Live, from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger starring this week’s host, New Amsterdam and featuring the Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now, please welcome this week’s host, all the way from the riverfront in downtown Peoria, New Amsterdam!
New Amsterdam just opened up a couple of weeks ago and it’s located on Water Street in downtown Peoria, which isn’t too far from where I work, so we’ll just walk there. It’s right down the street here.
And there it is, up in the sky...it’s a bird, it’s a plane...it’s New Amsterdam! Now how the hell do you get up there?
By stairs, of course! Let’s go.
There’s a huge patio up here, I think the front of the building is straight ahead, which overlooks the river.
Yep, that’s the place. Wow, they have a big beer garden out front.
Jim, the assistant general manager was standing outside of the beer garden and greeted us in.
Let’s go check out New Amsterdam.
It’s really a big room in here. It’s nice and dark, now where’s the bar?
Ask and ye shall receive. It’s really a nice bar and I spy some empty chairs, let’s go snag one.
Nicole, the friendly and pretty bartender on duty serves up an ice cold bottle of Budweiser. Nicole just moved back from Chicago and we swapped stories about moving back to P-Town after living in a big city for years.
They do serve cheeseburgers here, but I saw a sandwich I had to try instead. I’ve decided that every now and again I may deviate from a cheeseburger on Saturday Night Cheeseburger, to switch it up a little bit. You’ll see what I ordered if you keep on scrolling, scrolling, scrolling...
The first thing I thought of was Spike when I saw all of these taps in here! It might just bust the official Spike-O-Rama meter! They have over 25 beers on tap in here including: Anchor Porter, Goose Island 312, Left Hand Milk Stout and of course, Two Brothers New Amsterdam Pale Ale.
They also have over 28 varieties of bottled beer in here. If you’re a beer lover, this is your new go-to place in downtown Peoria.
Single bulb lamps loom over the bar illuminating it.
Round wooden tables are lined up behind the bar for drinking and dining pleasure.
There's leather booths next to the round tables and the dining room is on the other side.
This is Tony, who's the co-owner of New Amsterdam. He said it's been a great couple of opening weeks and that there's been a great reaction and reception from people that have stopped by. It sure is friendly in here and they certainly make you feel at home.
These tables up front line the glass wall that overlooks the...
Beer garden, which overlooks the Illinois River. We'll get a shot of that on the way out.
Here's a longshot of the highly polished bar. I love how the lamps and overhead lights are reflected in it.
I think this guy's wondering what the hell I'm doing wandering around taking all of these photos. Let's go say hi to him and his date.
Meet Steve and Debbie! Steve's from Peoria and Debbie moved to Peoria from London back in 1970. I was going to ask her what brought her to Peoria from London, when all of a sudden...
This appeared and broke my concentration. Instead of a cheeseburger, I got the Prime Rib Sandwich which comes on a Dutch Crunch Loaf. It looks spectacular!
It has caramelized onions and Swiss cheese and I've opened it up and dressed it with the Horseradish sauce and au jus that comes on the side.
Wow, this is one tasty sandwich, you can read about it in the review below, but I highly recommend it!
After dinner, co-owner, Todd Waldschmidt stopped by the bar to say hi. We had a nice chat about Peoria and his vision for New Amsterdam. He told me that the look and the color scheme of the restaurant were inspired by The Counting Crows song, "Mr. Jones," which has the words, "New Amsterdam" featured in the beginning of the song. Well, that solves my problem of finding a video to go along with this post!
The paintings on the back wall were done by local artist, Kathy Reynolds and they too follow a color scheme inspired by the "Mr. Jones" song.
And here's that shot of the Illinois River I promised a while back. We'll see you all tomorrow.
My Sandwich
I got the Prime Rib Sandwich, which is sliced prime rib, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese housed in a roll called, the Dutch Crunch Loaf, Horseradish sauce and au jus are served on the side. This is one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had, bar none! The prime rib was juicy, tasty and tender and intermingled nicely with the caramelized onions, Swiss cheese and tangy Horseradish sauce. And the star of this sandwich was the Dutch Crunch Loaf, it’s crispy on the outside and soft as you bite inside. A really delicious and unique sandwich has been born at New Amsterdam on Peoria’s riverfront!
The menu at New Amsterdam is quite eclectic, some of the other sandwiches offered include: Manny’s Meatball Sandwich; Lobster Roll on a Hot Dog Bun; Panko Fried Grouper Sandwich and the Dutch Club which is turkey, gruyere, avocado, bacon, ham and cheddar. There’s also pan cooked steaks, fish, spaghetti and meatballs and yes, Virginia, there is a cheeseburger here. I’ll have to try it next time!
Sandwich Rating
Three and a half Dagwood’s. A great sandwich from a wonderful new restaurant and bar on Peoria’s riverfront!
New Amsterdam
120 SW Water Street
Peoria
309-439-9099
Further Reading: PJ Star, Foursquare and facecrack.
