closed 150 of their corporate-owned locations. Tilted Kilt is one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in the nation with 53 locations in 18 states. And more are in development.  They hope to have 300 Tilted Kilt locations across America and Canada within five years.  

However, one city didn't think that Tilted Kilt reflected the core values of their residents. Evanston, IL recently rejected an application for a liquor license for a proposed Tilted Kilt location in that city. City leaders had been presented with a petition of over 2000 names of people who opposed the opening of a Tilted Kilt in Evanston based primarily upon the suggestively clad young ladies who worked in the restaurant. Given that Evanston was a dry city up until the early 70's, there is still a large temperance movement in the city. Adding a bar that appears to glorify sexy women while selling booze was too much for some. The owner of the Tilted Kilt franchise is now looking to open a location in nearby Morton Grove.  In fact, Tilted Kilt looks to have 10 locations in the greater Chicago area by the end of this year.   

The menu at the Tilted Kilt locations are virtually the same with a combination of Scottish, Irish and English dishes such as Irish Stew, Fish and Chips and Shepherd's Pie. But the majority of the menu features your normal American-style bar food items and American-ized British Isle food. Actually, the menu is better than what you'd find at a Hooters.

 But the girls are the clear draw at the Tilted Kilt. I'm not trying to be disparaging, but most of the girls at the one in Peoria looked like they had been recruited from local gentlemen clubs as they all seemed to have over-sized breasts, helped in part by the push up tops that revealed a canyon of cleavage. (The picture at right is a stock photo I found on the Internet and are not of girls from the Peoria location.) But, they were all cute, yes, including the female bartender who waited on me that particular evening.

One of the "company policies" that Tilted Kilt employs is that the girls must be "personable" and be able to chat up the customers.  If time allows, Tilted Kilt even encourages their female servers to sit with their customers and carry on conversation.  I suppose this is to help garner more of a tip for the girls.

Not all of the servers at Tilted Kilt restaurants are female, however.  They do employ a number of men servers who wear man kilts.  They aren't as suggestively dressed as the female servers, but I suppose by having the waiters wear kilts, the restaurant somehow thinks that it will quell any outrage by feminist groups over the waitress' skimpy outfits. 

Pro basketball was prominently played on the number of flat screen televisions that hung from the walls all through the Tilted Kilt location in Peoria, which opened in late summer of 2010. I sat at the large wooden bar and the bartender dropped off a menu and I ordered up a Smithwick's, one of what looked like a couple dozen different types of beers they had to offer at the Tilted Kilt.

I could see right off the bat that the selection, while broad at the Tilted Kilt, was somewhat limited as to what I would call haute cuisine. They had burgers and your normal appetizers on the menu. About a half dozen different types of salads were available, as were a number of sandwiches including something called Fat Bastard's Meatloaf Sandwich. They also featured flat bread pizzas and entrees that included battered fish tacos, fried chicken and an Italian-herb seasoned chicken breast dish. I didn't necessarily see anything that really tripped my trigger and I was having a hard time trying to figure out what would be good to have that evening.

I finally decided upon the pastrami sandwich - you had your choice of traditional pastrami sandwich with Swiss cheese and spicy mustard, or reuben style with sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing. I've been on a reuben kick for the past few months and I got the reuben style pastrami sandwich. As a side, you got your choice of sweet potato fries, garlic fries, onion rings, cottage cheese or a side salad. I decided to try their garlic fries.

The bartender, in addition that she wasn't bad to look at (below left - I know, I need a new phone with a better camera, and I recently got one), was very attentive to my beer levels and was also very accommodating when I forgot to ask for an extra side of Thousand Island dressing when I initially ordered my sandwich. She was cheery and friendly, chatting up the middle-aged businessmen who were not looking directly in her eyes. There seemed to be a number of local regulars at the bar, but there were also a number of guys from the two hotels that were walking distance from the Tilted Kilt.

Another waitress brought out my sandwich and it as your standard reuben sandwith on toasted swirl-marble rye bread (above right). The pastrami was thick, yet tender and pretty flavorful. It was a pretty good sandwich, actually. The garlic fries weren't all that garlicky, at least not as much garlic as I'm used to. They were pretty average, overall. But that was fine with me as I concentrated on the sandwich and not so much on the fries.

My first visit to a Tilted Kilt location was average, at best. The eye-candy is definitely the draw to the restaurant/pub, the food is your average bar food and they do have an abundance of televisions to watch any type of sporting event that is on at that time. The beer selection was sort of impressive, but typical of what you'd find at other places that have that similar sports bar/Irish pub theme that Titled Kilt had. I don't think my wife would like going into the place, but I know a number of friends who would and who would probably think the food was outstanding. But quite actually they'd be blinded from culinary reality by those short tartan skirts and those tight tops.

Firehouse Pizza - Peoria, IL

On our way back from Columbus, OH, I had hoped to take our group to Lucca Grill in Bloomington, IL for world-class pizza.  Unfortunately, it was around 12:30 p.m. when we were going through Bloomington and Lucca's didn't open until 4 p.m. on Sundays.  With pizza on our mind, we tried to find some places on cellphones via the Internet in nearby Peoria that would have pizza.  My friend, Scott, came up with one suggestion - a place called Firehouse Pizza.  We got the address, I programmed it into my GPS and we headed off toward that direction. 

It wasn't very busy when we got into Firehouse Pizza in the North Point shopping center just after 1 p.m. (see map).  The interior of the restaurant is filled with firehouse and fireman memorabilia and decor.  The walls are a fake brick material covered with t-shirts, patches and other insignias from fire departments around the U.S.  There are a number of booths that feature small 13" televisions that allow you to watch your favorite program or sporting event. 

As there were six of us, we sat at a larger rectangular booth in the corner.  Unfortunately for the guys - and fortunately for the women - there was no small television at that particular booth.  Most of the 4 seater booths had the televisions. 

Our waitress came over and handed us menus and we ordered up some drinks, as well.  In addition to their pizza, Firehouse Pizza also offers a number of appetizers, wings, calzones and salads.  Their pizzas are all made from scratch and they also offer thin and crispy, New York-style hand-tossed and deep dish pizzas. 

Our friends, Scott and Marcia, as well as Dave and Pat wanted the deep-dish style of pizza.  Cindy and I went with the thin and crispy.  Cindy and I ordered up Italian sausage, pepperoni and jalapenos (Cindy doesn't like mushrooms, even when they're fresh).  The two other couples got the deep-dish pizza.  The waitress said that it would be a while on the deep-dish pizzas and wanted to know if we wanted them all at the same time since our pizza wouldn't take as long.  We said that was fine to bring everything at one time. 

As we were waiting, the waitress came back to check on our drinks.  I said, "OK, so tell me about this place."

She told us that Firehouse Pizza is owned by local firefighter Kelly Couri and his brother, Shane, hence all the firefighter stuff on display.  She said that a "mom and pop" pizza place in a small town near Peoria was getting ready to close up as the owners were retiring.  Kelly Couri bought their pizza recipe from the couple and then opened his first pizza place in 2003.  It was a small location, but the pizza became the rage in Peoria.  Firehouse Pizza moved to its present location in 2007.

She said that the Couri brothers have sold the concept of Firehouse Pizza to local franchisees and there are now five locations throughout the greater Peoria area.  She said, "Honestly, I think they're growing too fast.  I've been to a couple of the other Firehouse Pizzas around the area and they aren't as good as this one."   

When they did bring out the pizza, well, ours was a little overdone.  The crust was almost too crispy and had some major burned spots on the bottom.  I'm figuring that the pizza cook didn't time the pizzas right so that the deep-dish pizzas and our thin-crust would come out at the same time.  Ours actually came out first, then she brought the other two pizzas on subsequent trips.

The crust was thin and crispy, albeit a little overcooked.  But the toppings - including the big chunks of Italian fennel sausage - were plentiful and the jalapenos were definitely fresh.  The one thing I most certainly didn't like about Firehouse Pizza was the sauce.  It was too sweet.  Oh, it was OK, but I don't care for an overly sweet sauce like that on a pizza.  

The other couples declared their pizza as "very good" and they both got to go boxes from the waitress to take the leftovers home with them for snacks later in the evening.  The waitress asked us how our pizza was and I said, "Quite honestly, it was overcooked a bit and the sauce was way too sweet for my taste." 

She said, "Oh, so you don't like the sweet sauce.  You know, we have a traditional sauce that we put on pizzas, too."  

I said, "Oh, I guess I didn't know that."

The waitress said, "Between you and me, I don't like the sweet sauce either.  But that's what they grew their business on.  They had enough people ask for a sauce that wasn't so sweet.  I know they weren't happy they had to offer a sauce other than their sweet sauce, but they knew they had to do it because they were losing customers." 

I would like to try Firehouse Pizza again at some point.  If they would have pulled it out of the oven about three or four minutes sooner, I think I would have liked the crust a little more.  Plus, the sauce was just way too thick and sweet.  If I didn't have the choice of going with a traditional sauce, I probably wouldn't go back.  But some people must like the sweet sauce at Firehouse Pizza.  That's been their signature for over six years and that must be fine with some people.  But I think they're going to garner a lot more fans by having a choice between the traditional and sweet sauces.  I'll let you know what I think when I go back at some point later this year. 

The Burger Barge - East Peoria, IL

When I first began to write Road Tips almost 4 years ago, I didn't really have a plan, a direction or a voice as to how I wanted my entries to be.  Most of the entries were choppy, short and didn't have a lot of info or pictures with them.  I found over the past couple of years readers of my blog sort of like the background information, my descriptions of the place and the food, and my overall observations during my visit.  One of my first entries had to do with The Burger Barge in East Peoria, IL.  (You can read that entry here, if you like.)  I don't feel that post gives The Burger Barge justice because they have some of the finest burgers I've come across.

The Burger Barge has been around since 1996 when it really was on a barge on the Illinois River.  However, in 2002 it was dry-docked not far from the Par-a-dice Casino in East Peoria (see map).  The owner, Gigi Irwin, can be found working the floor most every day.  She's a nice, friendly and very personable lady. 

(By the way, The Burger Barge in Peoria is not related in anyway to The Parrothead Burger Barge in Des Moines.  I've heard some people say the one in Des Moines is pretty good.  I may have to try it someday.)  

The Burger Barge is what I would lovingly call a "dive bar".  There's some nautical and south seas themes on display in the restaurant, but for the most part it's a shanty with a lot of stuff on the wall.  My first trip to The Burger Barge was about six years ago when my buddy, Jim Kellogg, and the Hartzler brothers - Jonas and Jason - met me there for an afternoon burger when I was on my way back from Indianapolis.  The burger was out of sight.  Big (9 oz. patties), juicy (80-20 lean to fat ratio) and very flavorful (flame broiled) - The Burger Barge features over a dozen different types of burgers to choose from.  (Check out their menu here.)   When the cooks are on their game, they're tough to beat.  When they're not, well...

A couple three years ago, I was traveling home from some point out east and decided to stop in for a burger at The Burger Barge.  I ordered up my favorite, The Tavern Burger - a burger topped with grilled ham, onion, bacon, cheese and a fried egg.  Yep, a fried egg.  It's just wonderful, I'm tellin' ya.  (Picture at left courtesy of "That's Butter".)  Except for this one night.  The burger was literally burnt to a crisp.  I showed the bartender the burger and she took it back.  I got another burger.  It looked fine - on one side.  The other side was just burnt to all get out.  The cook was not having a good day.  I ended up not eating there that night.

I knew it had to be an anomaly, so I tried The Burger Barge a couple months later.  Same thing - the burgers were well done, not very juicy and not the same as I remembered.  As I was leaving, I saw a sign on the door "Wanted - Experienced Cook".  

The next time I went in, about six months later, well, they'd found their cook.  The Tavern Burger was, once again, one heavenly bite after another.  I was sold, once again.

Since then, I've turned a number of people onto The Burger Barge.  Each time it hasn't disappointed.  I'm glad they got their cook problems out of the way.

On our way back home from St. Louis earlier this summer, Cindy and I decided to stop in for dinner at The Burger Barge.  We didn't know if it would be busy or not as it was toward the end of the day on a Sunday and normally they get a lot of boaters that come in for food and drinks.   We didn't have to worry as the place was about half full and we were able to find a booth in which to sit.  

In addition to burgers, The Burger Barge also features their "Barge" sandwiches.  They serve the meat on something they call "Pelican Bread", but they use grilled steak, chicken or fried fish for the main food.  This is a picture of the fried fish barge.  I've never tried a Barge sandwich because the burgers are so good.  But for the people who don't like burgers, or who are looking for something other than burgers, they actually have a pretty varied menu. 

Well, I knew what I wanted.  I didn't even have to look.  It was another Tavern Burger for me.  Cindy got just the basic cheese burger, topped with lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion.  It also comes with what they call "Dock Sauce".  It's The Burger Barge's homemade dijon-mustard/mayo sauce that they zip up with some Cajun seasonings.  It's actually pretty good.  If I get french fries, which isn't very often, I like to order a side of the dock sauce to dip the fries into.   Cindy got fries with her meal, so I asked for a side of the dock sauce. 

We waited a little over 10 minutes for our meal to show up at the table.  From the first bite, it was "my complements to the chef".  The burger was just wonderful.  Tasty, juicy, thick, fresh, just wonderful.  It had that great charbroiled taste that has made The Burger Barge a favorite with the locals in and around the Peoria area. 

Cindy said her burger was "delicious", as well.  The generous portions of french fries (one order is large enough for two or three people) went very well with the tangy and spicy dock sauce.  The Burger Barge is a perfect example of how a good burger can suddenly brighten the decor in a restaurant.  If it was a bad burger, The Burger Barge would be a dump.  But because it's so good, the place is "exotic". 

When I did my "Top Ten Burger List" a couple of years ago, The Burger Barge finished at the number 7 position of my favorite burgers.  And that was only because of the not so great burgers I'd had on a couple three visits when they were having trouble with their cooks.  Now that they seem to have the right cooks in place, The Burger Barge definitely has their act together.  If I re-do my Top Ten Burger List at some point, it would be very difficult to say The Burger Barge is not a Top Five burger. 

Friar Tuck's - Peoria, IL

One of the best wine and liquor stores I've ever been to is the Friar Tuck's store in Peoria, IL (see map).  Friar Tuck's is the size of most grocery supermarkets and they have an extensive wine area, a great liquor selection and a huge area for beers - domestic, micro-brews and imported beers. 

When you walk into Friar Tuck's you'll see a large wine section right in front of you.  They have wine from all over the world and I would have to say that it rivals the selection at Sam's in Chicago.  They may not have as many bottles of a given wine as Sam's does, but they do have a very large selection of wines to choose from. 

But their beer selection is one of the best I've ever come across.  They have one whole aisle with imports, domestics, regionals and micro-brewed beer on either side - the aisle is, I'm guessing, about 100 plus feet in length. 

And one of the cool things about Friar Tuck's is their "Mix a Six" area that allows you to take one or two of a given brand and make a six pack out of them for $5.99 a sixer.  This is great because it allows you to give a beer a try without having to commit to buying a full six pack.  If you don't like that beer, you don't have another five you have to drink. 

Friar Tuck's has a large liquor selection including a lot of great Scotch whiskeys and eclectic vodkas. They have ingredients on hand to make your own beer.  They also sell all the accessories to outfit a bar in your house. 

The staff has always been friendly and helpful.  There is a Scotch connoisseur at the Peoria Friar Tuck's and he's turned me on to a number of good Scotch's over the past couple of years.   

There are three other Friar Tuck's in Central Illinois - the original one in Springfield (see map), one in Champaign (see map), and a new one in Bloomington at 2401 Maloney Dr. (so new it doesn't come up with a map site).   

If you find yourself in anyone of those cities, it may be worth the time to stop in and see what they have to offer in libations.  I'm always spending at least 30 minutes and $50 bucks every time I got to Friar Tuck's.