Okay, we’ve had a month break from our 13 month chicken tour, so it’s about clucking time to start this fowl feasting tour again! While Donnelly’s Irish Pub is known for their fine Irish meals like Bangers and Mash, Shepherds Pie and Fish and Chips, they also have an extensive menu with selections ranging beyond the meals inspired by Ireland. They have over a half a dozen chicken selections to choose from, so I thought that Donnelly’s would be the perfect spot to jump-start this finger-lickin’ chicken tour and so away we go!
Here we are at Donnelly’s Irish Pub. It’s a little bright out here for my tastes, so I’ll take a picture when we leave when that nasty sun has set in the sky. It will look better at night, I guarantee you! There’s a good crowd on the spacious patio enjoying the warm weather while it lasts, but I prefer to eat inside, so it’s through the wooden doors we go to begin the 10th week of chicken dining.
As you can see there’s lots of drink and food specials happening here at lunch and dinner time. Right off the bat I see a chicken option I want to try and that’s at the bottom of the Happy Hour sign. Owner Ryan Donnelly has created a new chicken wing recipe called Alabama Wings and I sampled them at this year’s Peoria Wing Fest and they were delicious!
Maggie greeted us at the hostess station with a cute smile and I jokingly asked her if she was named after the Rod Stewart song and she laughed an said she was! We made our way to the booth and our pretty waitress Andrea delivered a trio of beers. And no, I’m not triple fisting it tonight, we have two special guest stars...
My friends and frequent guest stars here on MBIP, Amber and Joe are joining me on tonight’s chicken feast! Amber’s wearing her Lou t-shirt that I got her in Louisville and she looks so pretty in it! We decided on a three course chicken dinner and while that’s being prepared, let’s take a little look around in here.
The bar is up in the front of the restaurant and it’s an impressive marble and wood structure. Connor was doing bartending duty back there and he flashed smile for the roving MBIP camera. As you can see there’s a nice selection of beers on tap and and there’s also a large selection bottled and cans of beer to choose from. You’ll never go thirsty at Donnelly’s!
Communal tables and booths are situated behind the bar.
There’s the large dining room and there was a party happening in the back room. I took a shot of the view of the dining room from the back and I love the Christmas lights that hang year round. Although they do bring to mind this frightening thought: Christmas is just 111 days away. Aaahhhh!
And of course no Donnelly’s post is complete without this photo of this corner table and this caption: Oh deer!
Meanwhile, back at our booth, Amber and Joe are cracking themselves up and...
The first chicken course is served by Andrea! These are the Alabama Wings I mentioned when we first came in. Owner Ryan Donnelly came up with this unique recipe and they have a delicious smoky taste that’s unlike any chicken wing I’ve ever had. Really tasty and juicy!
We just finished the wings and our second and third courses have arrived!
The second course we sampled was their Irish Countryside Fried Chicken. The fried chicken has a crispy, seasoned batter and it’s so juicy and plump when you take a bite. The crispy batter and juicy chicken are a tasty balance and this is delicious friend chicken.
For the third course we ordered the Waterford Chicken Sandwich. Ryan personally recommended this when I spoke with him on the phone. He told me it was his own recipe and so I said we’d try it. I have to confess, I wasn’t that excited about the sandwich when he told me about it on the phone. Personally I like chicken sandwiches, but they’re never something I get too excited about.
Well one look at this sandwich changed all of that thinking! The sandwich consists of a marinated chicken breast, and it’s topped with smokey bacon, sautéed mushrooms, pepper jack cheese and a homemade chipotle mayo.
This was the best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had! The chicken was tender and juicy and the bacon, cheese and fresh mushrooms added tasty layers to the flavor. The bun was toasted and bakery fresh and the homemade chipotle mayo took it over the top! All three of us agreed that this was such a delicious sandwich! Note that both Amber and Joe fell into a chicken sandwich trance while eating this fowl treat. Luckily they snapped out of it moments after this photo was shot!
I told you it would look better when that rotten sun went down! Thanks to Amber and Joe for joining me and to everyone at Donnelly’s for the wonderful service and the delicious three course chicken dinner!
Chicken Rating
Four Dixie Chickens—The Alabama Wings and the Irish Countryside Fried Chicken were so tasty, but I can only pick one of the three courses to rate, so I’m rating the Waterford Chicken Sandwich! It is truly a unique and delicious sandwich that you can only get at Donnelly’s and I highly recommend you get over there and try it out, you won’t be disappointed!
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4501 N. Rockwood Drive
Peoria
309-681-0800
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