The other week when I was at Jimmy’s Bar I ran into Joe Slyman, the owner and Executive Chef at Adams Street Cafe & Catering and we had a nice chat. I realized then that it had been three years since I’ve been there! I knew at once what needed to be done. I needed to go there for a sandwich and there’s no time like the present, so let’s make tracks to the Adams Street Cafe!
Here we are at the Adams Street Cafe located on Adams Street, where else? As you can see, the special of the day today is the Turkey and Swiss Wrap, but we’re not here for a wrap...well, at least not until the end—we’re here for a sandwich! So let’s go in and begin week number 32 in our year-long quest for sandwiches in and around Peoria!
We’re past the lunch hour, so the crowd has died down in here and that’s Roger behind the counter. I asked if Joe was in and he shouted back in the kitchen and told me he was back there so I went back and there’s Joe! He’s busy making homemade Cranberry Mayonnaise, so we’ll leave him alone until he’s all done. That’ll give us some time to take a little self-guided tour in here!
And the tour begins out here in the front dining room. Ouch, it’s bright out here! As you can see from the large chalkboard on the wall, they have an extensive menu in here and there’s full-service breakfast and lunch items available such as: Eggs, Bacon, Omelets, Breakfast Sandwiches, Grilled Wraps and Panini’s, Deli Sandwiches, Steak Burgers, Soup, Salads and Specialty Sandwiches. There’s also fresh baked pastries, muffins and brownies up here in the front display case!
There’s more tables and a counter to sit at over here on the side and there’s shelves filled with fun vintage knick-knacks to look at while eating in here. Pat was seated at the end of the counter enjoying some soup and an Italian Sub Sandwich, which looks delicious! Pat works with MBIP pal, Bobby Spears at the courthouse and there’s a special sandwich that they make in here only for Bobby, it’s called: “The Bobby Spears Wish Sandwich.” It consists of two slices of bread and Bobby wishes there was some meat in between them. Oof! (HT to the Blues Brothers, Rubber Biscuit!)
There’s also seating upstairs in this room up here. It’s really nice and there’s comfortable chairs along with a table that seats ten. You can reserve this room for no charge for a business meeting or a social luncheon, just call and make a reservation in advance. What a deal! There’s a nice view of the cafe from up here and I think I see Joe down there. He must be done with his kitchen duties, so let’s go down and get cracking on this week’s sandwich!
Here’s Joe with Murph, who manages Richards On Main. Murph told me that Richards is currently up for sale, so if you’re in the market, give them a call! Here’s their facecrack page. Adams Street Cafe is the oldest family-owned cafe in downtown Peoria and to prove this point, there’s Joe with his daughter, Sarah and his son, Michael! Great to meet both of them and now, hold on to your socks if you happen to be wearing any because—it looks like it’s sandwich time!
I told Joe I wanted to try the New York Sloppy Joe, which is one of eleven specialty sandwiches made here. Joe said he was going to make it a special way and if I liked it, he was going to offer it to the public, but you have to order it, “MBIP style.” Here he is getting the bread ready. He uses rye bread for this sandwich and it’s slathered with mayonnaise, Russian dressing and butter. Then we head over to the grill for...
The meat and cheese portion of the sandwich! The sandwich has generous slices of corned beef and roast beef and Joe is grilling those up. Then he’s added Swiss, Provolone and Pepper Cheese on top of the meat and covered them for the melting process. So far it smells wonderful back here!
Okay, now the cheese covered meat is off of the grill and Joe is assembling the sandwich. He’s adding the meat and cheese to the bread and in the middle he’s put a pile of homemade cole slaw! How beautiful does that look? Now at this point I thought the sandwich was all ready to go, but no, there’s another step before it’s done! Keep on scrolling!
Joe’s adding butter to the outside of the sandwich and then he pressed in this grill! Check out the toasted grill marks on the bread! If it tastes half as good as it looks, this will be one tasty sandwich! Okay, it’s all cut, let’s go sit down and start in on sandwich number 32!
I decided to sit at this table and here’s Joe with the sandwich all plated and ready to eat. I can’t wait to dive into this sandwich!
Wow, this sandwich looks out of this world! And it comes with their homemade potato chips and these chips are crispy and are really great chips! They should think about marketing these! And now on to the sandwich! I took one bite and it was so delicious! There’s a ton of flavor and consistency in this sandwich, it’s like a savory buffet between two slices of rye bread! The Corned Beer and Roast Beef are tender and succulent and the cheeses are rich and creamy. The cole slaw adds a nice flavor and crunch and the bread is toasty and buttery! This is really a taste of New York in Peoria, Illinois! I’ve eaten at the famous Katz's Deli in New York on Houston Street many times and this sandwich is just as good, if not better than anything I’ve ever had in there! You should definitely come here for lunch and try it out! And make sure you order it, “MBIP style,” to get the toasted version of this sandwich!
Well, this was a great sandwich week and my thanks to the crew here, up top from left they are: Emilee, Roger, Sarah and Michael! And thanks to Joe for taking the extra time and effort with the sandwich! Adams Street Cafe and Catering is open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 2PM and I highly recommend you stop in and try the NY Sloppy Joe, MBIP style! Okay, that's a wrap...no wait, that was a sandwich...uh...well, whatever. We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Sandwich Rating
Four Dagwood Bumsteads—The New York Sloppy Joe at Adams Street Cafe is one of the tastiest and most unique sandwiches in Peoria, make sure you order it MBIP style for the full toasted effect! It’s a real taste of New York in Peoria, Illinois!
Adams Street Cafe & Catering
107 SW Adams Street (near Main Street)
Peoria
309-637-0022
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