I’ve had more than one person tell me I should stop in at Whitey’s Tip Top Inn and try the homemade pizza there. I didn’t know they made their own pizzas there and it’s been a while since we last stopped in at Whitey’s, and so it’s off we go for our 42nd stop on this cheesy pizza tour!
We're traveling up Sheridan and Whitey's Tip Top Inn is straight ahead on the next block.
And here we are at a Peoria Institution, Whitey's Tip Top Inn. I've noted before that you can walk in the front door over there....
But if you know what you're doing, you walk in through the side door over here. And that's just what we're going to do!
There's a good crowd at the bar tonight, but I see a spot there in the middle to get a beer, so let's go take advantage of that while it's open.
And here's Nicole serving our first beer of the evening up. She definitely is the prettiest bartender at Whitey's (sorry Tony) and maybe the prettiest bartender in town! Check out that smile and she's super-friendly too! This is a great start to the evening!
Here's a shot of the back of Whitey's Tip Top bar.
Alright, here's the man himself, Whitey, the owner of Whitey's Tip Top Inn. Always great to see Whitey, I remember drinking with him in here decades ago before he was the owner. This night we shared memories of Phil the bartender who served me my first beer in here when I was 16-years-old and carrying a fake ID. The Tip Top has some great memories for me and it's always fun to come back here and reminisce.
It's a family affair tonight! Here's Whitey with his daughter Kristy and his son-in-law, Jon. I hope I have these names right, I lost my notes for the evening and I'm relying on my memory, which doesn't always serve me correctly. If I screwed this up, please let me know via email or comments and I'll correct it with an update!
One thing I love about doing this blog is discovering new things around town and although I've been going to the Tip Top for over five decades, I never knew they had homemade pizza here. And so tonight we're going to give it a try. I just placed my order...
And here's Whitey back in the kitchen getting ready to assemble this weeks pizza pie.
Whitey starts by ladling a generous amount of his sauce onto the pie...
I ordered the Supreme, which comes with sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onion and green pepper.
And the last thing added is a mountain of fresh mozzarella cheese.
And into the oven it goes. Whitey said it takes about 15 minutes for this to cook in his pizza oven, so we'll wander around for a little bit while it's cooking.
Behind the bar there's two islands to hang out and rest your drink at in here.
Behind the islands are three black circular tables...
And lining the back wall is a classic shuffleboard table that's been here for years and is still in great shape.
A vintage scoreboard hovers above the table.
Here's a shot of this classic Peoria neighborhood bar from the back corner.
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen it looks like Whitey is sliding the pie out of the oven.
The pizza is cooked and Whitey is slicing it up.
The bar's too crowded to eat at...
But Whitey set up a nice spot at the island behind the bar right here. I spy three hot sauces to choose from...
Two of the usual suspects are here, Frank's and Sriracha but there's also Tapatio, a nice change up sauce and it's what I'm going to use tonight.
There it is, pizza number 42 of this year's tour. And it looks mighty tasty!
I've taken two pieces and placed them on a plate to begin the ever-important cooling process which allows us to get another beer and more importantly...
Snap another photo of the lovely Nicole!
Whitey's pub pizza is really a wonderful pizza treat! The crust is thin and crispy, the toppings are fresh and tasty and the sauce has a great flavor to it. If you're like me and didn't know Whitey's served up fresh homemade pizza, you should definitely stop in and try one out or get one to take home.
The pizza at Whitey's is twelve inches and it's filling. I got the outer portion done, but we'll save the inner pizza for tomorrow. Cue up Joe Walsh as we head into the next day...
And tomorrow has suddenly become today as we get ready for this week's cold pizza challenge...hey, how did The Monkees get back there in the MBIP craft beer corner of the fridge? I really need to keep a closer eye on things around here, For Pete's Sake!
It's delicious! Thanks to Whitey, Nicole and everybody at Whitey's Tip Top Inn for a great night, we'll see you all tomorrow!
Pizza Rating
Three Chef Boyardees—A great pub pizza in an iconic Peoria tavern!
Whitey's Tip Top Inn
2601 N. Sheridan Road
Peoria
309-688-8049
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