Live, from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night starring this week’s host, Jim’s Steakhouse with special guest stars, Ben A.K.A. B Löwd, Terra, Gayla, Mike and Nick. Now please welcome from beautiful downtown Peoria, this week’s host, Jim’s Steakhouse!
It’s hard to believe, but its been almost two years since we started the MBIP Vegetarian dining series that was suggested by Ben Lowrey. Ben is a vegetarian and he contacted me via facecrack suggesting I spotlight some places around Peoria to enjoy a meatless meal now and again. That idea sent the two of us going to 13 places for vegetarian meals and all of them were delicious and fun dining adventures.
We decided that after the last vegetarian meal, Ben would take a break from vegetables and have a meaty meal to end this vegetarian series. Well, time flew by but we’re finally going to have what I’m calling a “Greet And Meat” edition of Saturday Night dining with Ben and there he is ready to head out on this meaty evening. Ben is a DJ and music producer and you can hear some of his music here and follow him on facecrack by clicking here. His most recent music production is for the band Blind Colors and you can hear the results of that production by clicking here.
I thought the perfect place for Ben to have this meaty meal was at one of Peoria’s best steakhouses, Jim’s Steakhouse. I called in advance and talked to Chef Todd and he said he’d work up a special meat menu for tonight, so let’s go in and get ready to greet the meat!
Jim’s Steakhouse has such a cool old-school steakhouse vibe to it and you feel it from the moment you walk in. One thing I could spend hours doing in here is looking at all of the photos on the walls of people who have visited Jim’s through the years. Just a trio of them are Elton John, Peoria hometown hero, Dan Fogelberg and Warren Zevon. As we made our way to the host station we were greeted by Terra, who took us to our table.
There’s the elegant dining room and shortly after we sat down, Gayla brought us a drink and Chef Todd came out to say hello and he said he had a three course meaty dinner all planned for us! The evening is off to a wonderful start!
In a addition to the classic dining room there’s also a wonderful, chic bar on the other side of the floor. It really feels like an old-school New York steakhouse bar in here and I love the mirror and guitars behind the bar. Mike was doing bartending duty and there’s the quartet of beers on tap in the middle of the bar.
They have live music in here at the piano bar and this jazz trio was making some great music and tunes come alive in the bar!
As I made my way back to the table I ran into Nick Comfort, who’s grandfather first opened Jim’s Steakhouse in 1960 and you can read the history of the restaurant right here. Nick’s father Tim runs Jim’s now and Nick and his sister Kristin are poised to be the third generation to take over Jim’s when Tim decides to retire. Nice to know that Jim’s Steakhouse will continue on its fine tradition of great food and a place for fine dining in downtown Peoria!
When I got back to our table the first meaty entree had mad its way to Ben and myself. Chef Todd prepared an appetizer of Steak Bruschetta and there’s Ben digging into it! Ben said he does stray from his vegetarian dining now and again and this was a great start for his meaty break from vegetables. The bruschetta is slices of garlic toast topped with sirloin steak, crumbled blue cheese and tomato slices. This is an appetizer but it could really be a main course and it was so tasty and delicious!
And here’s Gayla with the main course, a trio of beef medallions topped with three different sauces. There’s also roasted mushrooms, asparagus and slices of red pepper. It looks absolutely amazing!
We also got an order of Lyonnaise potatoes and it was such a delicious dinner! You can read more about it in the review below, but this was such a wonderful mix of meat, sauces and the potatoes and vegetables complimented the entree superbly!
Ben said it was a real meaty treat and a nice break from his vegetarian dining!
And for the third and final dessert course, Chef Todd made us Cherries Jubilee. This was a fantastic dinner at one of Peoria’s legendary restaurants! Thanks to Chef Todd and everyone at Jim’s Steakhouse for a wonderful dinner and evening and thanks to Ben for joining me and surrendering to a meaty dinner! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Our meaty meal started off with an appetizer of Steak Bruschetta which really could be served as an entree! It’s slices of toasted and buttery garlic bread topped off with juicy steak, tomatoes and crumbled blue cheese. The steak was tender and juicy and tasted so good as it blended in with the crunchy garlic toast, tomatoes and the blue cheese added a nice sharp flavor to the mix.
The trio of beef medallions were so tasty and savory and the sauces included bearnaise sauce, hollandaise sauce and a blue cheese sauce. The steak was tender and juicy and the different sauces gave each serving a unique and delicious flavor. We also got an order of Lyonnaise potatoes, which are pan-fried, crispy and flavorful and topped off with thinly sliced grilled onions.
Even though we were stuffed after that meaty meal, Ben and I still found room for the rich and creamy Cherries Jubillee that came at the end of this meaty feast!
SN Rating
Four Galloping Gourmets—I've never had a a meal at Jim's Steakhouse that was less than a four star dining experience and this meaty meal prepared by Chef Todd was no exception to that rule!
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110 SW Jefferson Avenue
Peoria 309-673-5300
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Related Posts: Saturday Night @: Lou’s Drive-In East Peoria, Shogun Japanese Restaurantand Davis Bros. Pizza.