I’m getting near the end of this tour, probably going to do two or three weeks more and then I’ll close it out and start on a new food tour idea!
I’ve saved one of the best for last and I’m talking about the pizza at Nick-n-Willy’s in the Metro Centre.
Let’s head over there and begin yet another saucy journey!
Here we are at Nick-N-Willy’s, all the way in the back of the Metro Centre Shopping area.
Check out the partial unplanned obligatory mirror shot happening in the window! I love it when that happens.
Okay, let’s go inside and start this week’s cheesy pizza post!
As you can see, there’s a nice dining area here with tables and a bar that surrounds the pizza making kitchen.
They also have take and bake items and they offer single slices of pizza as well. Nice!
This is the friendly owner of Nick-N-Willy’s, Steve Carter.
Steve opened Nick-N-Willy’s over 25 years ago making it one of Peoria’s oldest pizza parlors.
Here’s Steve making this week’s pizza pie. Let’s leave him alone to do his cheesy work and we’ll take a look around in here.
They have lots of pictures and memorabilia on the walls in here, let’s take a look at some of it while the pizza pie is being made.
There’s the Nick-N-Willy’s Credo and one thing Steve does is feature local artwork by Peoria artists that you can purchase at Nick-N-Willy’s.
This is a drawing by Kelly Carter of Walter Payton.
And of course I have to point out that this is the only pizza parlor in town that has a pizza named after me!
Yes, you can get a slice of me by ordering the Wombacher, it’s got three kinds of cheese because I’m such a cheesy person!
On Thursday’s you can get a large Wombacher for just 15 bucks! Yes, I’m a cheap date!
Here’s just a small sampling of local sports jerseys and Peoria sports memorabilia on the walls of Nick-N-Willy’s.
Check out the two framed newspaper articles on Steve and Nick-N-Willy’s.
And here’s this week’s pizza pie sliding out of the oven and there’s Steve serving it up!
I decided to sit at this table over here.
The pizza looks divine, I took one slice out to let it cool off.
And in this cooling off period, let’s take a look at me talking about Nick-N-Willy’s on Good Day Central Illinois back in 2020 when the pandemic was in full swing!
My stupid camera froze so the episode just had a static photo of me after just waking up about five minutes earlier!
Okay, onto this week’s pizza pie and rating!
The pizza here is simply wonderful!
The sauce has a nice sharp tang and just a little sweet after-taste. The cheese is rich and the outer crust is really crispy and tasty.
Everything is super-fresh and this is such a delicious pizza experience in Nick-N-Willy’s.
it’s a Peoria pizza tradition for close to three decades, so you should stop by the Metro Centre and check it out!
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THIS WEEK’S RATING
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The Rating System
Any rating from 0 to 5.9 is a substandard pizza that you should definitely avoid.
A rating from 6 to 8.5 is a good pizza and gets the MBIP pizza pie recommendation.
A rating from 8.6 to 9.4 means the pizza is very high quality and you need to try it out as soon as you can.
Ratings from 9.5 to 10 represent the best pizzas in Peoria (in my opinion).
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I love Nick-N-Willy’s thin crust pizza and I’m giving it a high score of 9.3. You really need to try this pizza pie!
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PIZZA RATING LIST
Agatucci’s: 9.6
Weaver’s Fresh Food & Drink: 9.6
Rizzi’s Italian Restaurant: 9.6
Oliver’s Pizza & Pub North: 9.6
Peoria Pizza Works: 9.5
Slice: 9.4
Leonardo’s Pizza: 9.3
Crusens On War Memorai: 9.3
Nick-N-Willy’s: 9.3
The Red Barn (Butch’s Pizza): 9.2
Fat Jack’s: 8.7
Castle’s Patio Inn: 8.2
Knuckles Pizza: 8.2
460° Pizza: 8.1
The Pour House: 8.1
Double A’s • Pizza • Sports Bar & Grill: 7.9
Rhythm Kitchen And Music Cafe: 7.8
One World Cafe: 7.7
Bullpen Bar & Grill: 7.4
Hoop’s Pub & Pizza: 7.4
The Fieldhouse Bar & Grill: 7.3
Monical’s: 7.3
Mr. Dough: 7.3
Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom: 7.1
Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza: 7.0
The Owl’s Nest: 6.9
Brienzo’s Wood Fired Pizza: 6.9
Papa John’s: 6.7
HyVee Food Court: 6.6
Casey’s General Store (Off Of Route 91): 5.9
Pizza Hut: 5.8
Little Caesars: 5.6
Bacci Pizzeria: 5.4
Domino’s: 5.2
Huck’s: 4.9
Casey’s General Store (On Farmington Road): 3.3
Circle K: 0.1
Chuck E. Cheese: 0.0
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4700 N. University Street (In the back of The Metro Centre)
Peoria
309-691-2345
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Related Posts: Slices Of Peoria @: Papa Murphy’s, One World Cafe, Little Caesars, Chuck E. Cheese, Castle’s Patio Inn, Crusens On War Memorial, Leonardo’s Pizza, Bacci Pizzeria, Casey’s General Store: Part II, The Bullpen Bar & Grill, Rhythm Kitchen, Circle K, Oliver’s Pizza and Pub North, Double A’s • Pizza • Sports Bar & Grill, Rizzi’s, The Red Barn, Hucks, The Pour House, Mr. Dough, The Owl’s Nest, Slice @ WeaverRidge, Brienzo’s Wood-Fired Pizza, 460° Pizza, HyVee Food Court, Domino’s, The Fieldhouse Bar & Grill, Casey’s General Store, Knuckles Pizza, Papa John’s, Weaver’s Fresh Food & Drink, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom, Pizza Hut, Peoria Pizza Works, Monicals, Fat Jack’s Pizza, Hoops Pub & Pizza and Agatucci’s.