We had a visit to Broken Tree Coffee way back when MBIP was in its infant stage. Now that we’re approaching puberty, I thought we’d stop by again, because I just heard that they now have food, including homemade pizza! And how handy is that seeing that we’re in our 22nd week of a year long pizza parade. Time to march this parade over to the corner of Main Street and Sheridan, pronto!
Here we are at the aforementioned corner of Sheridan and Main at Broken Tree Coffee. This place was the original Running Central store, which moved to Peoria Heights in 2011.
The sign says, “open,” so let’s go in and let this 22nd week of pizza begin!
It looks great in here, let’s belly up to the bar.
I forgot to add in the introduction that not only do they serve food in here now, they also serve beer and mixed drinks. I got a can of Pabst and it’s served up by pretty Anna who has been working here about a month. Things are certainly looking up in here! I had a good time last visit, but this looks like the start of a wonderful evening!
That honeybear behind the bar brings back fishwrap SMiLE memories!
Suddenly...coffee cups!
These window booths look out onto Main Street.
There’s more booths opposite the bar, lined up against the brick wall.
There’s always local art for sale in Broken Tree. These are prints by Tom Osunsami A.K.A. “Big Tom” and they are selling for 15 bucks a print.
I really like this one. A black and white study in stripes.
Check out the pizza wall back here, yet another Peoria place selling pizza by the slice, I see a trend developing here!
Sadly, the pizza racks were empty. Oh no, does this mean we’re going to have to improvise and go elsewhere? I was just getting comfortable in here!
Luckily, the owner of Broken Tree, Jeremiah stepped up to the plate and said he’d bake a fresh pie for us to sample! Here he is showing us his pizza oven, nice!
Nothing but state of the art pizza making supplies in here.
Jeremiah immediately starts working on the dough.
The crust is formed and homemade sauce is generously ladled on top with tender, loving care!
Next comes fresh mozzarella cheese.
And then some secret ingredients, hey Jeremiah can’t give away all his secrets online, and a layering of pepperoni completes this pie.
Boom, into the oven it goes!
Okay, I’m going to get out of Jeremiah’s way and let him watch the pizza. Hey, let’s go check out the hot sauces over there in the window...
Two staples: Sriracha and of course, Frank’s hot sauce, the yellow generic mustard of this pizza tour.
I love this, it’s a chalk drawing of Bill Murray’s character from the movie, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.” Jeremiah did this drawing, very cool!
Another thing I love in here is the vintage paperback book rack that brings back drug store memories from decades ago.
Here’s a shot from the back of Broken Tree Coffee. Let’s go see who’s sitting at the bar over there...
It’s Tony, who works here and is enjoying some off time at the other side of the bar. I invited him to have a slice of the pie and he happily agreed. Very cool, we’ve got a little impromptu pizza party happening here. And I apologize to Tony for the fuzzy picture, still trying to come to grips with this new camera.
This side of the bar has all the coffee stuff and a cooler that has a wide selection of beer...
And this side has glasses and all the mixes and makings for mixed drinks.
Jeremiah just brought out tonight’s pizza pie, fresh from the oven, very impressive! It looks and smells great!
We now begin the cooling process, which is very important if you’re not a fan of scorched roof of the mouth.
Jeremiah told me this is his own variation of a New York style of pizza and it’s really delicious. The crust is crispy on the outer side, but it has a nice texture as well. And the sauce is really the standout star here, a lot of times the flavor of the sauce doesn’t come through, but it shines here. Wonderful pizza!
And now it’s a day later and it’s time for our cold pizza test. The weekly inventory shows the Red Stripe is just about gone, we’ll need to fill that corner soon, I’ll keep you updated about that soon. Stay tuned!
I love the individual slice boxes that you get at Broken Tree, time to dig in...
It’s delicious! Thanks to Jeremiah and everyone at Broken Tree Coffee for a great night of pizza pie and hospitality. We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Pizza Rating
Three and one quarter Chef Boyardees—A tasty pizza with wonderful homemade sauce and a nice crust. A nice addition to Peoria’s pizza emporiums.
Broken Tree Coffee
700 W. Main St.
Peoria
309-648-1439
Related Posts: YOP @ Hoops Pub & Pizza, Oliver's Pizza & Pub North, Rizzi’s on State, Bacci Pizza, Veterans Pub and Pizza, Larry’s Driftwood Pizza, Norwood Pub ‘N’ Grub, Barrister’s Pizza and Pub, 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.
The lights turned on,
And the curtain fell down,
And when it was over,
It felt like a dream.
Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!
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