Okay, we’re up to Haddad’s Downtown on our tour of eating Main Street. The last time I ate there I met Steve Tarter for the debut of the “Lunch With...” series here at MBIP. And so I thought we’d meet Steve for lunch again and see what he’s been up to since we last had lunch with him here in February of 2013.
We are Main Street bound on 1-74. Vroom, vroom!
After a little trouble finding a parking spot, we’ve arrived on Main Street and Haddad’s is just down the block there. We’ll be there in seven seconds.
See, I told you so!
I got the Gyro last time and I’m thinking about that pork chop sandwich today. Along with Michael Jackson, it is the other white meat after all.
There’s outside seating, but I prefer to sit inside at the corner table in the window. We sat there last time and I like to think of it as my table. So there.
And so, it’s in we go.
There's Amy, who was our pretty waitress the last time we were in here. Amy’s really friendly and a great waitress, I told her I was early and she said I could take my time in getting a table. Let’s take a little look around in here before we sit down.
The kitchen is ready for the lunch rush hour!
Order up!
Here’s Rita doing duty at the kitchen. Rita owns the restaurant with her husband Andy. It was great to see her and I love her smile and friendly demeanor!
I was going to sit down at my usual table and someone’s already taken it! Let’s go see who these table-hijacking thugs are!
It turns out it’s Bob and Clyde. Clyde said he reads the blog and follows the MBIP facecrack page, so I’ll resist being upset that they took my table...but I do have to give out a little bit of a grrrr to them. “Grrrrr!”
We’ll just sit at this table over on this side. And I want to note that the mural on the wall is done by my friend, Chris Holbrook.
Grrrrr!
Amy’s brought my iced tea and she’s also brought a surprise in that bowl there, what could it be?
It’s a bowl of Mostacoli that Rita sent back for me! They do catering here and they had two events going on today and this was some extra Mostacoli that Rita sent for me to sample. Rita told me that the catering side of the business is really taking off. They can cater any size party, baby or wedding shower, special events, or wedding reception and if you’d like to stop by and do a tasting, just call and make an appointment. Check out more details here at their website: Haddad’s Catering.
I finished the Mostacoli and it was so good, the meat sauce was unbelievable! And now, Amy brought some more food to sample, green beans and cheesy potatoes! I’m going to be full before Steve gets here!
Speaking of Steve, he was supposed to meet me here at 11:30AM and as you can see by my dumb phone, he's seven minutes late! I'll give him till 11:40 and then I'll be forced to start typing some really nasty things about him!
And just as the clock struck 11:39AM, Steve shows up! It's a real Bonnie Raitt, Nick of Time moment!
Amy came and took our orders as this lunch has officially begun. Ringo, sound the luncheon drum, please!
It was fun catching up with Steve, some of the topics we talked about included Peoria, Main Street, the PJ Star and blogging. Check out Steve's blog that he writes for the PJ Star right here: Minding Business.
Before we knew it, the food started arriving! I got a salad to start out with and it looks great. The salad dressing here is homemade and delicious.
Steve had to outdo me by ordering this huge Mediterranean salad. Is that crazy big or what? Of course this led Steve to gloat that his salad was bigger than mine. I tried to tell him that size doesn't matter, but he was having none of that and continued to gloat about his big salad, so I just let him have his moment in the sun.
Okay, I'll see that Mediterranean salad and raise you this pork chop sandwich!
Amy suggested I order it with pickles, onion and barbecue sauce and she was right, it's a great sandwich. They season the meat and it's really a tasty and unique pork chop sandwich.
Steve ignored my sandwich and continued to brag about the size of his salad. Just look at that smug, salad eating face of his!
Steve made a pretty good dent in his salad, but in the end, that's as much as he could eat. That salad could feed a small army!
Steve got it to go and said he'd take it back to the PJ Star and feed the rest of the newsroom with it.
I thought about getting a takeout box for my leftover pickles to share with the MBIP Contributors, but decided against it at the last minute. I'm taking them out to lunch in a week or so and there's no need to spoil them.
Okay, Steve, we've seen enough of your big salad for one day! Sheesh! Thanks to Rita, Amy, Steve and everyone at Haddad's Downtown for a fun and delicious lunch! We'll see you all tomorrow!
Haddad’s Downtown
319 Main Street
Peoria
309-495-4700
facecrack page
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