When MBIP Contributor and pal, Scott Turley and I went to the Lucca Grill in Bloomington, he told me about a pizza pub he had been to in Deer Creek and we decided to make a pit stop there on the way home. So we stopped and we met the owner of the pub and her name is Anita Szoke Rickgauer and it turns out she used to work as a writer for the PJ Star and we know a lot of the same people from the paper. And so it was decided that we’d have a pizza party (the first of what I hope will be many on this pizza tour) at Barrister’s Pizza and Pub and you’re invited! As always, this road trip begins with a knock at the door...
Three knocks...could this be the elusive Tony Orlando...maybe Dawn will be with him! Oh the excitement that is building...
I should’ve known, whenever there is a road trip looming, MBIP pal and Contributor, Scott Turley magically shows up at MBIP Headquarters to generously provide transportation.
After a quick pre-party Budweiser at MBIP Headquarters we are off to a land known as Deer Creek, Illinois!
And through the magic of the interwebs, we is here at Barrister's Pizza and Pub. Wow, Scott is in a hurry to get inside, he either is extremely thirsty, in a hurry to get away from my blathering mouth or has to desperately go to the bathroom. Or it could be all of the above...you make the call!
As soon as I walk in I'm met by the crew from All Smiles Dental Care! From left: Peggy, Dr. Nguyen, Amber and Danielle. They not only provide wonderful dental care and are great party guests and very pretty ladies, but they are extremely punctual, a quality that I appreciate as much as steaming underwear fresh out of the dryer. Great to see all of them, time to get this party rolling!
Here's the friendly owner of Barrister's Pizza and Pub, Anita behind the bar. Anita opened Barrister's three years ago and the anniversary is this week on May 7th, however the anniversary party will be held sometime this summer. Stay tuned for details on that. And I think Anita definitely in the running as the prettiest bar owner we've seen here on MBIP so far!
This is Dave who's a regular at Barrister's. I met him the first night that I was there with Scott and it turns out that we've both hung out with The Untamed Brothers and lived to tell our tales.
The sign says to try their new Hawaiian Breeze...
And so that's what I did! Here's the lovely and friendly Angie serving one up. Angie not only was the bartender on duty, she was our waitress and did a great job.
Barrister's is a long shotgun type of space and we've set up camp all the way down there. Let's see who's shown up in addition to the All Smiles Crew...
There's Bob "The Whale" Miller hoisting a drink and whooping it up. If you missed Whale's last MBIP post, you can check it out here.
And here's yet another MBIP Contributing Writer, Brandon Hovey with his pretty wife, Amanda. Brandon has written a book entitled: "Thuringer: The Officer: Volume I." It's available in print and in Ebook format for the Kindle, I'm going to buy my copy today and suggest you do the same. Support local authors!
Speaking of local authors, here's Terry Towery who's working on the final edit for his book, The Final Victim, which will then be placed on submission by his literary agent, Laney Katz Becker of Lippincott, Massie, McQuilkin Inc., in New York City. Seated next to Terry is his cute wife Jennifer and they're hanging out at the table with Anita. All three of them used to work for the PJ Star and are reunited at this MBIP pizza party and it feels so good.
Okay, the party is getting underway, time to check back here in the kitchen and see if any pizzas are being cooked yet. After all, the operative word in "Pizza Party," is pizza, isn't it?
Here's Jack who does the cooking here on Sundays and is placing the first pie in the oven! Jack's mother and father, Nancy and Verne worked at Fleming Potter when I did and I remember them well. And now, I think you know what that means...time to cue up, "It's A Small World After All."
Quite a decent crowd has shown up for the party and we've filled up four tables and fun is being had by all! And so far, no one has set anyone else on fire so all is well with yours, mine and ours.
Right after I took that photo, MBIP pals, Michelle and Todd showed up and took a seat at the table with their friend Cara who's visiting them from Salt Lake City. Not pictured is their friend and car saleswoman, Angie because she refuses to visit Michelle and Todd (I hope I got that right!) Moments after this picture was taken, all three of them set themselves on fire in a tribute to The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
Here's a shot from the back of the bar.
Uh oh, I think I see a late arrival down there at the end of the table...
It's yet another MBIP pal, Matt Buedel! Matt and Anita worked together at PJ Star and Matt still works there. Matt's currently at work on a story about someone who's opened up a fake Fibber McGee and Molly account on Friendster and the police are probably knocking that person's door down at this very moment and then the waterboarding process begins. Matt, Terry and I are in the planing stages for another, "Sombrero Time" moment and that led Anita to point out all the hats that are hanging behind the bar.
Anita explained that when they first opened the bar they put up a Cardinals and a Cubs hat behind the bar, to be fair to fans of both of the teams.
Well, that led to someone bringing in a hat, which led to more doing the same and as you can see the bar is loaded with hats of all kinds. Anita said some people have even brought in boxes of hats for them to choose from!
Right now the total of hats behind the bar is over 150 and growing! Anita said this has led to the bar putting this line on the back of their t-shirts: "Barrister's—Where Everyone Comes To Hang Their Hat." Hat's off to Larry!
Danielle's on her 17th Hawaiian Breeze and is in the middle of an impromptu drum solo on an invisible drum set. Go Speed Racer...go!
Okay, I've been so busy running around taking pictures that I've kind of neglected the pizza part of this party and so now let's focus on that. The hot sauce du jour is Lousiana Hot Sauce and they bill themselves as, "The Perfect" hot sauce. That's a pretty bold statement!
And here's a pizza pie, fresh out of the oven! It looks fantastic!
This is really delicious pizza! The crust is thin and crispy and the toppings are all made fresh in-house. The sauce is tangy and tasty and we ended up eating five pies total. (Two cheese, two pepperoni and one sausage for those of you keeping score at home.)
Bloody toe alert! That's not nail polish coming out of Amber's middle toe, that little piggy is bleeding! It seems that Justin Glawe was seated under the table, smelled the fresh pizza and mistakenly thought Amber's middle toe was a piece of pizza and chomped down on it. I think someone put something in Justin's drink and I'm pissed that no one put anything in mine. Rod the Mod was right, some guys do have all the luck!
Oh no...Justin's risen above the table and seconds after this photo was taken he was chewing on Steve's cell phone!
The regulars at the bar are unfazed by the excitement over at our tables.
Alright, we subdued Justin and bandaged Amber's foot and now it's time for another exciting match of the MBIP versus All Smiles Dueling Business Cards! And tonight's match is a a tie! The first time that's ever happened!
Okay, everyone else has left, but there's always some people that never know when to leave and those four people are: MBIP pals, Kathy and Steve, Yours Fooly and MBIP Roadmaster, Scott Turley.
Eventually we finally called it a night and now it's the next day and time for the cold pizza challenge!
It's delicious! Thanks so much to Anita, Angie and everyone at Barrister's Puzza and Pub and to all of you who made the trip to the party! It was a ton of fun and I thank all of you for showing up and adding to the good times! We'll see you all tomorrow!
Pizza Rating
Three and a half Chef Boyardees—Wonderful pizza and good times await you in Deer Creek at Bannister’s Pizza and Pub, stop by and enjoy the fun to be had there. And bring a hat to hang at the bar!
Barrister's Pizza and Pub
123 E. 1st Avenue
Deer Creek, Illinois
309-440-1023
Related Posts: YOP @ Mickie’s Pizzeria, Double A’s, Lucca Grill, Avanti’s, Leonardo’s, Lou’s La Grotto, Knuckles Pizza, Davis Bros. Pizza, Kenny’s Westside Pub, Dave’s Pizza, Peoria Pizza Works, Sugar and Agatucci’s.