Live, from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger with this week’s host, Jim’s Bistro and featuring the Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now, please welcome from restaurant row in Peoria Heights, Jim’s Bistro!
It's 10:05PM and my one and a half day weekend has officially begun! We're headed towards Prospect Avenue in the Heights to Jim's Bistro. As I've been doing, I've phoned my order in earlier, because their kitchen closes at 10PM, so it should be ready right when we get there!
I parked the car and we're on foot heading up Prospect Avenue's "Restaurant Row."
And there it is, Jim's Bistro. This was the first place I went out to eat when I moved back here last October. It's really a nice place.
Let's go in and you can see for yourself!
Wow, there's nobody at the bar here on a Saturday night! This is a rarity, let's go snag a seat and get a beer.
Talk about service with a beautiful smile! Friendly bartender Elyse serves up a bottle of Budweiser.
Elyse told me that my burger was the last order sent in to the kitchen and they were plating it right away. Which is good, because I'm starvin' like old Marvin over here!
Jeff sat down next to me at the bar. He's been a waiter here for two years and as you can see, he's rolling in the dough!
Speaking of rolling in the dough, dinner is served. Holy shitballs, look at that burger!
Here's a bird's eye view of the burger, unbunned. That bacon looks fantastic!
It's delicious!
The potatoes were a nice surprise, Jeff told me they're house cut fresh every night. Really crispy and tasty. A wonderful cheeseburger dinner tonight!
I wolfed that down in no time flat, now let's take a look around Jim's Bistro. Here's the view from where I sit. The booze is placed old school, on shelves in here. No lit up bottles behind this bar, which is kind of refreshing. Check out that painting next to the shelving unit...
It's a painting of the outside of Jim's Bistro done by Sara, who's a bartender here. Very nice!
There's a beer cooler off to the right which houses a decent selection of bottled beer.
Sturdy and fancy chandeliers hang overhead underneath a gold tin ceiling.
Here's a trio of taps for the official, "Spike Tap Shot." Let's see what kind of rating they get today from Taps Master Spike!
A shot from the front of the bistro. As you can see, there's a row of tables directly behind the bar...
Booths line the far wall with paintings hanging over them. This is really a nice, cozy place.
Obligatory bistro mirror shot!
It's Britney, bitches! Britney is part of the waitstaff here at Jim's and she happily posed for the MBIP camera. Very pretty!
Meanwhile, back at the bar, Elyse is busy cleaning up and keeping things in order.
A friend of mine was recently telling me how her mom only drinks Brandy Alexander's and I've been craving one ever since. Here's Elyse skillfully mixing mine up.
The drink is served...
And it's fabulous! Now I'm in the mood to go and listen to Pussy Cats by Harry Nilsson. Great job, Elyse and thanks to everyone at Jim's Bistro for playing along with me! See you all tomorrow.
My Cheeseburger
I got the cheddar bacon burger and it was really a great cheeseburger. The beef is ground right there in the restaurant, so it’s very fresh, juicy and tasty. The cheddar cheese was tangy and the real hit of the burger was the bacon. They cook it in brown sugar, so it’s got a sweet flavor to counteract the bacon’s smokiness. A lot of times you really can’t taste the bacon on a bacon cheeseburger, but on this it really added another layer of taste to the burger.
JIm’s Bistro is a steak house and they have seven varieties of steak to choose from including: an 18 ounce t-Bone, a ten ounce Filet Mignon, a bleef and bleu Filet Mignon and an 18 ounce bone-in Ribeye. In addition to steak, other offerings on the menu include: Spring Lamb Chops, Beer-Battered Seafood Ravioli, Chicken and Rib Combo and Beef Stroganoff. If you go to Jim’s for Sunday dinner, check out their Fried Chicken special, it’s some of the best Fried Chicken in town!
Cheeseburger Rating
Three and a half Wimpy’s, an excellent and delicious cheeseburger!
Jim’s Bistro
4612 N Prospect
Peoria Heights
309-682-9219
Further reading: Trip Advisor, Urban Spoon and menupix.
Happy Birthday to Gene and Danny!
MBIP contributor Gene Rubbico’s birthday is today, so happy birthday to you Gene! Have about 2,799 drinks for me! And last week, Danny Madness, MBIP’s maddest commenter celebrated a birthday and there was a special video made for him on facecrack. Read all about it at his latest blog post here. Happy birthday, guys!