Okay, my Australian friends Claire and Mick are still in town and they’re coming over to MBIP Headquarters for a pre-tenderloin beer. The eventual destination for this week’s tenderloin is The No Wake Zone. The last time we were there it was to celebrate them winning the first and probably the last, “Peoria Hot Dog Wars.” I’ve heard that they serve up a tasty breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, so that’s our evetual destination. But first a beer here at the MBIP Headquarters and then we’re going to zip-a-dee-doo-dah over to Mike’s Tavern for an appetizer of Butch’s Pizza and more beers...hey, I think I hear someone knocking at the door...
It appears that just like ho's, knocks come in threes this time of year.
And here they are, direct from the Pere Marquette Hotel, my Aussie pals, Claire and Mick. They've brought along a twelve pack of Budweiser, very nice!
Mick was kind of enough to volunteer to drive and here we are on our way to Mike's Tavern.
And here we are at Mike's Tavern.
Here's Claire taking a shot of myself and Mick in front of Mike's.
Okay, it's freezing and icy out here, let's get inside and start this party.
Schmudde and Kathryn met us at Mike's. Schmudde is originally from Peoria and Kathryn's from Michigan, but they live in New York now. We met in the Twitterverse and it was cool to meet up in real life.
I had to get a Butch's pizza for Claire and Mick to sample and check it out, it's a rare example of a Butch's pie cut into slices instead of squares! Am I the only one excited about this? Yeah, I thought so.
As we got ready to head out to No Wake Zone, Claire and Mick were given drink tokens to Mike's, guaranteeing a return visit to Peoria to cash them in!
Night has fallen and we're on the road again, just as sure as you're born.
And here we are at The No Wake Zone which is lit up with some festive lights outside.
Claire and Mick walk the plank and it's inside we go.
This is a Green Bay Packer bar and all eyes are glued to the game as we walk in.
As soon as we walked in I ran into Tammy and Scott Senti, who own and operate the 50's Diner in the Metro Centre which we visited a while back. They invited me to try out the tenderloin there, so that might be our next stop on this tenderloin tour, stay tuned!
And here's the No Wake Zone owner's Linda and Pete Clarno posing with Mick and Claire inside of the bar.
Pete points to the MBIP plaque that we presented to him and Linda for winning Peoria's Hot Dog Wars back in September.
Okay, time to eat as I threaten to cover Claire in a pool of mustard! I'm wearing my "Boris" designed "365 Crawlapalooza t-shirt" in honor of the first time we got together.
We were already a little full from the Butch's Pizza, so we got a tenderloin split three ways, here's one end of the tenderloin, which looks fantastic.
And here's the other end. As you can see, the tenderloins here are quite large and they're made fresh daily with their own brand of seasoning and breading.
Here's my portion dressed up with mustard and pepper, we also got the waffle fries for a side order.
This is one delicious tenderloin. The breading is crunchy and savory and inside the pork is juicy and tasty. And the bun is toasted and bakery fresh, very tasty and you need to check it out!
Despite being full of Butch's Pizza and the tenderloin, we had to sample the award-winning chili cheese dog, which now comes with a cup full of bacon to add as a topping. Genius idea!
Best. Chili cheese dog...ever!
Claire and Mick had to leave a little early due to a bad cold which caused Claire to lose her voice and the fact that they had to get up early to drive to their next destination of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Bartender Val presents them with a No Wake Zone T-Shirt and give us the one finger salute! Thanks to Claire and Mick for taking the trouble to visit Peoria and have a reunion with me. It was a ton of fun and great to see both of them!
And just as Claire and Mick were leaving, this trio of hooligans showed up. From left, MBIP Contributer, Chip Joyce and MBIP pals, Kathy and Steve.
And as the night wore on, yet another trio of hooligan's showed up. From left: Mike, Andy and Carolyn. All three of them are professional bowlers in town for the prestigious Art Carney Invitational Bowling For Dollars Tournament. Andy's also a writer and you can check out his writing space which is adorned with a mural of Peoria in this online article right here. Great to meet these three fun people and you may see one or all of them again later on in the week, stay tuned!
As the night falls by, the bar empty's out and this can only lead to one thing...
Stumpy Pete's wonderous House of Ham! Okay, we'll see you all tomorrow...and hey, it's almost Christmas, so let's be careful out there!
Related Posts: Tenderloins at: The Hungry Moose, The Last Chance Bar & Grill, Carrigan’s Pub, TNT’s Sports Bar & Grill, Crusens, AmVets Post 64, Schooners, Bemer’s Village Inn, Sky Harbor, Kenny’s Westside Pub, Hello It’s Me (Tenderloin at Sam Wong’s), The Boar’s Nest, Donnelly’s Pub, Perdue’s Grill and Midway Duck Inn.
