One place that I definitely wanted to include in this chicken wing tour is Mud Puddle Pizza. We went there for our Year Of Pizza tour and met the entertaining owner Jeff Hickerson and had a some great pizza at this restaurant and brewpub. Mud Puddle Pizza also serves up chicken wings, so I thought we should head back there and sample those and so it’s off we go for our ninth week of wings!
And here we are in East Peoria at Mud Puddle Pizza.
Happy hour alert!
Okay, let’s go in and see what’s happening at Mud Puddle Pizza!
Hey, look who’s waiting to meet us at the door, the owner of Mud Puddle Pizza, Jeff Hickerson! Jeff’s a great guy with lots of fun stories and it’s great to see him again!
The MBIP camera fuzzed out on this shot of the bar that’s located in the front of the restaurant. HATE the MBIP camera!
Okay, this is a better shot of the bar, hating the MBIP camera just a little less right now. Let’s snag a stool and get settled in.
Here’s Jeff behind the bar, with bartender Turner. I mentioned that I had never met someone named Turner and Jeff said when she first started he remembered her name by thinking of Bachman Turner Overdrive. I told him it made me think of the first solo Mick Jagger recording, “Memo From Turner.”
Jeff not only brews his own beer here, he also makes housemade root beer and I had to try it out, here’s Turner serving up a large mug of it with a beautiful smile!
The root beer is delicious and this is my view of the back of the bar where I’m seated.
And now it’s time to place the wing order...
Mud Puddle has two styles of chicken wings, Buffalo and Honey Spice, so I ordered five of each. While those are being prepared, let’s take a look around in here.
Jeff’s a musician and there’s live music in here many nights. You can check their facecrack page for information on that. This wall features a photo of jazz musician John Coltrane flanked by pictures of The Beatles.
Here’s the front dining area...
Complete with a stage up in the front of the room for the live music I just told you about.
Look like Pete Townshend has played here!
Here’s the other dining room which is located opposite the bar area on the other side of the building.
This mom and her three daughters were in town from Bloomington and stopped in for dinner. She told me that she found the place by typing “pizza” into Yelp and Mud Puddle Pizza was the first thing to pop up. They’re on the second stage in this room and her daughter wanted to hold the Hannah Montana guitar and I documented this blessed event!
Meanwhile, back at the bar, you can sample Jeff’s homemade beer for 50 cents a glass, such a deal!
And here’s the taps for the four styles of beer that’s brewed on the premises. There’s also domestic and imported beers for sale at the bar
Here’s an article about Mud Puddle Pizza from the East Peoria Times-Courier. I couldn’t find this article online, but I did find this one written by MBIP pal and editor of the East Peoria Times-Courier, Jeanette Kendall.
The wings are about to be slid into the wood-burning brick oven that Jeff built himself and he said we could watch as the wings slide into the fire.
This is the oven that Jeff built himself after researching how to do it online. The temperature in the oven soars to about 1,000 degrees! Impressive!
Here’s Tim, who’s getting the fire ready and now...
The wings are being slid down into the wood-burning heat.
And there they are cooking away. Let’s go back to the bar and get ready for this week’s winged feast!
Okay, the table’s all set and Tim said the wings would be ready soon. Which is good because I’m starvin’ just like this guy over here!
Alright, that didn’t take long, here’s Tim serving up the chicken wings!
Wow, they look and smell fantastic!
These are the Buffalo Wings...
And here’s the Honey Spice flavored wings. They both look amazing!
The ever-important cooling process has begun, which allows me to...
Have a second mug of the homemade root beer. This root beer is worth the trip alone, really tasty!
The chicken wings are off the charts good! Jeff told me that they smoke them for hours and then cook them in the wood burning brick oven as people order them. There’s definitely a smoky taste along with nice combination of spiciness and a unique flavor that comes from that one-of-a-kind wood burning oven in here! Really great wings to be had in here!
Weekly bones and napkins shot!
Just as we were getting ready to head out the door, Jeff’s pretty wife Sue showed up and it was great to meet her! Thanks to Jeff, Sue, Turner, Tim and everyone at Mud Puddle Pizza for another great night of food and fun! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Chicken Wing Rating
Four Wings Guitar Picks—If you want some tasty and unique tasting wings, head over to Mud Puddle Pizza for their delightful smoky and tasty wings.
Mud Puddle Pizza
(Open Wednesday Through Saturday—4PM to 9PM)
222 Meadows Avenue
East Peoria
309-699-4287
Related Posts: Twelve Weeks of Chicken Wings @ The 50’s Diner, The Country Club, Boss Hogg’s, Norwood Pub & Grub, A World Of Wings, The River Side Cafe in The Embassy Suites Hotel, Kenny’s Westside Pub and Agatucci’s.