I recently ran into Seth Higgins, who’s the Executive Chef at Hearth restaurant. We were chatting away and I told him about the MBIP Mac and Cheese tour and he told me that they have a Mac and Cheese entree on their luncheon menu.
I’ve had lunch at Hearth many times but I never noticed that. I told Seth we’d add it to the tour list and today we’re going to go sample the Mac and Cheese at Hearth and we’ll be joined by a special guest star as well!
Scroll on down to see all the cheesy action!
Here we are at Hearth Restaurant located on Prospect in Peoria Heights. I love this place and i also love that it was opened on 11/12/13!
Nice opening numbers!
Okay, let’s go inside and start our fourth cheesy week of this Mac and Cheese tour!
As soon as I stepped in I was greeted by the owner of Hearth, Hugh Higgins. It’s always a pleasure to see his smiling face and he guided me to today’s table at Hearth.
We’re seated at this primo spot, the front window table that overlooks Prospect Road!
Here’s our virew from the front window and shortly after I was seated…
I was greeted by this week’s special guest star, Mike Frasca! I’m friends with Mike on Twitter and this is the first time I’m meeting him in real life.
Mike’s an interesting guy and he’s a doctor who’s originally from New Jersey.
He and his wife Jessica moved here to Peoria in July of 1984 to join the full-time faculty at the University of Illinois College of Medicine where he taught, supervised residents and saw his own patients.
Mike made his living in the medical world and community, but he’s got other passions in life and one of them is live, local music.
Mike regularly attends live shows in the area and he tapes these shows. He has an amazing online archival library of his tapes and you can access them by clicking right here. He has tapes to shows from 1996 to 2024 and he’s adding to them all the time.
I asked him to describe the taping process and below are his words about his passion for preserving live shows to tape.
“I use Oktava or Nakamichi microphones that plug into a digital recorder that records onto a micro-SD card.. The whole thing is powered by a small mobile phone charger that has enough juice to last a whole weekend music festival.
I set up the pair of microphones on a mic stand and attach cables that feed into the digital recorder. When the music starts, I hit record. it's a lot easier then back in the days when you had to use a pre-amp, tape/cassette/DAT deck and heavy batteries to power it.”
So very cool, thanks for sharing this live music with all of us, Mike!
Tim was our friendly server for the afternoon and he took our luncheon orders with a wonderful smile!
I noticed this table in the front area of the restaurant and it’s packed with Pabst antique collectibles and other vintage Peoria items. Very cool!
Here’s rwo nice black and white photos of Seth and Hugh Higgins. It’s a family affair in here and you can read all about that right here.
I love the bar here and it’s got one of the best whiskey selections in Peoria and beyond. Check out the whiskey list by clicking here.
There’s the lone Stella Artois tap and there’s tables and a nice wine selection in the room right next to the bar.
There’s dining areas in the back of the building decorated and lit up nicely.
And there’s yet another dining room locateed in the very back of the restaurant.
Meanwhile, back at our window table…
Our luncheon feast has arrived!
Mike ordered their gourmet grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of their homemade tomato soup.
He gave both luncheon selections a high rating and said the grilled cheese was one of the best he’s ever had. He said he enjoyed the apple slices and walnuts in the sandwich which he noted added a nice flavor and consistency to the sandwich.
I started my meal out with the soup of the day, clam chowder.
The soup was a creamy and rich delight!
And now onto the star of today’s lunch…
This week’s Macaroni and Cheese and this looks like a cheesy delight! Let’s dig in and give it a taste!
Wow, this is a rich and tasty Macaroni and Cheese dish!
In addition to the perfectly cooked macaroni and the rich and creamy cheese, there’s also green onions and smoky bacon bits adding to the wonderful taste of this dish.
It’s a filling entree and this is all you need for a full and satisfying luncheon entree at Hearth!
——
MACARONI AND CHEESE RATING FOR WEEK NUMBER Four At Hearth
I’ll give Hearth’s Mac and Cheese luncheon entree a high rating of three and a half mac and cheese boxes.
This is a truly satisfying Mac and Cheese dish and a wonderful comfort luncheon dish!
Thanks to Mike for being the special guest star today, it was great to meet him and you’ll be seeing him again on the blog!
——
4604 N. Prospect Road
Peoria Heights
309-686-0234
——
Related Posts: MBIP Mac and Cheese Tour: Verandah Cocina Latina, Kenny’s Westside Pub and The Publik House.