Live, from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger! Starring Judge’s Chambers and featuring the Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome this week’s host, located in beautiful downtown Peoria, Judge’s Chambers!
I used to come to the Judge's Chambers here all the time in the '80's and haven't been back since. It's just a couple blocks from where I work, so I thought this would be tonight's destination for a cheeseburger. I never have eaten here, but I seem to remember they had a kitchen and food in here.
Look at this! Houston we have a cheeseburger! Let's go inside and see what's happening.
Well, the place looks a little different, the bar used to be on the other side of the room in the '80's. One thing's for sure, it's super dark in here, Al would love this place! The pictures might be a little fuzzy, because I'm not popping a flash in this dark bar!
There's a few open seats at the bar, let's go snag one.
And friendly bartender Betty serves up a cold can of Budweiser. Betty's a veteran here and has been bartending over a decade at Judge's Chambers.
Pietro was seated next to me and happily posed for the MBIP camera. Pietro is the owner of Baker's Tax Service and if you need help with your taxes you can call him at 309-868-2557 or email him here.
Here's the left half of the bar...
And here's the right side, they don't need no stinking lit up bottles behind the bar in this joint!
I love the vintage cash register in this here.
Photo collages of patrons in various stages of intoxication run along the walls in the back of the bar.
I'm getting a contact buzz just looking at the photos!
I was going to ask her who let those goddamn dogs out, because I never have found out, but decided on just asking for another can of Bud. Why make things difficult?
Kind of a retro looking shot for the patent-pending Spike tap photo this time.
A table bathed in magenta light sits opposite the bar.
This new-fangled jukebox looks like an alien ship has landed in the front of the bar!
A longshot of the bar.
Betty's busy behind the bar serving drinks and keeping everyone in line. Well, somewhat in line, this place can get pretty lively at times!
And suddenly it's cheeseburger time!
It's a great, no-frills burger and the bun is bakery fresh. My compliments to the chef!
And speaking of the chef, here she is! Kim came out of the kitchen to flash the MBIP card and pose for a photo. Great job on the cheeseburger, Kim! It was delicious!
A glance out the window and it's time to head home and conclude this edition of Saturday Night Cheeseburger. See you all tomorrow!
My Cheeseburger
Judge’s Chambers has been a fixture on Main Street for as long as I can remember. I was a regular here in the ‘80’s and I think it had been here at least a couple of decades prior to that. The place isn’t fancy, the drinks are strong and there’s no gimmick’s inside this joint. Just a nice dark place to have a drink or seven and mingle with the interesting and often somewhat intoxicated regulars at the bar.
The cheeseburger here falls in line with the no-frills feel of the place. There’s no fancy-Dan toppings or truffle oil slip-sliding around on the burgers here at Judge’s Chambers. Just a couple slices of cheese on a decent-sized, tasty, juicy burger and that’s that. And the bun was bakery fresh, which always takes it over the top for me.
If you’re not in the mood for a cheeseburger, other standard pub grub served up at Judges Chambers includes: Pork Tenderloin, Fish Filet, Grilled Cheese and Hot Wings. If you just want a snack to nibble on while hoisting one of the potent drinks served here, some of the appetizer choices on the menu include: Mini Tacos, Cheese Fries, Cheddar Cheeseballs and Onion Rings. And they have Butch’s Pizza too, so I know I’m coming back to get one of those!
Cheeseburger Rating
Two and a half Wimpy’s.
Nothing fancy, just a good old-fashioned cheeseburger the way my mom makes them and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that!
Judge’s Chambers
514 Main Street
Peoria
309-674-5005
Further Reading and viewing: Illinois Circle, I Want A Buzz and The Guardian.
P.S.
I've added a couple things to the Archive section. There's now a search engine there that will search the entire site for you and there's a Tag section at the bottom that has the different categories of posts separated for you. Just click on the tag and it will give you all the posts in that category. Okay, that's all, carry on.