Live, from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger starring this week’s host, The Fieldhouse Bar & Grill and featuring the Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now, from Main Street in Campus Town, please welcome this week’s host, The Fieldhouse Bar & Grill!
Okay, I just got off work and here we go up Main Street. The Fieldhouse serves food till they close at 2AM, so I didn't have to call ahead and place my order in advance this week.
Here we are at the Fieldhouse. This place opened up in 2009 and I've never been here, but I've heard good things about the bar and the food they serve.
Let's go in and see what happens tonight.
The bar is pretty well filled up, but I spy one seat over there on the left between the guy in the striped shirt and the woman in the tye-dye t-shirt. Let's go snag it.
Soon as I settle in, Ryan the friendly bartender serves me up an ice-cold bottle of Budweiser.
As I was drinking my beer at the bar, one of the pretty waitresses on duty approached me and thanked me for doing a post about her dad. It turns out that this is Kevin Kelly's daughter, Mary. If you missed the post I did about Kevin's jewelry store you can revisit it here. It was great to meet Mary!
Here's the view from my seat at the bar. Looks like they've got a nice set of taps behind there, let's take a closer look.
I like the pointed head tap. It looks like something from Harry Nilsson's "The Point."
There's round wooden tables directly behind the bar.
This board features the Saturday Night specials.
The monthly specials are written in colorful chalk on the wall that faces the bar and dining area.
The Fieldhouse has a sports theme to it and framed sporting jerseys hang on the wall.
I'm wondering if that Spalding golf jacket is from Spalding High School, but I'm guessing it's not. I could ask, but I'd rather guess, so there!
Well now, that's quite a big ticket that hangs on the wall in here.
The front of the room houses this large dining area.
There's wooden picnic tables in here where you can sit at and enjoy the food and casual atmosphere.
Wooden tables line the front of the room and you can look out the windows at Bradley's Campus Town in full swing on a Saturday night.
Wooden booths line the far wall of the Fieldhouse dining area.
Meanwhile back at the bar, life goes on and drinks are served.
I wasn't sure what this sign meant, so I went back to my seat at the bar to ask about the meaning of it.
I asked Ryan about the sign and he called Dan over, who's the manager of The Fieldhouse. Dan told me the sign is from a customer who made a play on words from a sign that hangs in the Notre Dame locker room. The sign says, "Play Like A Champion Today," and the football team touch the sign as they head out to the field. The customer adapted this saying to, "Danage Like A Champion Today," because he refers to Dan as, "The Danager." Well now, I'm glad we cleared all that up!
Okay, the table is set, the condiments are out, which means it's just about...
Cheeseburger time! I got the Hermann Melt burger which is served on Texas Toast. I've never had a cheeseburger that's housed between Texas Toast, so this is pretty exciting. I also added bacon and cheddar cheese to the burger which is normally served with just Swiss cheese.
Here's the burger unveiled. It comes topped with a special sauce, which, after I tasted it, I felt needs a little more zip to it...
So I added some mustard and pepper to the mix.
That's one delicious cheeseburger. I also got the sweet potato tater tots which were very good as a side dish. I ate them with ketchup.
After a beer for dessert, it's time to head out the door and head on home. Thanks to Ryan, Mary and Dan for great service and hospitality at The Fieldhouse. We'll see you all tomorrow.
My Cheeseburger
I got the Hermann Melt burger. One of the reasons I chose it is because it comes packaged with Texas Toast rather than a bun and I’ve never had a cheeseburger with Texas Toast. The burger is normally prepared with Swiss Cheese and topped with their housemade “secret sauce.” I decided to up the ante and got mine with both Swiss and cheddar cheese and also added bacon to the mix. It was a great burger and I liked the Texas Toast which was toasted, tasty and bakery fresh. The burger was made from a half pound of Alwan’s beef and was succulent and juicy. My only complaint is that the special sauce could be a little more...well, special. I think it’s just Thousand Island dressing. I zipped it up by adding mustard and pepper. All in all, a very satisfying cheeseburger.
There’s eleven burgers total on the menu including: A Bleu Burger, a Cowboy Burger, the Devil’s Sweat and one called, The Thang which is a burger topped with American cheese, a fried egg, bacon and grilled onions and it’s served between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Bring your Tums if you order that one! There’s also tacos, wraps, pizza and a variety of chicken wings to sample on the menu.
Cheeseburger Rating
Two and a half Wimpys. A satisfying and tasty cheeseburger.
The Fieldhouse Bar & Grill
1200 W Main Street—CampusTown
Peoria
309-494-9600
Further reading: PJ Star, Peoria Night Out and facecrack.
