Live, from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger starring this week’s host, Harvest Supper Club and Vintage Lounge with special guest stars, Ari, Jamie, Tom, Kristin and Julie.
Now please welcome this week’s host, Harvest Supper Club and Vintage Lounge!
Here we are at the Harvest Supper Club and Vintage Lounge in Junction City. They opened up about a year ago and I’ve been meaning to stop by. Well, tonight is the night, so let’s go in and see what’s happening inside!
They have a row of nice tables outside on the boardwalk to dine at if you prefer outside seating. I’ve heard that they have a really cool bar in here, so that’s my destination!
That’s Ari looking pretty behind the hostess station and she pointed me in the direction of the bar and lounge area.
Wow, this is one impressive bar and lounge! I’m arriving near closing time, so there’s plenty of seats at the bar.
Jamie was the bartender for the evening and she served up an ice-cold beer along with a nice smile!
Here’s the owners of Harvest Supper Club, Kristin and Tom Mathers. Both are natives of Central Illinois and Tom told me that part of the inspiration for the restaurant and lounge was his family’s original Harvest Cafe in Delavan, Illinois. Kristin added that all the food here is farm-to-table and made from scratch.
Throughout the evening I noticed that both Tom and Kristin made an effort to chat with diners in the restaurant. They and everyone who work here are really friendly and welcoming. It was very nice to meet both of them!
Here’s a shot from the end of the long and winding highly polished wooden bar.
There’s the trio of taps in the middle of the bar.
Opposite the bar is a comfortable lounge area with plush leather chairs, comfortable couches and candle-lit tables. There’s more tables in the back in a room where you could host a private party.
As I was taking pictures of the lounge, I was approached by Julie who told me she reads the MBIP blog and that she and her husband were celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary here.
Happy anniversary, Julie and thanks for reading the blog!
This hallway leads to the dining room and the walls are lined with classic downtown Peoria photos.
This is the dining room which has tables in the center and booths line the walls with more vintage framed photos hanging on the walls.
The atmosphere in here toes the line between elegant and casual which is tough to pull off, but Kristin and Tom have done it here!
There’s another dining area up front with a view of Junction City.
Meanwhile, back at the bar, the table is set and it looks like it’s time for our Saturday night dinner!
Right on cue, here’s chef Brian who prepared the meal.
Both Kristin and Tom suggested I try the cheeseburger so that’s what I ordered along with a side of onion rings and sweet corn fritters.
I started off by sampling the onion rings and they were amazing! The onions have a light and crispy batter and they’re seasoned perfectly with both a salty and a pepper flavor.
The cheeseburger was amazing!
It’s a grass-fed beef burger topped with melted Swiss cheese, two strips of pork jowl bacon, arugula and caramelized onions. The bun was toasted and bakery fresh and this was such a tasty and satisfying burger!
I saved the sweet corn fritters for dessert and they were sweet and crispy orbs of pure delight! What a fantastic meal!
This was a fabulous Saturday night dinner!
The cheeseburger was one of the best I’ve ever had, and if you’ve been following my blogs for the last nine years, you know I’ve sampled a lot of cheeseburgers! The onion rings were lightly battered, crispy and seasoned to perfection. And the corn fritters were definitely a sweet treat to end this heavenly meal!
SN Rating
Four Galloping Gourmets—This was such a wonderful dinner and I love the ambiance and atmosphere inside. Thanks to Kristin, Tom and everyone at the Harvest Supper Club and Vintage Lounge for a spectacular Saturday evening! I’ll definitely be coming back for more!
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Harvest Supper Club And Vintage Lounge
5901 N. Prospect Road (In Junction City)
Peoria
309-443-0443
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Related Posts: Saturday Night @: Rhythm Kitchen, Brienzo’s Wood Fired Pizza and Castle’s Patio Inn.