Hidden Gems in Peoria: Kuchie's on the Water

 Hi yall, 

This week, my friend and I were in the mood for some bar food. We found this place called Kuchies on the Water which is a restaurant over in Creve Couer. It wasn't really far away from campus at all and took us 13 minutes to get there. Kuchies on the Water is a restaurant on the Illinois River and it reminds me of all the different restaurants I would go to on the lake at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.

It has a feel inside that makes you think you're somewhere warm, especially with the waterfront deck and the river in the background. Some of the decorations they have to remind you of the beach or somewhere tropical as well. On their menu, they have a lot of typical bar food like burgers, potato skins, and pork tenderloin sandwiches but the thing that stands out to you the most is the shakes and bloody marys. These specialty shakes looked insanely good based on the photos they had displayed in the restaurant. The toppings on the shake added an extra flare to them that made it more unique than just a typical shake. These shakes would also be seasonal as well for example they had one recently for Easter that had peeps and candy as the toppings. 

Unfortunately, I decided against a shake because I didn't think I would have finished it and it was pretty expensive. We decided to get an order of garlic cheese curds as an appetizer to begin with and they were surprisingly really yummy but we didn't get as many curds as we thought. After that, I decided to get a topless beach burger which was an open-faced burger topped with BBQ pulled pork, slaw, and pepperjack cheese. It was an idea similar to a "Horseshoe" or "Ponyshoe" where you would have a piece of meat with friends on top of a piece of bread topped with cheese. The topless beach burger was much different than I expected it to be. For one I didn't realize there was slaw on the burger until it came out. I didn't mind it but the issue was that slaw is usually served cold and it being served with the warm burger made it a weird temp for coleslaw. I also thought the bread they served it on wasn't that great and made me wish I just had two buns instead. However, the meat was very good, and loved the fact I got a hint of BBQ in a sandwich. 

Overall this is a really fun place to go with friends especially because of the environment. 

Rating: 7/10

Hidden Gems in Peoria: Sushigawa

Hi yall, 

This week I decided to try a place over by the mall called Sushigawa. I looked at the food reviews and some of them had photos of the sushi that looked pretty appetizing. I've always been a big fan of sushi with my favorite kind being spicy crab rolls or spicy tuna rolls. As I walked into Sushigawa, it looked very authentic right off the bat. For one, the atmosphere felt cozy and had a lot of decorations representative of Japanese culture.

I felt confident in thinking this sushi would be really good. I decided to get a Volcano roll and a spicy crab roll. The Volcano roll had spicy baked maki and cream cheese inside it and the spicy crab roll had crab, avocado, and spicy sauce. I've always thought it was super annoying when there would be fewer sushi pieces than expected and I felt like this was the case with the specialty roll I ordered. I was expecting more than 8 pieces but unfortunately, I only got 8. I know this complaint may seem ridiculous but if I'm paying for $15 worth of sushi I would expect there to be more than 8 and on top of that I felt like the volcano roll was not that great.

However, the spicy crab roll was very yummy and made up for the other roll. The spicy crab roll had the perfect amount of spice and crunch too. I usually like my roll to be fairly spicy but I didn't even need to add more spicy mayo to it because the spicy sauce they added did the trick. I would also like to add even though 8 pieces of sushi didn't feel like it was enough for me, it certainly was because I ended up being full after I ate the last piece. This was a solid sushi place and I would definitely recommend it. The service was also really speedy as well. 

Hidden Gems in Peoria: Rumberger's Wings

 Hi y'all,

This week I went to Rumberger's Wings located on University Street. Every person who I've talked to and asked "Where can I get the best wings in Peoria?" has always recommended this place. My roommate recently said to me that they were the "best wings he's ever had". I usually have pretty high expectations when it comes to wings since I would often go to a wing shack back home with my dad to watch a lot of college football games when I was growing up.

Since it was the Final Four this weekend, me and my friend decided to get wings to eat during the games. I'm pretty traditional when it comes to wings so my go-to is usually just mild or medium buffalo wings. Upon ordering, I was really impressed to see that the wings were fairly inexpensive when it came to the price per wing. I was able to get 15 traditional bone-in buffalo wings for a little over $16 which to me felt like a great deal. We decided to do a carryout order and I didn't have to wait very long for the food to come out.

When looking at the food, the wings looked very delectable. To me, they felt smaller than what I'm used to but it didn't bother me too much because I got 15. After eating a few, the flavor and taste of the wings remained fairly consistent but after a while, my food got pretty cold because of it being a to-go order. I was able to warm them up in the air fryer and it tasted just as good. These wings were really yummy but are they the best is up for debate to me. I've been blessed with some pretty good wings in the past so I really take into account that when it comes to my rating. However, this place is much better than Buffalo Wild Wings and Wingstop in my opinion. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Hidden Gems in Peoria: Buffalo Wild Wings - East Peoria

 Hi yall, 

So I got sucked into going to Buffalo Wild Wings this week... little to say I will never go there again. I thought it would be fun to change it up this week and not talk about a good experience but rather a bad experience. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Buffalo Wild Wings, they are a sit-down restaurant chain that specializes in wings along with different sauces. Over the years there has been significant price increases to their menu and a loss of quality when it comes to their food. For one the portion sizes for the price are not great by any means. 10 small traditional bone-in wings for $16 is ridiculous in my opinion. It also just isn't good food. 

Me and my friend decided to go here to support our business fraternity's philanthropy week yet we were disappointed the whole time. Our waiter forgot to give us napkins and forks to eat our food. He also put in the wrong order for my friend so that was pretty unfortunate. I decided to get a chicken sandwich since that was the cheapest thing on the menu. I didn't really know what to expect from it but right as it came out it didn't look good at all. I for one thought the sauce would be evenly coated on the sandwich like how their wings are but no they just slapped some on there and called it a night. My fries were cold and undercooked. Overall, I had a mediocre experience and will not come here again. I don't think any of the proceeds ended up going to our business fraternity’s philanthropy either 

Rating: 1/10

Hidden Gems In Peoria: Dog Haus

 Hi yall, 

I typically try to support local restaurants and not chains but I had a friend recommend this one to me and that I should go grab a bite at the Dog Haus on University St. This place is a chain that started in Pasadena, California in 2010 but I had never heard of it. Don't be fooled by the name though, they have other menu options other than hot dogs. They offer burritos, sausages, and burgers served on grilled King’s Hawaiian rolls. What really struck me is the fact this place is open from 8 am til 2 am every day which I feel like as an employee would just be a nightmare! This place has outdoor seating and a beer garden as well. Overall it felt like a clean spacious environment 

Unfortunately, I decided to not go with one of the hot dog options that looked delicious. Instead, I went with one of their Haus Burgers, the Holy Aoli, and tater tots. It had white American cheese, smoked bacon, caramelized onions & garlic aioli atop a smash burger made with hormone- and antibiotic-free Creekstone Farms' premium Angus beef; on grilled king's Hawaiian rolls. This was so much different compared to other burgers I had in the past because of it being on four different roles. I decided to break teacher one into a mini slider but I really could have had it eaten it as a whole. The burger meat was similar to what you would find at Smashburger which is what I really like. After one bit, I was blown away. This is such a great burger because of all the different flavors from the toppings I mentioned above. It was like each bite surpassed the previous one because it was that good. I really wanna try to make something at home now that I've tried this. I would highly HIGHLY recommend Dog Haus if you're looking for some good bar food in Peoria!

Rating: 10/10

Hidden Gems in Charlotte: King's Kitchen

 Hi yall, 

I wasn't able to get to a restaurant in Peoria this week so I decided to post about another great place I went to in Charlotte, the King's Kitchen. This restaurant was located in uptown which is Charlotte's downtown area. I really enjoyed the concept of this place. They offered locally grown foods and ingredients from around the Carolinas and the profits and proceeds go toward feeding the poor and operating the training and life-skills development program offered to interns through the Charlotte Mecklenburg Dream Center. One thing I noticed is that all the staff members are volunteers.

I really liked the mission of this restaurant.
Upon looking at the menu they had pretty standard southern food such as fried chicken, shrimp and grits, and collard greens. Any meal you got could be turned into a "Southern classic" for just $11 which allowed you to have 3 extra sides to your meal. I decided to go with Aunt Beaut's Fried Chicken along with collards, mac and cheese, and Carolina gold rice & field peas. It looked really good once it came out to our table.

The fried chicken itself was decent. Every time I have fried chicken it's usually hit or miss for me because of how greasy it is. This time it wasn't too bad. The chicken was tender and delicious. The mac and cheese I had was very good because it was baked. The collard greens I felt were really salty and I didn't really like the bacon that went along with it. Overall, I thought it was a decent meal but nothing terribly special. I'm glad  I was able to support the cause of the restaurant and the staff working there all were really friendly. 

Rating: 6.5:10

Hidden Gems in Charlotte: Haberdish

Hi yall,

Since it's spring break, I decided to change it up a bit and do a Charlotte restaurant review since that is where I went for the break.
There are a lot of fantastic places to eat in Charlotte especially when it comes to southern cuisine. Haberdish is a local favorite in the Noda neighborhood just north of Uptown. They are a Southern kitchen and craft cocktail bar that serves Southern-inspired food. On the menu, the fried chicken sandwich caught my eye. It was advertised as being "the best chicken sandwich in town" so I felt like I needed to try it. I decided to get it Nashville hot style since that is what the waitress recommended.

However, she was telling me that it's more sweet and spicy rather than just spicy hot. The chicken was a brined & boneless fried chicken thigh with red cabbage slaw, bread & butter pickles, honey butter, and mayo on a potato roll along with potato wedges. It was one of the best chicken sandwiches I ever had and I'm so glad I got it Nashville hot because it was just the right amount of spice to make it pleasant to eat. The potato wedges were huge and salted just right. Overall, I would highly recommend Haberdish for a quick bite to eat if you're ever in Charlotte North Carolina!

Rating: 10/10

Hidden Gems In Peoria: Po Boys On Frostwood

 Hi yall,

Outside

I was craving seafood this week and I haven't had a po boy in a while. There used to be this place I would go to back home that had delicious shrimp po-boy sandwiches but it recently closed. I found this cool place called Po Boys On Frostwood located farther up north in Peoria across from the Willow Knolls Shopping Center.
It was more of a tavern-type establishment that had a New Orleans theme twist to it. The place was decorated with Mardi Gras streamers and colors. It also had lots of paintings related to blues and jazz music. It was a really nice environment. The menu had a lot of different options especially a good amount of cajun cuisine that you would find in New Orleans. Some of the offerings included gumbo, jambalaya, creole chicken salad, and shrimp and grits. I was craving a shrimp po boy so I decided to get that.

Shrimp Po Boy

It consisted of fried shrimp (cajun style), lettuce, and tomato, with special sauce on a lightly toasted sandwich bun along with a side of fries. It was just as good as expected it to be.  The pieces of shrimp were crunchy and spicy with enough flavor wanting me to have more. It was surprisingly filling with good enough portion sizes to leave me full. Overall it was a nice quick meal and I would definitely go back for more. I would recommend this place if you're a fan of Po Boys or enjoy cajun food. It will not disappoint!

Rating: 9.5/10

Hidden Gems In Peoria: Jerusalem Restaurant

 Hi y'all,

This past week I had the privilege of eating at Jerusalem Restaurant, a Mediterranean restaurant that serves items like kebabs, shawarma, and salads. It's located on Farmington Rd right by Crusens. I saw on Yelp that this place had nearly a 5-star rating and every review had good things to say so I was very much intrigued to try some of the food. When I first walked it I was asked, "Have you ever been here before?"

by a man who I think was the owner. I told him I hadn’t and he seated me along with a glass of water and told me about their most popular food items that people tend to love. I decided to go with the beef shawarma which came along with pita bread, Arabic salad, hummus, and rice. One of the things I always love about Mediterranean food is that I don't feel sick after eating it and my meal lived up to that.

The beef was tender and rich with flavor. I also poured some of the sauces on it to give it an extra kick. I also loved the pita bread as a side along with hummus as well as the rice. The salad wasn't anything special but was nice to have as another side of the meal. I was really satisfied with the beef shawarma and would definitely get it again. I would highly recommend coming here if you like Mediterranean food. 

Rating: 10/10

Hidden Gems In Peoria: Connected

Hi y'all, 

This week I had the privilege of going to Connected this week for a work dinner and to my surprise it was some of the best food I've had in while. For those of you who are unaware, Connected is an Italian restaurant that's located on University right by Walmart. I didn't know what to expect other than high-quality food and atmosphere and that's exactly what I got. Right when I walked through the door I was greeted with a beautiful interior with small ponds of water and rocks. As we reached the main dining room it was dark but had this charm to it that made you feel like you were important. Our dining room was one of the private dining rooms they had meant for 20 people. We were given a menu with a lot of options that sounded so good.

My meal from Connected

I decided to order the Bistecca Al Barolo which was a filet mignon in a barolo wine sauce with caramelized pearl onions and mushrooms. Along with that, I had a side of potatoes and a glass of wine. The meat was cooked to perfection and could easily be chewed which I liked. It had a very rich flavor to it that was representative of the wine sauce. It was also the right amount of food as well. We also had dessert as well which included Pasticeria Assorta which was an assortment of Italian desserts some I didn't even know existed. Overall, I had a really amazing experience at this place and while i
t's expensive, I would highly recommend coming here at some point with friends, family, or with your partner. The food will not disappoint.

Hidden Gems in Peoria: Sugar Wood Fired Bistro

Outside Sugar

 Hi yall, 

This week I was in the mood for some pizza so I found myself in the doors of Sugar Wood Fired Bistro. This is a wood-fired pizza restaurant that specializes in a variety of pizzas with various toppings. However, I decided to be very boring and just order a pepperoni. I often don't get wood-fired pizza mainly because it's not as convenient as picking up a pizza from one of the big pizza chains like Papa John's, Domino's, and Little Ceaser's. So I always look forward to trying a different kind of pizza. The restaurant itself is located in the Warehouse District on Adams St. just west of Zion. It's easily walkable if you are in that area. As I walked in I was greeted by someone at the register which was really nice instead of having to get seated and wait for someone. I put in my order for pepperoni pizza but some of the other menu options I saw were BBQ chicken, Hawaiian, and Margherita. The food came out really quickly (less than 10 minutes) since there weren't a lot of people there. I had to wait for it to cool off because it was too hot but the first bite was super yummy. They used the right amount of pepperoni. I really like the crust of wood-fired but one of the things I didn't like was just how greasy it was. I've had Sugar before but this time for some reason it was nearly as good. I'd still recommend going here if you have the chance. It's a quick dinner or lunch. 

Rating: 6/10

Pepperoni Pizza