Well, we’re just about to the end of this year of sandwiches! It’s actually been over a year if you count in the week’s I’ve taken off, including next week, which I’ll mention at the end of this blog. But for now, it’s time to go to one of the oldest diners in Pekin, Andy’s Diner. And we’ve got someone driving us there this week. Let’s go meet our driver and head off for sandwich number 51!
Our driver today is none other than the owner of Acme Comics, Bob Gordon! Here are heading into Pekin and there’s Andy’s straight ahead!
Wow, talk about a classic diner! Everything from the sign to the roadhouse look of this place just screams, “old school diner!” Let’s go in and take a look at the inside of this place.
There’s a front counter and a spacious dining room where you can see that Bob has already picked out our table. Even though it’s just after one, it’s empty because it’s near closing time here at Andy’s Diner. Staying true to the old school roots, they even keep old-time diner hours in here, they open at six in the morning and shut down at two in the afternoon. We got here just before closing time.
That’s Jamie, our friendly and pretty waitress for the day. we scanned the menu, checked out the sandwich selection and ordered. While the sandwiches are being prepared, we’ll take a little look around in here.
Here’s another angle of the dining room and they have a gold record of Elvis’ greatest hits over here on the wall.
I love the 1973 Nixon Pekin Daily Times article! The Pekin Daily Times was the first paper ever to publish and pay me to write for them. You can read more about that right here. There’s some other archival Pekin photos on the wall and a nice quote about Andy’s Diner.
Here’s a shot from the back of the diner and there’s even more photos on the wall back here, including these autographed pictures. Sadly I don’t know who any of these people are, but it’s nice that they got the autographs!
Meanwhile, back at the table, Jamie has placed a quartet of condiments out for us. I love it when that happens!
And here she is with our sandwiches and a twelve million dollar smile!
Bob got the breaded pork tenderloin and it really looks good. Although it’s still hard for me to think about eating one of those after this tour we took a few years ago.
I got Andy’s Steak Sandwich. It’s their version of a Phlly Cheese Steak sandwich and it’s served on toasted jalapeño bread, which I’ve never had and that intrigued me.
The sandwich looks very tasty! It’s made with thinly sliced seasoned steak, melted Provolone cheese and grilled onions. The bread is nicely toasted. Let’s take a bite and try it out!
Wow, this is one delicious sandwich! The steak is really tasty and has a unique seasoned flavor to it it. The grilled onions and creamy melted cheese really add to the mix and the thing that takes it over the top is the toasted jalapeño bread! It’s toasted perfectly and has a nice zing to it and they put a ton of butter on it making it really rich. This is a great sandwich!
You’re welcome! We’ve only got one more week and one more sandwich to go, but there’s a couple of sandwich surprises that will happen even after the 52nd week, so stay tuned for that. But I’m going to New York tomorrow, so the blog will be on vacation until Friday, June 30th when I post all of my vacation pictures! I’ll put up a notice tomorrow and if you’re reading from New York, I hope to see you this week!
Sandwich Rating
Four Dagwood Bumsteads—This is one of the best steak sandwiches I’ve ever had! Get over to Andy’s and try this out, just remember to get there early, they close at two in the afternoon!
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1001 N. 8th Street
Pekin, Illinois
309-347-3370
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