Okay, we’ve got a pretty full schedule today at MBIP! First, we’re finally having the celebratory lunch with the winner of the MBIP Coin-Counting Contest that was held over on facecrack. For those of you who missed it, there was a contest to count the number of coins I had been saving for the last three years, here’s a link to the facecrack page. And below is the receipt from the coin counting and Amanda Decker's winning guess on facecrack.
It took a while for us to get our schedules in sync to have the celebratory lunch at Jim’s Steak House, but today is the day. And then later on tonight it’s the thirds week of the 2015-2016 MBIP Vs. Bartender Armwrestling Tour @ Champ’s West. But first, let’s go to lunch!
Celebratory MBIP Coin-Counting Victory Lunch @ Jim’s Steak House
Here we are at Jim’s Steak House in downtown Peoria, one of my favorite Peoria restaurants.
Somewhat planned obligatory elevator door mirror shot alert!
Here we are in the foyer of Jim’s, one thing I like about this place is that it’s nice and dark in here and it always feels like night time, even in the afternoon. You never feel guilty about day-drinking in this place!
As you can see, the place is decorated in colorful fall decor!
Jim’s is known for its luncheon buffet and I think that’s what I’m going to get today.
Normally I’d make tracks to the bar, but Amanda is bringing her sister Tina and Tina’s son Dane, so we’ll sit at a table like grown adults!
Kristin is at the hostess station and she’s going to lead us to our table!
The dining room is so elegant in here and it really reminds me of an old school steak house in New York City. Gallagher’s comes to mind!
Did somebody say day-drinking earlier? Oh yeah, I did and here’s our pretty waitress for the day, Jessica with an ice-cold bottle of Budweiser.
This is the table I chose for us. All we need now is for the guests of honor to appear...
And here they are! From left: Tina, Tina’s son, Dane and the winner of the coin-counting contest, Amanda! They’re all looking great and it’s great to meet them.
Amanda started the celebration with a birthday cake martini! I have to try one of those on my next visit for dessert!
Tina decided to order off the menu, but Amanda and I decided to graze the luncheon buffet.
There’s lots of choices to be had and you can come back and sample more when you finish your first plate. But you don’t want to get too full...
Because there’s a whole table of tempting bakery-fresh desserts over here!
Here’s our dishes, Amanda and I chose different items from the buffet table and Tina got a Ribeye steak. Everything looks and smells fantastic!
This was Amanda and Tina’s first trip to Jim’s and they really enjoyed it. We had a great lunch and a fun and lively conversation in between bites of wonderful food!
And here’s the MBIP greenbacks for the winner, Amanda! Congratulations, Amanda! Thanks to her and Tina for a really fun lunch at Jim’s Steak House! And there’s going to be another MBIP contest next week on facecrack, so stay tuned for that!
Jim’s Steakhouse
110 SW Jefferson
Peoria, Illinois
309-673-5300
facecrack page
Week Number Three Of The MBIP Vs. Bartender 2015-2016 Armwrestling Tour @ Champ’s West
It’s week number three of the MBIP armwrestling tour and tonight’s bout takes place at Champ’s West bar in West Peoria.
Look, someone’s opened the door for us! How nice and welcoming, let’s step inside, shall we?
It’s kind of quiet in here right now, but there’s some people down at the end of the bar, let’s go down and see what’s going on there.
I know these three!
It’s MBIP friends and regular guest stars, Todd and Michelle!
And here’s bartender Kyle, posing with Michelle! I think that tonight we’re going to have a rule that all people in the photos have to pose with Michelle tonight! That’ll keep her busy and maybe prevent her from stealing all the lighters at the bar!
The first beer of the evening is served up by Kyle behind the bar. He’s also going to be my armwrestling opponent, so keep on scrolling down to see this week’s match!
Here’s Champ’s West own private corner of Wrigleyville!
I love the antique piano over here next to the bar. It’s so cool!
There’s a different special every day and night of the week here at Champ’s West!
Here’s a shot from the other side of the bar.
Booths line the far wall over here in the adjoining room to the right of the bar.
Meanwhile, back at the bar, Spuds MacKenzie looks down at the action going on.
And there’s plenty of action about to begin! Here’s Kyle and I stretching and getting ready for the third bout of the MBIP Vs. Bartender Armwrestling Tour!
It’s Mad Dog Marty versus Cupcake Kyle!
The bell has rung, gentlemen, let the armwrestling begin!
Kyle starts out strong and takes a slight lead here in the beginning!
But I grit my teeth and start to take him down...
Yes, another victory for MBIP! Thanks to Kyle for a nice bout and he gets extra points because he did point out he’s got a bit of a phobia when it comes to armwrestling, so I appreciate him playing along this week!
And now we continue our guest stars pose with Michelle photo series, here she is with West Peoria legend, Bad Brad!
And another shot with Gavra!
We ended the night with a bet. Rachel’s holding a bag of Funyuns and she mocked me for the way I pronounce the name of this tasty snack treat. I put equal emphasis on both the Fun and Yun part of the name and pronounce it FunYuns. Rachel says that it should be pronounced with no emphasis on the Yun part and it should be pronounced as Funyuns. We debated this and then bet a beer on who would agree with each of us. Well, the bar unanimously agreed with Rachel, so I bet her a beer. But I still say they’re all wrong and once again I’m alone in being right, but no one agreeing with me! From leftt: Michelle, Kyle, Rachel, Beth and Todd. It was fun hanging out with everyone and thanks to Kyle for a lively armwrestling match! We’ll see you all tomorrow and hey...let’s be careful out there!
-------------------
MBIP Armwrestling Tour 2015-2016
Friday, November, 2015
MBIP - 2
Bartenders - 1
-------------------
Champ’s West
515 N Western Avenue
Peoria
309-672-2780
Related Posts: Grazing The Buffet @ Jim’s Steakhouse With Special Guests, Ken Zurski and Thomas Bruch and The 2015-2016 MBIP Vs. Bartender Armwrestling Tour @ Fat Albert’s and Mike’s Tavern.
Surprise Link, click on it...I dare you!
---------------------
Emo Philips at the Jukebox Comedy Club!
Yesterday I wrote about how I started my magazine, People of Peoria (later POP) magazine after I was told that: “You just don’t walk in off the street and write for the Peoria Journal Star.” That magazine had a three year run and the last cover story was written by comedian Emo Philips. Emo wrote a great story for the magazine and years later I reconnected with Emo when he was appearing at Caroline’s Comedy Club in New York City.
Well, this weekend I’m going to reconnect with Emo yet again! He’s appearing tonight and tomorrow at the Jukebox Comedy Club tonight and tomorrow! You should definitely go and see Emo, he’s one of the most unique and original comedians out there! Here’s all the details about this weekend's shows: Emo Philips at the Jukebox Comedy Club!