Sunday, December 26th, 2010—Bar 351
The Getaway
Today, I'm meeting two friends who joined me on the bar crawl last spring, Rick Halberg and Bob Gordon. We went to the Burger Barge in East Peoria last April, check out the post here: Burger Barge. I've decided to check out a bar in West Peoria called The Getaway, it sounds like a nice friendly, neighborhood bar. My only concern is that if it's going to be open on the Sunday after Christmas. There's only one way to find out, let's go.
Open for business! Let's go check it out.
The entrance is in the back of the building.
The front room is done up in Tiki style. Aloha!
But as you descend the stairs you'll find a nice dark, cozy atmosphere with a well worn "U" shaped bar that seats roughly about a baker's dozen. There's also chairs and stools along the walls to sit at.
And here's Dan the friendly owner and he also bar tends on Sundays.
And here's Rick and I having a beer at the bar and waiting for Bob. Rick does voice over work and plays bass and sings in the band Sister Groove. You can read more about the band here: Sister Groove. Rick also has a blog that's updated frequently, here it is: Groovyrick's Blog.
Sunday's are football Sunday's at the bar and all three TV's are tuned to the games. When the Bears are playing, they get the big screen. Yes, this is a Chicago Bears bar.
There's a mirrored wall opposite the bar with a wooden railing to set your drink or your elbow on.
The other side of the bar.
The blinds on the window are shut, allowing this place to stay dark, even on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I like that.
Christmas was yesterday, but their tree is still up.
Here's some of the Christmas cards underneath the tree. Hey, there's the 365 card...I wonder how that got there? Ho, ho, ho! Green Giant.
Here's a picture of the bar's mascot, Buddy Scaggs. As you can see, he's a Cubs fan and I wonder if he's any relation to Boz.
A list of the daily featured cocktails hang on the wall.
Next to that is some signed dollar bills.
And here's Bob Gordon. For over last 20 years, Bob has owned and run Acme Comics and Collectibles. You can check out the store's website here: Acme Comics.
Most of the people were a little camera-shy in here, so I was grateful to Amy and Dusty who happily posed for a 365 photo. I apologize for it being a tad blurry, I had had a few drinks by now.
A silhouette of Dan behind the bar watching the Bears beat the Jets.
Shortly after this picture was taken, Dan informed me there was free food upstairs. On Sunday's the bar always puts out a free spread for the customers. Nice!
Wow, sliced ham in country gravy, it looks delicious!
Here's the sandwich I expertly assembled. Note the extra mustard. Mmmm!
I told you it looked delicious and now I can verify that: It was delicious! And free! I may have seconds, goodnight, everybody!Review
The Getaway is a nice, cozy friendly bar tucked away in a neighborhood in West Peoria. The upstairs front room has a Tiki decor and downstairs is a small "U"-shaped bar with regulars from the neighborhood drinking, watching sports and shooting the shit. Have no fear if you're a newbie in here, everybody's friendly and after a drink or two you'll feel like you've been coming here for years.The booze is inexpensive in here and it's a full bar, although I wouldn't suggest ordering a fancy-schmancy cocktail in here. There's a decent amount of bottled beers with the majority of them priced at $2.50 a bottle. In the fall and winter Sunday's are transferred into "Football Sunday" with all three TV's tuned into games and a free food spread laid out. Hint: If you want to get along with everyone, I suggest you root for the Bears. Da Bears!
321 North Western Avenue
Peoria, Illinois
309-637-1178
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P.S.
Tomorrow, I'm flying back (hopefully) to New York, so tomorrow's post won't be up till early evening tomorrow, stay tuned and thanks for reading the 365 blog. 14 days to go!