Okay, this week we’re starting a new phase of MBIP as the nightmarish pandemic appears to be easing up. We’re back to dining in at restaurants, I’ve started a new pizza food tour and on Thursday’s we’re going to have a rotating theme.

I’ve enjoyed doing the frozen pizza reviews on Thursdays and I’m going to continue doing those but I thought we’d also add in a luncheon series every other week on Thursday’s to add a little variety to the mix.

This is going to be me going out to lunch or making a special lunch at the MBIP World Headquarters.

Today I’m meeting some friends at Jim’s Bistro, so let’s go celebrate that special and wondrous time of day known as lunch time!

Here we are at Jim’s Bistro in Peoria Heights. As you can see there’s outdoor dining on the sidewalk and they have a boxed in area right on Prospect Avenue.

I prefer to sit inside though, because I hate the sunshine and the out of doors, so we’ll head indoors.

I just said we’re eating indoors…sheesh!

There’s the neon Jim’s Bistro sign in the window.

Okay, let’s go inside and get out of this rotten sunshine!

Our pretty and friendly waitress for this luncheon expedition is Rebecca! It’s been a while since I’ve seen her and it was nice to catch up.

I should note that this lunch took place last Friday and this is the first time I’ve eaten inside of a restaurant since we celebrated Diane and Chuck’s 50th wedding anniversary at Biaggi’s last August! So this is a nice return to normalcy for me!

Of course I’m early, so let’s take some photos before my friends arrive for lunch.

There’s the bar, some Italian-inspired art on the wall and there’s an elevated area up at the front of the restaurant that looks out onto Prospect Avenue and all of those freaks eating outside in the horrible sunshine.

Dining tables are opposite the bar and comfortable single booths line the exterior wall.

The back wall has photos and the obligatory PJ Star framed article by Nick Vlahos.

Here’s a shot from the back of the restaurant.

Okay, my friends have arrived so now it’s time to bother them with the MBIP Camera!

This is Tim Waugh and Mary Jo Ghighi. We’ve been friends since the fuzzy and hazy times known as the ‘70’s and it’s great to see both of them again! Mary Jo didn’t bring her husband Mort, because she keeps him tied up to a rocking chair in their basement.

It was a lot of fun catching up and comparing notes on how we got through the last year while the pandemic raged on.

Both Tim and Mary Jo are active in this year’s 45th Bergan High School class of 1976 reunion and you can click here for more information on that event that’s happening this August.

Cheers from the three of us, part one!

Shortly after that photo was taken, Tim’s brother Joe joined our luncheon party, so cheers from all of us, part two!

This was a fun lunch and we shared some great memories including Joe’s ax man story that happened in 1976. If you run into Joe ask him to tell you this story, it’s a doozy and an epic tale that I’ve always been grateful that I got to be a part of it!

I got so wrapped up in talking with everyone I almost forgot to take pictures of the food we had for lunch!

Mary Jo and I each had the Grilled Chicken Salad and this was such a delicious salad. There’s strips of juicy grilled chicken, vegetables and crispy bacon on top! Joe and Tim each had a beef sandwich that comes with steak fries and au jus. What a fabulous lunch!

Lunch is only served on Friday’s at Jim’s Bistro in the summer time. So stop by and enjoy this once a week, mid-day seasonal dining experience!