Live from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger starring this week’s host, One World Cafe and featuring the Ready For Prime Beef player, Marty Wombacher. And now, please welcome this week’s host, from the somewhat controversial corner of Main and University, One World Cafe!
We're cruising up Main Street at a blazing 33 and a third MPH. Life in the George lane!
Okay, the MBIP Mobile has been parked and One World is right up the street there.
They've got some great neon in the window here!
Let's go in and see how the place looks after we were here a year ago.
The front section looks the same, let's go find the bar...
There's the bar and I think I spy a familiar face over there...
Check it out, it's Brian who was bartending last year! This year he's enjoying a beer on the other side of the bar. Great to see him again. He told me that One World has been doing great and that they've been busy and they've also been doing a lot of catering business, which I didn't even know they did. They're also taking part of the First Friday celebrations, which I hope to take part of if I can ever get a Friday night off work!
Over on the other side of the bar, Jessie, the pretty and friendly bartender on duty serves up the first beer of the evening. Check out the rings on her fingers...
Coolest rings I've ever seen on a bartender here on MBIP so far! Very nice!
Last year we had a cheeseburger here, let's look at the menu and see what kind of non-cheeseburger-like entrees are available.
They've got chicken and waffles! I've never seen that on a menu in Peoria. In fact the last time I had chicken and waffles was at Sylvia's soul food restaurant in Harlem when I was doing the 365 bar crawl. Well, I gotta try these out!
Here's the view from where I'm sitting, you can see the kitchen through the window over to the right.
As I noted last year, they've got a good supply of beer on tap here. Here's eight selections...
And here's eight more, maybe this week we can get a rating from the tap-master himself, Spike. Haven't heard from him in a while!
There's booths lined up opposite the bar with single bulb lamps illuminating them hung from the ceiling.
I like this piece of art on the wall, it kind of reminds me of this Elvis Costello album cover.
Let's go check out the main dining room over here.
Wow, even at this late hour they've got quite a crowd over here.
It's empty over on this side, I wonder why?
Maybe it's got something to do with this piece of art featuring a cow's ass. It doesn't really put you in the mood to order a steak.
These photos document the history of this corner on Main and University through the years. One World opened up in 1993, the year I moved to New York.
Suddenly...dessert!
When life hands you lemons, put them in a Bud Light picture and take a picture of those sons of bitches!
Meanwhile, back at the bar, Jessie's mixing up a drink...
And dinner is served! But what's that over there on the right side of the plate...
It's sausage gravy. I'm not a big fan of sausage gravy and quite frankly it's making me a little ill looking at it so we'll just put it off to the side.
There we go, that looks much better now.
Hey, check it out, not only do you get chicken and waffles, there's also two strips of bacon on top. That's a nice touch!
It's good and I applaud One World for having this unique dish on their menu, but there is a bit of a disappointment in the meal for me and you can read about that in the review below.
And in the end, all that's left is the sausage gravy. We'll see you all tomorrow!
My Meal
As far as I know, One World Cafe is the only spot in Peoria serving up chicken and waffles. I’ve missed this food combination ever since I left New York City. I’ve had this dish at the legendary soul food restaurant Sylvia’s in Harlem, so I’ve got a pretty high bar for a comparison ratio. The good news about the chicken and waffles at One World is the waffle, it’s homemade, fluffy and really tasty. The bad news about the chicken and waffles is the chicken. They serve it up with two seasoned chicken strips. I was hoping for real fried chicken and it was a little bit of a let down and the seasoning on the chicken didn’t blend too well with the waffle in my opinion. It was good, but it could be improved. They should also ditch the sausage gravy, That doesn’t blend too well into the mix in my book.
SNC Rating
Two and a half Galloping Gourmets—The waffle was outstanding, but they should ditch the sausage gravy and start using real fried chicken, in my humble opinion.
One World Cafe
1245 W Main Street
Peoria
309-672-1522
Related Posts: SNC @ Sky Harbor Steak House, Alpha Bravo and The Last Night At Herold’s Pizza Inn.
Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!
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Bonus Commenter Art By Jaws The Cabbie!
Jaws the Cabbie sent in this piece of art to go along with his comment today. Ha ha ha! Nice one, Jaws, thanks!
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Today’s post was brought to you by The Fox Pub and Cafe. 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!
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