I love Peoria Pizza Works! It’s been operating in the same spot on Prospect Road in Peoria Heights since 1974 and it’s known not only for their great pizza and bar, but also for the live music that they feature on a weekly basis. And in addition to live music, there’s also comedy and other events that happen on the stage at Peoria Pizza Works and we’ll find out about one of those unique events that’s happening real soon. Plus we're going to have our 43rd sandwich in The Year In The Life Of A Sandwich MBIP food tour as well, so let’s get moving along to...
Peoria Pizza Works! This place hasn’t changed much since it first opened in 1974! It always feels like going back in time when I walk in here! It’s a building of nostalgia right before our very eyeballs! Okay, let’s get moving along before my pants turn into elephant bell bottoms and my hair sprouts out into a mullet!
As I was walking in, I saw something in the window that reminded me of the special event coming up here that I mentioned in the introduction. My friend Terry Grawey is having one of his Hypnohumorist shows here coming up on Friday, April 21st! If you haven’t seen one of Terry’s shows, you really should check it out, I did a while back and I actually ended up in the show and got hypnotized! It was a blast and you can read and take a look at that show by clicking right here. Okay, we just may see a little more of Terry before this post is all over, so let’s go inside and begin our 43rd week of sandwiches in Peoria Pizza Works!
This place never changes in here and that’s one of the many things I love about it! One thing that is somewhat new is the pizza buffet and that happens up here in front of the dining area. It’s a great lunch deal with pizza, salad, potatoes, fried chicken and more, but today we’re having a sandwich and besides, the last time we were here with Terry there was a little...uh...incident with the Ranch Dressing, but we won’t get into that now, I spent way too much time on that before! We’ll just head up the aisle here where booths line the walls and hey, I think I see our special guest star of the day just up ahead...
It’s Terry Grawey! Always fun to see Terry and hang out with him and check out the way he’s sitting there. He and Greg Batton are currently in the process of getting a patent on this pose which they’re going to call, “The Thoughtful Guy With The Hand On The Chin Pose.” Or something like that.
As I settled into the booth, Gary, the owner of Pizza Works came over and said hi and told Terry to take his hand away from his chin! Then Sara brought some iced tea and a menu and pointed out one of the specialty sandwiches at Pizza Works, The Cable Car. It sounds really tasty, so that’s what I ordered and we’ll be seeing it soon!
I think this wooden Indian has been standing here since the place opened in the ‘70’s. Both Terry and I said it makes us think of this Seinfeld episode. I love the bar in the back here and as you can see, they have quite an impressive selection of beers on tap!
I wasn’t really intending on doing this, but suddenly I was drawn into following Terry into the side dining room where there’s an impressive shuffleboard table and then I kept following him into the next room where the music happens and this is where Terry’s show takes place. It was weird, I kind of felt compelled to walk up to the stage where Terry was, I really felt like I wasn’t really in control of things anymore...
All of a sudden things kind of went blank and I had a strong desire to walk...
Down this hallway and I found myself staring at this sign! The lesson learned here is watch out when you’re having lunch with a hypnotist! Okay, let’s get back to the booth now that I’ve snapped out of that spell Terry put me under!
And we’re back at the booth just in the nick of time, our lunch is there and Terry got a cheeseburger and there’s my Cable Car sandwich...
Okay the last time I had lunch with Terry, something a little disturbing happened, you can read about it here, but basically he took Ranch Dressing and put it on his pizza! Who does that? It kind of disturbed me and I admit that maybe I went a little overboard and couldn’t stop obsessing over it, but really, who the fuck puts Ranch Dressing on pizza? Well, I felt relieved that we were far away from the salad bar and there was no Ranch Dressing in sight as our lunch came. But then Terry turned his attention to the ketchup bottle sitting nearby and I couldn’t believe it! He started opening it up and as you can see, he kind of made a big whoop-dee-doo thing out of the whole process and that kind of bugged me, but I didn’t say anything and I was just going to let it go, because that’s just the kind of guy I am. But then he proceeded to put ketchup not only on his cheeseburger, but he dipped his potato chips in it as well! I was thoroughly grossed out by this behavior, but as I said, I was just going to let it go. I felt like I had made too much of a big deal over the Ranch Dressing episode...but really, who in their right fucking mind puts Ranch Dressing on pizza? Anyway, I was going to let it go when this happened...
He started eating his cheeseburger with a knife and a fork! Okay, enough is fucking enough! You pick up a cheeseburger and eat it with your hands! What, are we at the Royal Palace eating fine crumpets and sipping tea with our little fingers pointed skyward with The Queen of fucking England here? Terry tried to defend his behavior but I just can’t let this shit go. Plus, if you’re an adult, ketchup does not belong on a cheeseburger, you just put mustard on that thing, pick it up and eat it already! And you most certainly don’t put ketchup on your potato chips! That’s just not done! This was like a collage of moving things going horribly wrong in front of me! I felt like I was having lunch with Mr. Pitt! Check out the video below and then we’ll just move along here because I can hardly stand it anymore! But before you look at that video I would like to say one thing before we move on here: Seriously, who the fuck puts Ranch Dressing on pizza? Sheesh!
Here’s the Cable Car sandwich! Sara said it was the number one specialty sandwich and it sure looks delicious! It’s piled pretty high but I’m just going to be (ahem) a man here and eat it with my hands!
Wow, this is such a tasty sandwich and a fantastic combination of flavors! The roast beef is the meaty base of the sandwich but there’s also green chilies, melted Monterey Jack cheese, 1000 Island dressing (thank God it’s not Ranch!), bacon and the thing that really takes it over the top is that it’s housed between two slices of grilled Parmesan sourdough bread! The bread has a unique taste of its own and compliments the ingredients so well! This is one delicious and unique sandwich!
After we were done eating, Bobby came out and said hello and it turns out that Bobby made our tasty sandwiches today and he did a fantastic job! He told us we could have a piece of cake up front and we gladly took him up on this generous offer! There’s Terry getting his piece of homemade cake! Hmmm, that cake is also close to the salad bar...
Uh, oh, this looks bad, I almost hate to turn around here and see what’s going on behind my back...
Aaaaahhhh! (Thanks to everyone at Pizza Works for a great lunch and don’t forget to check out Terry’s upcoming show, maybe he’ll take bottles of Ranch Dressing in lieu of a cover charge!) We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Sandwich Rating
Three and three quarters Dagwood Bumsteads—Pizza Works has been known for their great pizza and live music since the ‘70’s, but you should also check out their sandwiches and other items on the menu and I suggest you start with The Cable Car, it’s a toasty and delicious sandwich that you can only find at Peoria Pizza Works!
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3921 N. Prospect Road
Peoria Heights
309-682-5446
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A knife, a fork, a vodka and a cork ...that's the way we spell New York, man!