Live, from East Peoria, it’s Saturday Night, starring this week’s host, Lorena’s Mexican Restaurant Bar & Grill. So please welcome, from across the river, Lorena’s Mexican Restaurant Bar & Grill!
Here we are at Lorena’s Mexican Restaurant. It’s located in the Riverside Center shopping area and I found out it’s been here about ten years. From what I’ve read online it’s locally owned and has authentic Mexican food in here, so let’s go in and check it out!
There’s the front foyer and that archway leads into the main dining room, but I think since I’m dining alone this week we’ll head into the other archway entrance which leads to...
The bar! It’s a nice highly polished wooden bar and as you can see, I’ve got my choice of seats, so let’s get settled in and start our Saturday night!
That’s Owur who’s the friendly bartender for the evening with a giganzo margarita! They don’t skimp on the drinks in here! He also put out complimentary chips and salsa. This night is definitely starting out nicely!
There’s the lit-up bottles behind the bar and the quartet of beers on tap. There’s also two frozen margarita machines back there just waiting for Jimmy Buffet to stroll on in.
I got a couple of appetizers to start the Saturday night meal off. I got an order of their Queso Cheese dip which is served warm and it was rich, creamy with just a little bit of spice to give it some kick. I also got an order of hot chicken wings. You don’t see chicken wings on many Mexican restaurant menus, so I wanted to try them out. They were really hot and pretty much your standard chicken wings but then I had a magical idea, why not dip them into the Queso cheese dip? I dipped and it really made them tasty and unique wings, the cheese played well with the spicy wings and they were a taste treat!
Okay, while the main course is being prepared, let’s take a look around in here. There’s tables lining the walls opposite the bar and a nice, colorful Mexican mural painted on the wall.
There’s two communal tables in the back of the room and more paintings on the walls and on the tops of the tables as well. This is a colorful place and it really makes for a nice atmosphere.
There’s another large table in the front of the room and yet another painting on the wall.
As you can see the main dining room is spacious with lots of tables and booths line the far wall.
I love all the paintings on the walls in here!
Meanwhile, back at the bar, I think it’s just about time for the main course!
And there it is! I got the Ranchero Cheese Steak from the special entree menu. As you can see, it’s huge and comes with rice and beans, I wisely told them to hold the beans and just got rice. Let’s look inside of the tortilla.
Wow, it’s loaded with sliced steak, grilled onions, lettuce, chopped tomatoes and a warm nachos cheese sauce! This is so tasty! The steak is seasoned nicely and the warm cheese sauce really adds richness to it. Very delicious and satisfying. There’s lots of other tempting items on their large menu, so I’m definitely going to have to come back here and sample some more. This was a nice discovery! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
I started the meal off with two different appetizers and ended up combining them to make cheesy chicken wings and I highly recommend this combination to start your meal off!
I continued the cheese theme with my main course which was the Ranchero Cheese Steak. This is like a humongous soft taco taken to new and delicious heights! The steak is sliced thin and seasoned perfectly. It was juicy and tender and the warm nacho cheese sauce added a nice creamy richness to the mix. There was also lettuce, grilled onions and chopped fresh chopped tomatoes which added flavor and some crunch to the meal.
SN Rating
Three and a half Galloping Gourmets—This is authentic Mexican cuisine and the menu is loaded with selections. I’ll definitely come back to sample some of the other items.
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Lorena’s Mexican Restaurant Bar & Grill
422 Riverside Drive (In Riverside Center)
East Peoria
309-698-6960
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Related Posts: Saturday Night @ Agatucci’s, Novu Sushi and New Amsterdam.
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