LOCAL FESTIVITIES

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...

Quick history:  Peoria Nutrition Spot is a wellness snack and drink shop off of University in North Peoria. They are mainly known for their refreshers, energy drinks, smoothies, and protein bowls. They also have powders that are available to buy to make your own drinks at home.  My personal experience:  First of all, the first thing you notice when you walk in, the owners are incredibly friendly. The main young business owner that talks to most of the customers is always super nice and curious about your day. She just radiates positivity, which I feel like is hard to come by nowadays (she isn't there 24/7, but the other workers I've talked to are also very friendly). It seems like she really enjoys her job and she would rather not be doing anything else, which makes me excited for the experience as well. When it comes to the actual items here, I can't rave about them enough. The energy drinks are delicious and refreshing, and the smoothies they have are usually really fla...

Quick history: LaGondola Spaghetti House has been around since 1982, and has been an Italian staple in local eats in central Illinois. They are known for their sandwiches (shown above) known as Torpedos, their pasta, and bread. My personal experience: This is one of my favorite places to eat in town and the town over. First of all, the people who work at my closest location (Peoria) are nice and friendly. In the "about us" section on their website, they say that they value customer service and I definitely see this to be true. Their sandwiches, bread, and pasta are really delicious. You can buy the pasta sauce by the ladle, which I buy regularly to make pasta at home. That is what they are known for, but in my opinion, the most underrated item from this restaurant is their pizza. They have Sicilian (deep pan) and Neopolitan (thin crust) pizza. This pizza is extremely unique and I've never had either of these styles anywhere else. They are both incredibly good but differ...

Quick History: CxT, or Coffee By Tristan, is a relatively new shop that started in 2016. As far as I'm aware, the Peoria location is the only one currently open. It was started by Tristan and his family and they had dreamed of opening a coffee location for over 10 years. While the Peoria location that I am used to I would mainly consider an espresso bar, it seems from their website that they are more focused on selling as an actual shop for coffee beans and all of the sorts. My experience: I am personally a person who finds a certain thing that they like at a restaurant or bar and continuously orders that one thing no matter how many times I come back. This cafe is one of the exceptions. Everytime I come in, they have the most unique flavors that I'm almost always forced to try the new ones. That is the best part about this place. The flavor variety ranges from ingenious, to strange to both. The best coffee I have EVER had is from this cafe; it was black cherry flavored iced co...

     In this blog I will be exploring my journey as a local Peoria citizen putting a spotlight on all of the local places I know in town while giving you my overall thoughts. It is important in our family to support local businesses if we plan on eating out or getting any fancy drinks or snacks. I have seen some of the best places in the area go out of business because of lack of support from the community, so maybe this will encourage one or two or maybe even three people to give these places a try. Some of these will be restaurants, some will be coffee shops, some will be other activities. Check back every week for updates!

  Quick History: Avanti's is a local chain concentrated in the Central Illinois area since 1966 and has been a staple in Peoria's food scene for decades. They have been awarded as one of the best Italian chains of its area, and is known for its salad, pasta, and gondola sandwiches. Avanti's is also known for its generosity; giving back over $3.5 million to its local community since its been open. My experience: When I hear the word "Italian restaurant", I personally always think of a fancy casual dining experience, such as Olive Garden.  When I first dined here, I was slightly taken aback by the rather casual sitdown experience it offers. They actually have quite the considerate amount of space in their building, and it never really is ever packed. Being born here, I have been to several locations of Avanti's several times, and rarely is it ever crowded inside. However, I personally consider this as more of a carry-out restaurant. The cashiers and waiters ten...