There’s a writing technique referred to as, “The Rule Of Three,” and basically this rule states that things grouped in threes make for a more interesting presentation, headline or a speech/writing structure. If you haven’t ever heard of this rule of writing you can read more about it by clicking here, here and here.
Rather than explain this rule more, I thought it would be better to show you it practiced live on a Thursday night with some of my friends and frequent guest stars here on MBIP. So, to start off this magical evening of three, I guess there’s no better way to introduce it than: “Lights...camera...action!” Yeah, yeah, yeah.
One: Margaritas @ Kathy and Steve’s House
The first stop on this trifecta of Thursday trips is to Steve and Kathy’s house that we visited back back in May. My friends, Amber and Joe picked me up, so it’s only fitting that the three of us walk up the stairs to start this magical, triple-play of an evening!
Here we are inside of the kitchen and since we’re going to be having Mexican food tonight, Kathy made up a pitcher of margaritas to get us in the proper south of the border mood. Check out the Jose Cuervo margarita salt, I love that!
We decided to hang out on the porch and have a few pre-dinner cocktails. There's the group pictured in the bottom photo, from left: Joe, Amber, Steve and Kathy. It was a nice time with conversation running the gamut from Christmas gift traditions, to religion, to a dueling bar crawl between Amber and Joe and their neighbor to Sam Wong working nude. The topic of Sam Wong working nude always brings the conversation to a screeching halt, so it was off to our second destination of the evening...
Two: El Zarape Mexican Food
I was excited about eating at El Zarape, I haven’t been here since Matt Buedel and I had lunch here back in May of 2013, so I’m quite overdue! I love that bench in front of the window by the way!
We grabbed a booth by the window and our pretty server, Lily came around to take our drink and dinner orders. She wasted no time in bringing us some fresh chips and salsa and as the drinks are served, I had to go and take some pictures and do that MBIP thing I do! So here I go!
There’s a shot from the back of the restaurant and check out the El Zarape Cactus Man on the walls on either side of the front room! I love that and check out the last photo, that guy is having a little interaction with the Cactus Man and it’s moments like this I treasure while roaming around with the MBIP Camera! And check out the numeral to the right in the last two photos...The Rule Of Three has spoken!
Back by the counter, I got a photo of Lily with Patricia, who I had taken a photo of when I was back here in May! On the wall by the front counter is a collection of origami dollar bills and a horse painting that reminds me of a scene from Goodfellas. “One goes one way...the other goes the other way.” And check out the last photo, it’s the owner of El Zarape, Edgar posing with his girlfriend, Patricia! I met Edgar on my last visit and it was great to see him again! Everyone in here is really friendly and they make you feel at home in their restaurant.
And I think we better return to our booth, because I have a feeling dinner is about to be served!
Here it is, dinner at El Zarape! Everything here is cooked fresh and Edgar told me that the recipes have been handed down in his family. We all really enjoyed the different dishes and Edgar sent over complementary fried ice cream at the end of the meal! Very nice!
After dinner I went up and took a walk over to the bar area which is located opposite the main dining room. The bar is really nice and as you can see there’s a large selection of beers there in the cooler. And as I took a shot from the back of the bar room, I saw a nice parting shot to end our dinner portion of the evening in true Rule of Three style in the painting on the wall there! Thanks to LIly, Patricia and Edgar for a wonderful meal and evening at El Zarape! Now on to the third and final stop of the evening at...
Three: Royal Hookah
I saw this place when I did my Taste of Hunts post earlier this week and it was closed. I made a mental note to return in the evening and check it out and it looks like tonight is the night. Let’s go in and see what’s happening in here tonight, at what I believe is Peoria’s only hookah bar!
Kathy and Steve decided to call it a night after dinner, so it’s the three of us, Amber, Joe and I ending the evening in a true Rule of Three moment! It’s nice in here and the atmosphere reminds me of a combination of a cigar bar meets a hotel lobby. You make your order up at the front counter and there’s a menu there. Since Amber is the only one of the three of us to have ever been in a hookah bar, she chose the apple flavor and Ahmed, the friendly man behind the counter, took the order and delivered the hookah to us.
We met Luke when we first came in and he invited us to sit and visit with him as we tried out our hookah pipe experience. Luke told us he’s in town as part of a traveling nurse program and he’s working for a few months at OSF. Luke’s from Valparaiso, Indiana and said he was enjoying his time so far in Peoria. He's a real nice guy and we had a nice chat about different spots to visit while he's in town.
And now it’s time to try out the hookah experience! Luke said he’s been smoking hookah’s for a while and said that first time smokers might experience a little bit of a buzz on their first try. We all took turns taking a few puffs and it was relaxing and a different way to wind down an evening.
In the end, we have a picture of three. I had to do it, it’s just the rules! Thanks to Amber, Joe, Steve and Kathy for hanging out for the evening and to everyone at El Zarape and Royal Hookah for the nice hospitality and it was a pleasure to meet Luke! Enjoy your stay in Peoria! And remember, three’s a charm! Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’ll see you all tomorrow!
El Zarape
911 N. Western Avenue
Peoria
309-495-9400
Royal Hookah
2027 W Farmington Road
Peoria
309-989-0801
Related Posts: Thursday Night @ Jerry’s Bar and Mike’s Tavern, Chef & The Baker and Hangovers.