Live, from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger, starring this week’s host, Mango Fondue & Lounge and featuring the Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now ladies and gentlemen, please welcome this week’s host, Mango Fondue & Lounge!
We are off and rolling at a high-paced 51 MPH! Yes, I feel the need for speed tonight! And speaking of tonight, I should give full disclosure here, it's not really Saturday night, it's Friday night. This Saturday is my Uncle Bob and Aunt Judy's 50th wedding anniversary and they're having a party to celebrate it, so I can't do my cheeseburger thing then, so I'm doing it now. And there's yet another sticky wicket attached to tonight's blog. This year I'm going back to the place I went a year ago for a cheeseburger and getting something else. Well, last year at this time I went to Sully's bar and sadly, Sully's bar is now closed. So I've decided to go to Mango, the last time we couldn't get in somewhere it worked out so well by going there, I thought we'd do it again, so it's off to Mango we go!
Here we are at Mango Fondue & Lounge, this is quite an impressive building that looks out at War Memorial Drive, let's go in and see what's shaking.
I made a beeline for the bar and there's plenty of seats since it's close to closing time in here.
Here's Bethany, tonight's pretty bartender on duty serving me up an ice-cold bottle of Budweiser. They have a large selection of craft beers on tap, which you'll see soon, and she generously offered to let me try a few samples, but I told her I'd just stick with my old Buddy Weiser for the evening. Maybe we'll try something different next time.
Moments after the beer was served, the lovely Relyn stopped by to say hello. We met Relyn on our last visit and she's a loyal reader of MBIP, which I truly appreciate. She said her shift was ending soon, so we may see her at the bar in a bit, stay tuned to see if that does indeed happen!
Here's those craft beers on tap, I mentioned earlier. They also have over a dozen craft and import bottled beers and over a half dozen domestic bottles to choose from.
As I noted on our last trip here, there's tables and booths back here in the lounge area for dining, but there's also something new here...
There's a stage that they've built opposite the bar! I love the wooden floor and the exposed brick wall that faces it. The stage is still a work in progress, but soon there's going to be live music happening in here and I'll let you know when it starts. Two words that you know all too well sum it up: Stay tuned!
Here's the spacious dining room. Tables are lined up in the center and there's booths facing them and off to the left...
And there's also booths to the right of the tables in here. And there's even more booths lining the front wall with windows looking out to War Memorial Drive.
And that's exactly where I found this party enjoying some chocolate dessert fondue. I left my notebook at the bar so I didn't get their names, but we'll refer to them as the "Fondue Four."
Meanwhile, back at the bar...
Bethany pointed out that there's a cheeseburger special going on tonight. Cheeseburgers aren't part of their normal menu, it's just something they're trying out tonight. I was tempted to try one, but I had seen Swedish Meatballs on the menu and I really wanted to try those, so that's what I ordered. Plus, after over three years of eating cheeseburgers every Saturday night, I'm kind of burned out on them. Here's my very first Saturday Night Cheeseburger back on April 4, 2010, when I was doing the 365 bars blog. I went on to continue the Saturday Night Cheeseburger tradition with my blogs, Marty After Dark and Tripping With Marty. That's a lot of cheeseburgers!
Here's Anthony who we met on our last visit here to Mango. He heard me order the Swedish Meatballs and gave me a thumbs up and said it was a wise decision.
Remember I told you that Relyn was about to end her shift and she was going to be hanging out at the bar, well that time has come and she ordered up the mushroom and Swiss cheeseburger and it looks so good! Maybe I'll get back on the cheeseburger train next time I'm in here.
And here she is with her dessert of a glass of Guinness. She said the cheeseburger was really tasty and we had a nice chat at the bar. Relyn told me she had stopped in at Los Jimadores the day after I put up last week's post about my visit there and she heard several people talking about the blog in there. That's very cool and I hope this tradition continues with people trying out Mango after reading this, the food and atmosphere is really fun in here.
Speaking of fun, here's Austin striking a pose for the MBIP camera! Everybody working here at Mango is a lot of fun and you can tell they truly enjoy being here, which adds to the great atmosphere and vibe in Mango.
We didn't meet Taylor last time we were here, so I had to get her picture on this visit. What a pretty smile!
Check it out, here's Bethany with the Swedish meatballs!
I love the presentation of the meatballs which are standing attention in a pool of homemade gravy. I think I made a good choice!
Wow, these are so tasty, you can read more about them in the review below, but I definitely made the right choice!
As I finished up my dinner, the owners of Mango, Don and Beatrice came over to say hello and chat for a little bit. They told me they were in the back working on a Milk Chocolate Fountain that they're going to be presenting at this year's Taste of Peoria, this Wednesday, August 13th. That definitely sounds like something worth checking out! It was great to see both of them and I appreciate them taking the time to stop by and visit with me.
The last time I was in here I got a full course fondue meal and it filled me up so much I didn't have room to try one of the dessert fondues, but tonight I've got room and here's Bethany firing up the fondue pot.
I got the "Snickers" Chocolate dessert fondue. It's a pot of melted chocolate, caramel, peanut butter and topped off with chopped nuts just waiting for us to start the delicious dipping process.
And speaking of the dipping process, check out the variety of items that you get to dip into that river of melted chocolatey goodness!
I thought I'd start off with a piece of pound cake. It looks good but check it out after...
It's been dipped into the vat of melted chocolate. Once again, you can read more about this in the review below, but it's crazy good!
Next up, I thought I'd give a marshmallow a dunk in the tank...
It's not often that words fail me, but this is one of those times, this is so delicious! They have a dozen dessert fondues on their dessert menu including: Turtle Chocolate, Irish Coffee and Chocolate, White Chocolate and Cookies N' Creme. I'm tempted to start a blog devoted to eating one of these every day for a year!
Hey, what's this...
'80's flashback moment! Thanks to everyone at Mango for another fantastic meal and for a super fun night! We'll see you all tomorrow!
My Meal
Last time I went to Mango I tried the fondue and ended up so full I couldn’t indulge in one of their dessert fondues, which sounded fabulous, so this time, I thought I’d get a lighter bite off of what they call their “regular menu,” and then try the dessert fondue. It was a tough choice trying to figure out what to order. There’s lots of tempting and tasty sounding dishes including: Ribeye Steak Kabobs, Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp, Ban Chan Dumplings and Buffalo Chicken Tartlets. I love Swedish Meatballs, so when I saw them offered on the menu, I had to give them a try. They arrived and they did not disappoint. The presentation was nice with a half a dozen of the meatblalls lined up on a long serving plate garnished with fresh greens and standing in a pool of homemade gravy. The meatballs are ground in-house and they have a nice savory taste with gouda cheese stuffed in the middle of them. The melted cheese and creamy rich gravy were a nice counter balance to the flavorful meatballs.
This time I wasn’t so stuffed after dinner, so I went ahead and ordered one of the dessert fondues they serve at Mango. I got the "Snickers" fondue which is melted chocolate, caramel and chunky peanut butter with nuts sprinkled on top. The pot of melted heaven comes with a large plate of items for dipping including: mini cheesecake slices, pound cake, pretzel rods, strawberries, pineapple, marshmallows and more. This fondue is borderline decadent and words fail me to properly describe it, you just need to go and try it yourself. One of the best desserts in Peoria and beyond!
SNC Rating
Four Galloping Gourmets—This is one of Peoria’s most unique and interesting restaurants. It’s fun fondue and a whole lot more, you really need to check them out! And don’t forget, Mango’s part of Taste of Peoria this Wednesday. The “Taste” starts at 4PM along the riverfront and goes until 11PM.
Mango Fondue and Lounge
1818 W War Memorial Dr
Peoria
309-966-1415
Related Posts: SNC @ Last Chance Bar & Grill, McMahon’s Pints and Plates and Salt.
Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!
------------------
Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary To My Uncle Bob and Aunt Judy!
As I stated at the beginning of this blog, last Saturday night we celebrated my Uncle Bob and Aunt Judy’s 50th wedding anniversary. It was a great party and it was wonderful to see all of my cousins, friends and relatives at the party. Happy 50th anniversary, Uncle Bob and Aunt Judy! See you at Thanksgiving, if not sooner!
------------------
Today’s post was brought to you by Jimmy's Bar. Check them and all the other fine businesses helping to support this blog over at the MBIP Bucket List Page. Your Daily Random Linkage awaits you at the bottom of the that page as well!
------------------