LOCAL FESTIVITIES

Quick history:  Originally from exclusively Pekin, Illinois, Tadoughs is a cafe with a simple menu that is known for their huge donuts that are made specifically with potato flour. It wasn't until 2024 when the shop was opened in Peoria off of Northmoor street. My personal experience: Just like most places ever opening locally in Peoria, I remember when they opened and it was impossible to get any donuts for like the first 3 weeks. My family and I would go in and they would have 20 people waiting for fresh donuts to be made and we would walk right back out the door. It seems to be family and friend owned, and they were super nice when we met them. I haven't had their coffee, but it seems to be simple instead of fancy drinks so I would probably go somewhere else if this is what you wanted. But the donuts are the best thing to happen to Peoria ever since we lost Krispy Creme back in like 2010, I'm not huge into donuts but these are personally really soft and moist. I would h...

Quick history: The name "460 pizza" was originally titled Firehouse Pizza, which was a local chain around in the mid-Illinois area. I think the original owner handed it over, and it changed the name. It's pretty much the same restaurant because their pizza tastes the same. The location is off of Knoxville. My personal experience: I appreciate the ugliness of this restaurant. You walk in and you immediately get a warehouse sort of feel from the atmosphere; granite floors, brick walls, etc. The color scheme is very grunge; grey, blacks, and reds. It is mainly composed of a few booth tables and just a couple of longer floor tables. The food is mainly known for their pizza and appetizers, but they also serve salads and sandwiches. I never found the service to be particularly friendly, they aren't rude but just sport a sort of "matter-of-fact" personality, which I don't hate. Their pizza is incredible. It's part of the reason I would never eat at a pizza ...

Local Eats Quick history:  One of the many prized restaurants that is near Bradley University and Campus Town. It's a very small, tight knit place that is known for its Boba drinks, poke bowls, and Banh Mi sandwiches (as the name suggests). My personal experience:  I'm gonna start out with a nitpick here. Something that bothers me about this place is the name. I hate how it doesn't have a real restaurant name, it is essentially a slew of adjectives. And because of this, I always have a hard time remembering it to search it up. To me it gives "hey guys, heres what we sell here. In case you didn't know, we sell boba, poke, and banh mi!" like they think their customers are slow. Anyway. Other than that, I don't have many negative things to say here. The owners are a bit shy and unfriendly (not unfriendly in a rude type of way, but I'm sure you know what I mean). The drinks are wonderful, for me pretty much every boba drink store tastes the same (good). I ...

Quick history:  Nat's Place is a little cafe themed restaurant right when you enter Chillicothe, Illinois (yes, this blog isn't  just  for Peoria!). They serve many things from full entrees, knick knacks, coffee, to baked goods. From what I've seen they are mostly women-owned and have weirdly long store hours.  My personal experience:  This place is very beautiful from an aesthetic point of view. Personally, I remember first trying them when they just opened and they only had about half the space they have now. Even then, the place was clean, lively, and looked modern. I notice that a lot of local places nowadays, even on a low budget, put a lot of emphasis on interior design. Peoria Nutrition Spot and CxT look incredibly impressive on the inside. Many older restaurants I know that have been in the area for a very long time (such as 460 Pizza or Pitas, for example) look like they could be classified as "hole in the wall" joints, where they stay open because of t...