This week we hit double-digits on our Year In The Life Of A Sandwich food tour! It’s week number ten and on this tenth week of sandwiches, we’re going to a nearby town I’ve yet to visit here on MBIP: Canton, Illinois! And we’re traveling there with two people that have never been guest stars here on MBIP, so with out any further adieu...not that there’s really been any adieu before this, but well, you know what I mean...anyway, here’s...
Artie and Sandra! Artie and I both worked at Fleming Potter decades ago and Sandra moved here from Indianapolis a couple of years ago. And now the three of us are off for a sandwich in Canton, Illinois! Funny how these things just fall together here at MBIP! As you can see, there’s a decent cloud coverage overhead and before you know it, there’s the signpost for Canton and we’ve pulled into Picco’s Restaurant!
Check out the sign, how did they know we were coming? Very nice!
Alright, here we are in the parking lot. As you can see, there’s an outside BBQ area over there, but it’s pretty hot outside, so we’re going inside and enjoy the air-conditioning!
There’s the front dining area and it’s nicely decorated, but we’re drawn to the bar in the back area! We settled into a table opposite the bar and met Gabby, who’s our pretty server for the afternoon. Gabby told us that she recently graduated from Canton High School and took our sandwich order. So now it’s time for me to wander around with the MBIP Camera, as most of you know by now, it’s what I do!
The bar has a nice marble top to it and there’s the dueling beers on tap in the center of the bar. Off to the left is a Sopranos pinball machine and a beer sign that delves into the whole is the glass half full or half empty philosophy. This is why I just drink beer out of bottles or cans and avoid the whole glass conversation. The last two photos feature a signed baseball jersey from a Chicago White Sox player named, Buehrle, which would really be exciting if I knew who he was, but I don’t, so I guess we’ll just move along here!
There’s a beer garden just outside of the bar and it’s nice and spacious with a wooden deck and a personalized PIcco’s grill out here! It’s also hotter than hell, let’s get back inside, pronto, Tonto!
Alright, we’re back in the comfort of the air conditioning and here’s a shot of the dining room from the other end of the room. There’s another dining room in the back and I’m guessing you can probably rent it out for parties, but I didn’t ask as I won’t be having another party till 2017, so I’m safe for a while!
Meanwhile, back at the bar, I met Steve Picco, who’s the owner of PIcco’s. Picco’s has been a family restaurant here in Canton for over three decades now! It was started by Jerry Picco, who built the restaurant in 1983 and it originally had 48 seats. It’s grown to a popular full restaurant and bar with 148 seats and is going strong with a great reputation for great homemade food! There’s Sandra and Artie and I think it’s time to switch to a table now because...
Here’s Gabby with our food orders!
Sandra got the breaded chicken breast sandwich and Artie got one of the restaurant’s specialties, the homemade tenderloin! We also got a basket of fries for the table. As you can see, the portions here are more than generous! The chicken sandwich is huge and the tenderloin is bigger than the head of Alfredo Garcia!
Those sandwiches look great, but here’s the star of this week’s Year In The Life Of A Sandwich Tour! Steve told me that while the tenderloin is probably the most popular sandwich, the steak sandwich is also very popular and since I’ve kind of had my fill of tenderloins, I went with the steak sandwich and after seeing it plated up, I’m not disappointed! It looks fantastic!
The steak sandwich is a generous cut of perfectly marbled Rib Eye steak and it’s grilled to perfection and I got it topped with cheddar cheese and grilled onions. The steak was juicy, tender and tasty and the toppings added a nice rich balance to the sandwich. And what really made it special for me was the bun. It was buttered and grilled and it really made it special. A wonderful and tasty sandwich for this tenth week of the sandwich tour! I didn’t think I could eat the whole thing, but I polished it off!
Artie didn’t have as much luck finishing off his tenderloin, but he did a really good job! Sandra had part of hers left too, so...
They got some to-go boxes and we were back on the road! Thanks to Artie and Sandra for driving and hanging out for the afternoon, I look forward to doing this again with you two! And thanks to Jerry, Gabby and everyone at Picco’s for some great food and hospitality! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Sandwich Rating
Three and three quarters Dagwood Bumsteads—All of our sandwiches were delicious, but I highly recommend the steak sandwich, especially if you’ve spent twenty weeks eating tenderloins before this!
Picco's Pit Bar-B-Que And Steak House
310 W. Division Street
Norris, Illinois
309-647-0178
Related Posts: A Year In The Life Of A Sandwich @ The Fox Pub, Leonardo’s/La Gondola, Castle’s Patio Inn, Kuchie’s On The Water, The 50’s Diner, Donnelly’s Pub, The Mix Sandwich Works, Nacho Mama’s and Jim's Steakhouse.