Okay, last week we completed the 13 month chicken eating tour. The most important lesson I learned during that fowl tour is that I will never do a food tour that long again! I got pretty sick of it and I think some of you did too. So that’s over and the lesson is learned!
And now it’s time to cleanse the palate and announce what the next MBIP food tour is going to be. And we have a special musical guest that we’re meeting today, so let’s go start this cleansing of the palate!
I met local musician Matt Shane at the Red Barn a couple of Saturdays ago and he suggested we have lunch at Taco John’s. After some research I discovered that a dish they serve here would be the perfect transition meal and palate cleanser to transition us into the next MBIP food tour!
But before we go inside, let’s take a look at a couple of things I saw outside the restaurant that impressed me.
I love this retro sign on the back of the building. There’s the original Taco John! They started this franchise in 1969 and I was wondering how long this one has been in business here.
Back in the day I used to come here all the time with my brother Jim. I’m thinking we started coming here in the late ’70’s when this place and Pepe Taco were about your only choices for Mexican food in and around Peoria.
When we go inside I’ll ask and see if anyone in there knows how long this Taco John’s has been operating in this location.
This is the other thing that blew me away outside of the building, they are selling five soft shell tacos for $599.00!
Those must be some really tasty tacos! I can’t afford them today, but it’s something to save up for!
Okay, here we are inside and Amy took my order behind the counter. She was really cute and friendly and wasn’t quite sure how long this Taco John’s has been in business. If anyone out there knows, feel free to leave a comment!
There’s the Salsa bar and condiment area. I’m pleased and impressed that they have Heinz Ketchup on hand.
If you’ve followed my blogs in the past, you know what I’m talking about.
I love the Taco John’s Promise, I think this could be the title of a song that could revive Paula Abdul’s music career!
There’s the dining room and booths line the far wall. I have to say, this is one of the cleanest fast food places I have ever been in! Okay let’s grab a booth and meet our special guest of the day!
There he is, the MBIP Palate Cleansing Guest Star, Matt Shane!
Matt really impressed me with his musical talent when I saw him at the Red Barn the other week and it turns out he has quite the musical history here in Peoria.
So now, without any further adieu, because as I’ve confessed before, I have no idea what adieu actually means, let’s present the musical history of Matt Shane!
Matt has had a lengthy musical career that start out at 12-years-old. I asked him to send me a timeline of his musical career and here it is!
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First public gig: 12 years old, Champagne Donna’s, Rt 116, Trivoli, IL. I played drums in a Beatle band with my little brother, Josh, our across the street neighbor Scott Ligon and schoolmate Matt Choberka. We called ourselves: “Jam.” Whoops!
First paying gig: 13 years old, I R Here Tap, also on Rt 116, Bellevue, IL. We played Beatles, Who, Ramones and Big Country. We were asked repeatedly to turn down the volume. (This was to became a theme.) Josh and Scott were great singers even when they were kids, so people were usually into it. Nitelife Sam got us most of our early gigs.
Then:
100 East, Kill City Boys, Geek Love. All playing the drums.
Geek Love broke up into two bands: Dollface, my first band playing guitar and singing with Jeff Gregory, Scott Ligon and eventually my brother Josh and the River City Soul Review, which was Scott, Josh, Alvin Butler and Joe Roland.
Dollface put out two demo tapes and two very kindly received CDS and also toured Iowa a lot. We broke up in LA in 1997, in a recording studio over a guitar solo.
Jeff makes music now in Encounter At L-5 and The Bugs.
Scott plays guitar in his second favorite band of all time, NRBQ (Beatles being first,) and also has a group called The Flat Five, who are getting ready to do their second record of songs by Scott’s older brother Chris.
In 2014 Bird Dialect reissued both Dollface records on vinyl! 😳 There are still copies available direct from the label:
Since Dollface I’ve put out one CD and pinch hit infrequently at all ages punk shows doing what I call yelling and bellyaching.
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Very cool! Check out Matt’s impressive musical career via all of these links!
Now it’s time to cleanse the palate!
Matt got tacos and an order of the Potato Olés. I got a shot of him in mid-bite.
I got the Crunchy Chicken Bites and they were surprisingly tasty! The breading had a little spice infused in it and the chicken was juicy and flavorful. I got a tub of cheese sauce to dip them into and it added a richness to the flavor.
And this chicken dish with Mexican seasoning is the perfect dish to lead us into the next MBIP Food Tour which is…oh Ringo, can you give us a drum roll for some dramatic effect?
Thanks, Ringo and now, here’s what we’ll be eating on the next MBIP Food Tour…
We’re going to be doing 26 weeks of Mexican food!
Peoria has an abundance of wonderful Mexican restaurants and starting next week, we’ll be sampling some of the Mexican specialties in and around Peoria! ¡Vamonos!
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725 Main Street
Creve Coeur, Illinois
309-698-0027
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Related Posts: Palate Cleanser @: Susie’s Hot Dogs, Lariat Steakhouse, The Coffee Hub and Emack & Bolio’s.