Live, from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night Meatball starring this week’s host, Knuckles Pizza and featuring The Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now, please welcome this week’s host from Dunlap, Illinois, right next to Wheels O’ Time Museum, Knuckles Pizza!
And we are off on a lovely Saturday night, my one day weekend has officially begun! You may notice a change in the name of this week’s post. I decided to take the “Cheeseburger” out of the “Saturday Night Cheeseburger” title and replace it with the food that’s featured in each week’s dinner. Last week, we had delicious Swedish Meatballs at Mango and it reminded me that I’ve been wanting to go back to Knuckle’s Pizza and try all three styles of meatballs that they serve there for appetizers. The last time we went I got the BBQ meatballs and they were so tasty I knew I’d be coming back for more. And so it’s off we go in search of this week’s meatballs.
One other thing I want to note about the weekly Saturday night dining episodes here on MBIP, is that this year I was going back to the same restaurant I went to a year ago and trying something other than a cheeseburger. I’m kind of ditching that concept too, because I’m getting tired of it and it’s not allowing me to go to new places that pop up. So some weeks I’ll go back, others I won’t, it’ll kind of add to the spontaneity of the blog. Okay, now that all that’s out of the way, let’s go inside, I’m jonesing for meatballs over here!
You order up here at the front counter, let's go say hi to the gentleman wondering what the hell I'm doing in here snapping a photo of him.
This is James, he's in charge here tonight and he said I was free to take all of the photos I wanted to. He also graciously offered to give me one of each style of meatball. They normally come in orders of three, but he said he'd make an exception for me, so I didn't have to try to eat nine meatballs in one setting. Very nice!
Knuckles Pizza has gotten some good write-ups in the local press, here's a favorable article from the Chillicothe Times-Bulletin...
And here's one from the PJ Star, very impressive!
As you can see, they have a large selection of bottled beers in here. I got a bottle of Budweiser from James and we'll continue to look around in here until the meatballs are ready for consumption.
There's James and crew back in the kitchen assembling and cooking the trio of meatballs.
I love this Three Stooges Knuckleheads poster that hangs over the kitchen window.
There's tables and sports memorabilia in the front hallway here. I also see a couple over there at the table. It's just about closing time and they're the only ones left, let's go say hi to them.
This is Bo and Ang and they're regulars here at Knuckles, they told me they come here for pizza at least three times a month, nice to meet both of them!
Framed professional basketball jersey's line the wall in the front area, here's two that used to belong to Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman.
At first I thought this jersey used to belong to Johnny Rotten, but then I realized it's a blast from "Pistol" Pete Maravich's past.
The main dining room is in the back here, it's a nice room, I love the brick wall in the back over there.
There's communal tables back here like this high rise polished wooden table. There's more baseball memorabilia back here including a framed photo of Babe Ruth and one of my favorite things in here...
These are actual cutouts that were used for placement in the film, The Natural. Cheaper than extras I guess, they had to find someway to pay Robert Redford's salary!
In addition to the large wooden tables back here...
There's also smaller tables for couples and single diners like myself. This is where we sat the last time we were here and this is where we'll sit this time too. We have to because...
As you can see, it's reserved for us, very cool!
A framed picture of quotes from Mother Teresa hangs on the wall over this table.
A dual fan hangs underneath the wooden ceiling in here. The wooden ceiling gives a nice rustic feeling to the room.
It's dinner time! Here's James serving up tonight's trifecta of meatballs.
They look fantastic! Clockwise from left is the BBQ, the Buffalo and the Pizzaioli. Let's dig in!
This is the BBQ which we had last time and it's just as good if not better this time. The sauce is sweet and tangy and there's lofts of flavor coming through in this orb of meat. Delicious!
The pizziaoli is tasty too. It's coated with pizza sauce and cheese and I detect some pizza seasoning inside of this meatball.
And last but not least, the Buffalo meatball, dipped in ranch dressing. This has a little bit of a kick to it and a very unique flavor for a meatball. All three of them were really tasty and delicious and you can read more about them in the review below.
The meatballs have been devoured, so in the words of Mother Teresa, "Lettuce go in peace." Ouch! We'll see you all tomorrow!
My Meal
Last week at Mango, a meatball craving was brought out in me, so this might turn into a mini-series here until I get my fill of them. This week’s meatball stop was at Knuckle’s Pizza, where I had already sampled the BBQ meatballs on our last trip and they were very tasty and impressively presented. There’s two other varieties of meatballs that Knuckles offers as appetizers, so I went back to try all three varieties.
They meatballs are served three with each order, but James, who was in charge of the place on Saturday graciously bent the rules and fixed me up with one of each, so I could try each variety and not get too stuffed. As I said earler, there’s three styles of meatballs available at Knuckles Pizza: BBQ, Buffalo and Pizzaioli. All of them are tasty and make for a wonderful appetizer, but my favorite of the three was the BBQ. The sauce is tangy with just a hint of sweetness coming through and the meatball is covered with flecks of bold cheddar cheese. I don’t know what blend of meats they use with their meatballs, but it’s so tasty and has a nice texture, not too firm and not too loose either. The Buffalo and Pizzaioli are tasty too, but I have to declare the BBQ as my favorite.
SNM Rating
Four Galloping Gourmets—My favorite is the BBQ, but you should try all the flavors in here, they’re so delicious! Oh, and don’t forget that Knuckles is the only pizza parlor in and around Peoria serving up delicious and unique Quad Cities style pizza. If you want to find out exactly what Quad Cities Style pizza is, click here and you can listen to owner Mindy Moore describe it. We’ll let the picture below do our talking, here’s the pie we got on our last visit, delicious! Check this place out soon if you already haven’t.
Related Posts: SNC @: Brasky's Bar & Grill, The Silver Bullet in East Peoria and Kuchie’s On The Water.
I can find me a night,
So lovely it might even change me.
Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!
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Today’s post was brought to you by Double A's • Pizza • Sports Bar • Grill. Check them and all the other fine businesses helping to support this blog over at the MBIP Bucket List Page. Your Daily Random Linkage awaits you at the bottom of the that page as well!
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