Live, from Peoria, It’s Friday Night Cheeseburger, with your host Two25 in the Mark Twain Hotel and featuring the Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now, please welcome, from the heart of beautiful downtown Peoria in the Mark Twain Hotel, your host, Two25!
We're going to the bar in the Two25 restaurant which is located here in the Mark Twain Hotel in downtown Peoria. And I feel a little off my cheeseburger game because it's Friday night and I usually do this on Saturday. I'm doing it tonight because I have a wedding to go to tomorrow and I doubt there's going to be cheeseburgers at the reception. And so it's on we go with this special Friday night episode of Saturday Night Cheeseburger.
The entrance to the restaurant is on the side over here...
I've never been in here, so let's go in and see what it's like in the Two25.
Kind of fancy in here, I think I spy the bar over there, let's go check it out.
They have new beer at the bar, but I think I'll stick to my old Bud Weiser!
Very nice in here, it's a dark wooden square bar held together by four brick pillars.
Plenty of seats over here, let's snag one and start this edition of SNC on a Friday night.
Here's that Budweiser I mentioned a couple of pictures ago, served up by Shane, the friendly bartender on duty.
Tim was standing on the other side of the bar. He told me he's a regular here and a good friend of Shane's. Cheers!
Here's the view from my perch at the bar.
Wine glasses hang overhead...ooohh, sparkly!
Leather padded booths line the wall behind the bar.
The liquor bottles are lit up and standing attention behind the bar.
A large, wooden church-pew like railing stands opposite the bar.
They have nine beers on tap here, here's four of them...
And here's the other five, I think they may get a decent rating from Spike, but time will tell!
Meanwhile, back at the bar, Shane is toiling away.
Alright, the condiments and silverware have been placed in front of me and they give you not only a cloth napkin but a paper one as well. Nice touch!
And here's the star of the show, tonight's cheeseburger. Let's take the top off and have a look at it.
I had called this in over the phone because the kitchen closes at 10PM and asked for grilled onions. They don't look grilled to me. I also asked for cheddar cheese, but they were all out of that, so I settled for Swiss cheese. The lettuce looks a little limp. Looks like I"m not the only one off of my game tonight!
A fuzzy photo of a fuzzy cheeseburger. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but it wasn't the best thing either. You can read more about it in the review below. Note to self: Never go out for a cheeseburger on a Friday night again.
Suddenly...corks! See you all tomorrow.
My Cheeseburger
While this wasn’t the most memorable cheeseburger I’ve had in my cheeseburgerly travels, it wasn’t terrible. It was a little on the bland side and not a lot of taste, but as I said, it wasn’t terrible. The french fries were a little limp as well, but I really did enjoy having a couple of beers in the bar itself. It’s a nice little hideaway which wasn’t too crazy on a Friday night, which was perfect for me.
In Two25’s defense, the cheeseburger really isn’t the house specialty and they only serve them at the bar. They offer up six styles of steak dinners including: a Bone-in Ribeye, Filet Mignon, New York Strip Steak and a New York Steak Fromage which is a 16 ounce charbroiled hand-cut New York Strip Steak covered with smoked bacon and blue cheese and drizzled with a port wine reduction. Wow, that sounds amazing, I think I’ll get that next time! There’s also housemade pizza and several pasta dishes to choose from on the menu.
Cheeseburger Rating
One and a half Wimpy’s. I need to order the New York Steak Fromage next time!
Two25
225 NE Adams Street
Peoria
309-282-7777
Further reading: Mark Twain Hotel, Foursquare and facecrack.
Bonus Wedding Photos!
The reason I had to go out on a Friday night for my cheeseburger was that my niece, Mary Beth Burroughs got married to Matt Segebart last Saturday and they weren’t serving cheeseburgers at the reception. I wanted to enjoy myself at the wedding and reception, so I hung my Marty Womblogger persona for a day and just took these three following pictures.
I went with my parents so I wouldn't get a D.U.I. after the reception. Don't they look nice?
The wedding was at St. Mark's Church in West Peoria and the roof didn't collapse as I walked in the doors, a modern-day miracle!
And here's the happy couple, Matt and Mary Beth striking a very nice MBIP pose for the camera! Congratulations and much love and happiness to both of you!