Live from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night starring this week’s host, Agatucci’s with special guest stars, Tony and Dan Agatucci and Sheila Maher and Featuring The Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher! And now, please welcome this week’s host, Peoria’s longest-running pizza parlor and restaurant, Agatucci’s!
And we’re off on yet another trip deep into the heart of a Saturday night...or something like that!
Here we are at this week’s Saturday night destination, one of my favorite places in Peoria, Agatucci’s!
Let’s go in and get this Saturday night happening!
The bar looks pretty full and there’s seats down here at the end of the bar near the door, but that’s not where I want to be...
I want to be down on this end, this is where all the action is and I spy a seat right over there! I snagged that and here’s the third generation owners, Tony and Dan coming over to say hi. Tony and Dan are two of the nicest guys in Peoria and it’s always great to see them...unless you came in to rob them of course!
Here’s some shots in and around the bar, there’s the back of the bar with the Italian ceiling lights in the mirror, there’s four of the beers they have on tap and no trip here is complete without a shot of the classic backwards Agatucci’s clock! And, as you can see from the neon on the wall, Agatucci’s is a Cardinal’s bar!
Meanwhile, back at the bar, I spy an old friend of mine, Sheila Maher! Sheila reluctantly posed for the MBIP camera and I don’t know why because she’s looking great! Sheila’s a Senior Travel Consultant for Suzi Davis Travel and she’s been handling my traveling schedules for decades now and she never fails to get killer deals that you’d never get on your own! If you’d like to get a quote on a vacation anywhere (including flights and hotel accommodations) in the world you can contact Sheila via Suzi Davis Travel @ 1-800-397-1455 or through their website right here: Suzi Davis Travel.
Okay, Sheila and I ordered our dinner, so I thought I’d wander and take a few more pictures in here...hey, it’s what I do! Here’s the booths that are directly behind the bar with wine bottle lamps floating over them. And there’s a signed Peoria Chiefs poster behind one of the lamps on the wall.
Here’s the back dining room and even further back is yet another dining room! There’s a wall filled with press clippings, pictures and Agatucci’s memorabilia that’s really fun to look at.
Check it out, I’m not the only one taking pictures back here! This is the Sanders family and they were celebrating this fellow’s 16th Birthday (looks like they didn't get the memo about this being a Cardinal's bar)! Happy 16th birthday to you!
As I headed back to the bar I ran into t a trio of Aggatucci’s workers folding napkins and they posed for the MBIP camera, from left: Heather, Kayla and Megan! I’ve met Megan before and it was great to see her again and wonderful to meet Heather and Kayla! Okay, now get back to work before Tony and Dan catch you goofing off!
As I came back to the bar, Tony was waiting with our appetizer of Buffalo Wings...I love it when that happens!
Minutes later, Mike showed up with our pizza and while the photo is fuzzy, I can’t blame the MBIP Camera for this one because I forgot to turn the flash on. Hate the MBIP Camera operator...HATE HATE HATE him!
The pizza looks and smells heavenly, as always and here’s Sheila and I enjoying it at the bar. As you can see Sheila eats hers one slice at a time, but I prefer to try the plate and all method. The pizza and chicken wings were so tasty and delicious and you can read more about them in the review below.
After dinner, I wanted to get a close-up photo of the vintage Hamm’s sign that’s hung behind the bar for decades and Tony let me go behind the br to get the shot. While back there I also took a shot of some of the lit up bottles back there and if you look closely in between the bottles you can see an unplanned obligatory bar room mirror shot! And of course we all know i love it when that happens, almost as much as having chicken wings appear at the bar, but not quite so much!
While I was back there, Sheila took the MBIP camera and took a shot of myself with Tony and Dan back there!
We started off with an appetizer of Buffalo Wings and while Agatucci’s is known for their pizza and Italian food, they really should also be known for these wonderful chicken wings. The sauce is home-made and spicy with just the right amount of heat and the wings are crispy on the outside and juicy and plump on the inside. Really tasty wings and if you’ve never had them, you definitely need to try them on your next visit!
Sheila and I split a large Agatucci’s special pizza which comes with sausage, mushrooms, onions and green pepper. Agatucci’s is the oldest pizza parlor in Peoria and this pizza is the reason why! It’s from a homemade recipe that’s been handed down to three generations and if you live in Peoria and have never had an Agatucci’s pizza, well, you need to stop by and try a slice of tasty P-town history!
SN Rating
Four Galloping Gourmets—Between the great food and fun barside hospitality, if you go to Agatucci’s and don’t have a great meal and lots of fun, well, then you deserve to stay at home updating facecrack and eating frozen generic pizza for the rest of your stinking life! Thanks to Tony and Dan and everyone at Agatucci’s for the great food and hospitality and to Sheila for hanging out with me, it was a ton of fun!
Agatucci’s
2607 N. University St.
Peoria
309-688-8200
facecrack page
Related Posts: Saturday Night @ The Silver Bullet in East Peoria, Sully’s Pub and Cafe and One World Cafe.