Chicken isn’t the first thing that would pop into most people’s minds when you say the words, “Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse.” But they have several fowl entrees on both their luncheon menu and dinner menus.
There’s a signature sandwich on the lunch menu called, “The Johnny,” that sounds tasty and intriguing.
I’m going there for dinner tonight with two special guest stars and I’m going to see if they’ll whip up a Johnny sandwich for me in the PM hours, I”m guessing they will. But now, let’s introduce tonight’s special guest stars!
There they are seated in the MBIP World Headquarters, it’s my friends and frequent guests on the blog, Amber and Joe! They’re both looking fabulous tonight and before you know it, we’re in their car and headed towards Johnny’s in East Peoria!
We’re here! I love the neon Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse sign. It’s sparkly! Okay, let’s get inside as it’s unseasonably chilly out here! I have a fear we’re going to go from chilly to 137 degrees with no spring in the middle, but what are you going to do?
We were greeted at the host station by this gentleman who’s name I forgot to write down, but he was very friendly and welcoming and pointed out the upcoming Mother’s Day Special on Sunday, May 12th. They’re having an all you can eat brunch with breakfast entrees, prime rib, honey glazed ham, cedar plank salmon, assorted dessert items and more!
After checking that out, we ran into Christopher, who’s the Director of Operations here at Johnny’s and he led us to our booth.
We walked down the somewhat circular dining room and baboom, there’s our lovely and comfortable booth. We settled in and checked out the menu.
Patrick was our friendly and energetic waiter and he said that they’d happily make me up the Johnny sandwich! Amber and Joe placed their orders and now while that’s being prepared, let’s roam around a little bit and take some photos of Johnny’s with the trusty MBIP Camera!
There was a large party opposite our booth and they were having a wonderful time at Johnny’s.
I love the bar here that’s bathed in Cyan hues! As I approached I saw a familiar pretty face back there and it’s Katie the bartender! I’ve taken her picture on past visits to Johnny’s and it was wonderful to see her again!
There’s spacious and comfortable banquettes opposite the bar.
Tables line the perimeter of the restaurant and black and white photos of Frank Sinatra and B.B. King hang on the walls.
I’m particularly proud of this photo I took of Marilyn Monroe because if you look real closely in the center you’ll see an obligatory mirror shot of myself in the photo! I love it when that happens!
On my way back to our booth, I ran into Max who remembered myself, Amber and Joe from when he waited on us at a sports restaurant near Grand Prairie that isn’t there anymore. He told us that in addition to his gig at Johnny’s he’s also a realtor for KW Premier Realty. Check out some of his listings here and he also has a facecrack page.
Fantastic to see you again, Max!
Meanwhile, back at the booth, our first course has arrived! We split an order of the stuffed mushrooms and they were just as delicious as they look!
Amber and I each got a cup of the French Onion soup and it was savory and tasty. We both agreed that it wasn’t overly salty tasting like some French Onion Soups can be. The cheese was rich and creamy and the soup was a nice tasty broth with chunks of onions swimming in it.
Now it’s time for the main courses of the evening! Patrick is holding the plate with the Johnny chicken sandwich, but before we dive into that, let’s take a look at Amber and Joe’s dinner selections.
Amber got the Drunken Steak, which is a generous cut of top sirloin that’s been marinated in a house-made Samuel Adams sauce and it’s served with special herbs and a garlic cream sauce. She got an order of garlic mashed potatoes for her side dish.
Joe ordered the Stuffed Pork Chop which is a large chop served on the bone and stuffed with goat cheese, spinach and pine nuts and served with a madera sauce. He also got the garlic mashed potatoes for the side dish.
They both raved about their meals and now it’s time to take a look at my clucking sandwich!
The Johnny is a grilled chicken breast sandwich topped with Johnny’s house-made Caeser Salad, grilled crisp Prosciutto bits and thin slices of tomato on toasted and buttered Sourdough bread. It looks fantastic and I got the cole slaw for my side dish. The cole slaw was prepared perfectly, not too saucy and equal parts sweet, tart and crunchy.
Now it’s on to the star of the eventing, the Johnny chicken sandwich!
Here’s Johnny!
This is such a tasty and unique sandwich! The chicken is grilled and juicy and the Ceaser salad and grilled Prosciutto add great flavor and crunchiness to the sandwich. The toasted and buttery Sourdough bread is the icing on this delicious chicken sandwich!
This is such a nice twist on a chicken sandwich and you’ll only find it at Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse! It’s on the luncheon menu, but it can be had for dinner too and I highly recommend it! Cluck yeah!
The homemade dessert tray looked so good and tempting, but all three of us were too full to sample the sweet treats, maybe next time!
Thanks to everyone at Johnny’s for a great dinner and the friendly hospitality and to Amber and Joe for driving and joining me for dinner! It was tons of funs!
Chicken Rating
Four Dixie Chickens—The Johnny is a wonderful cross-breeding of a chicken sandwich and a Ceaser salad! Definitely a unique chicken sandwich and one that you should sample as soon as you clucking can!
———————
101 Holiday Street
East Peoria
309-692-3887
———————
Related Posts: 13 Months of Chicken @: The ‘50’s Diner, Obed & Isaacs, Childers Eatery, Gil’s Supper Club, Highlands Fine Food & Whiskey House, EatandEvolve, Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern, Slim Chickens, Destihl Brewery, Chili’s, Shelton’s, Sky Harbor Steak House, McDonald’s/Chik-fil-A, Bernardi’s Pub, Harold’s Chicken Shack, Lariat Steakhouse, Donnelly’s Irish Pub, Thanh Linh, Grandpa John’s Rib Shack, Birdie’s Bar & Grill, Jalapeno’s Mexican Grill, Midway Duck Inn, Ludy’s Kickapoo Creek Saloon, Jubilee Cafe, Rizzi’s and Agatucci’s.