Live from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night starring this week’s host, Richard’s On Main and featuring special guests, Jen, Don, Eric, Adam and The Bogart Jones Band! Now please welcome this week’s somewhat rain-soaked host, Richard’s On Main!
Okay, I had plans this weekend for a Saturday Night meal and also to do my sandwich thing and both of them got rat-fucked by this goddamned rain that hasn’t let up since Friday night! I usually don’t mind rain, but this is that chilly-ass, windy kind and it’s really been an unpleasant weekend. There’s flooding happening and the place I was going to has closed early and it’s a little late now so I’m going to a place close by where I work to do my post from, it’s right up here on Main Street and it’s open late here in Peoria. It’s one of my “go-to” places when I’m running a little late on a Saturday night, so it’s of we go!
And here we are, I decided to go right up the hill on Main Street to Richard’s on Main. I have three late night “go-to” places when all else fails and those are Kenny’s Westside Pub, Ulrich’s and Richard’s on Main. All of them have kitchens that are open past midnight and tonight I realized it’s been a couple years since I’ve done a post from Richard’s, so here we are. See how this works?
One note of caution before you come here on a late Saturday night, there’s a steep stairway to travel down, so if you’ve been imbibing earlier in the evening, you may want to put a helmet on as these stairs are brick and painful to fall down. Not that I’ve ever tumbled down them, I’m just putting a warning out there! Safety first and well, I hate to do this, but...earworm alert! Okay, let’s go in now.
It’s nice and dark in here and I always like the feeling of being in a basement down inside of Richard's. I saw a familiar face seated at the bar and it’s my friend Don who introduced me to his friends he was hanging out with on this rainy-ass Saturday night. From left: Jen, Eric and Don. They’re all musicians and Jen, Eric and Don have a band called Rachel’s Hippo and you can see more of them by clicking right here. Don also told me that he’s playing guitar in a band called, The Bogart Jones Band and they’ve recorded a CD. The rest of the band wasn’t there on this Saturday evening, but I just happened to find a photo of them online, so let’s just leave Richard’s for a minute...
And join The Bogart Jones Band at this cool photo from a show at The Limelight! You can hear more of the band at their website and facebook page. Their new CD is called, 14th and Willow and they’ve played shows and music festivals with Blues Traveler, 38 Special, Vince Neil, Los Lobos, Molly Hatchet and many others. They’re on the Summer Camp line-up Memorial Day weekend and you should order their CD right now! I just did! Okay, back to Richard’s on Main! (Photo by Front Row Perspective / Mike Macmillan.)
There’s a dining area on the other side of the bar, but I thought I’d just plop down at my usual area at the end of the bar. As I did I was greeted by Adam, the friendly bartender on duty! I ordered up my Saturday Night meal and was finally forgetting about all that chilly-willy rain outside! I might just spend the night here! And you can if you want to, they’re open till four in the morning! Oh and I love how the hand on the menu is pointing to my hand! It's the little things in life like this that bring so much goddamned joy to all of us!
I love the tin ceiling in here and check out all the beers available on the Devon McGlone drawn chalkboard over here.
Here’s a shot of some of the beers from the board on tap behind the bar with a nice whiskey selection above them. This is such a cool painting over here tucked away at the other end of the bar. It’s got quite a bit of history behind it and you can read about it right here.
I love this vintage hockey foosball table up near the front of the bar.
In addition to the historical Carrie Nation painting, there’s also some beautiful vintage Peoria photos hanging on the brick walls in here.
If you’re in the mood to travel down even more stairs, this basement bar and pub has a another room below it! There’s pool tables down here, a jukebox and another bar with a TV.
Meanwhile, back upstairs at the bar, it looks like it’s just about time for our Saturday Night dinner to happen...
Whoomp, there it is! Richard’s has a large menu and they’re open for lunch all the way into the wee small hours of the morning if you have a late night appetite or craving. I took Adam’s suggestion and got the Cajun Smothered Chicken Breasts. I also got a twice-baked potato and the meal comes with Texas Toast. I love it when a meal is supplemented with surprise Texas Toast!
The Cajun chicken was really tasty. The chicken was juicy and it’s covered with fresh sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions and it’s topped off with a thick layer of melted pepper jack cheese. The chicken has just enough Cajun seasoning and spice to add a little zing, but it doesn’t leave you with a burning mouth. The twice baked potato was covered with melted cheddar cheese and was warm and filled with comfort on this rainy evening! And the Texas Toast? I love it when a meal is supplemented with surprise Texas Toast! I know I said that already, but I’ll do whatever the fuck I feel like doing, it’s my blog after all, so there!
The only downside to eating and drinking at Richard’s is those stairs that we came down are now facing the opposite direction and it’s all uphill from here! Oh well, at least the rain has somewhat stopped! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
There’s a lot of choices on Richard’s menu from appetizers to sandwiches to burgers to fresh pizza. I got the Cajun Smothered Chicken Breast dinner with a twice baked potato and it was a great meal for a chilly, rainy Saturday night. The chicken had a nice cajun seasoning flavor that went well with the mushrooms and onions that topped it and it was a nice mix with the melted pepper jack cheese on top of the boneless chicken breasts. The twice-baked potato was covered with cheese and it was warm and satisfying. And there was a surprise, Texas Toast also came with the meal! I love it when a meal is supplemented with surprise Texas Toast!
SN Rating
Three Galloping Gourmets—If you’re in search of a late night snack or a full meal, Richard’s is a great landing spot. Plus you might just get surprise Texas Toast if you play your cards correctly!
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311 Main Street
Peoria
309-674-8007
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