We’re taking a second trip to Pekin on this Year of Pizza tour today and we’re headed to McCritter’s Bar and Grill. It’s Sunday which is my day off and I plan on having more than a few beers, so some special guest stars are driving today so I can booze it up! Hey...what’s that...
I've got a feeling that's the special guest stars knocking at the MBIP door...
We are on the road with the vehicle pointed towards Pekin, Illinois.
Sadly that means that we must go over this bridge to reach our destination. Seconds after I took this photo I was coiled up in the back seat in the fetal position while we went over it. At least I wasn't driving!
Okay, through the miracle of the interwebs you're spared the nightmare of traveling over a Pekin-bound bridge and here we are at McCritter's Bar & Grill. Wow, it's a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be.
Check out the sign: "Home Made Pizza," perfect! Hey, check out the welcome below that, how did they know we were coming here today?
Entrance, stage right!
Let's go in and see what's shaking in here on this sunny Sunday afternoon.
They have a nice long bar here in the front and look, there's three chairs just waiting for us. But we decided it would be easier to sit and talk at...
One of these side tables positioned against the wall opposite the bar. And it was lucky that we sat at this table because...
Within seconds our pretty waitress, Krista magically arrived with a bucket of six iced Budweisers! We placed our pizza order and I thought I'd take a little tour of the place since I've never been in here.
They're known for their homemade soups in here, check out the "Cheeseburger Chowder" entry! I need to come back and try that one out.
Tables line the front wall over here.
Here's the back of the bar that we saw when we came in. And if you squint and look real closely you'll see an unplanned obligatory bar mirror shot. I love it when that happens!
I really like this neon Pabst Blue Ribbon sign hanging at the end of the bar.
There's a large game room in the back here.
Check out the pinball machine over here in the corner of the room.
It's a Sopranos themed pinball machine. If you win, instead of lights going off and bells ringing, it goes silent and fades to black.
Diamond pool tables in here, nothing but the best!
A long shuffleboard table stands next to the back wall in here.
There's another bar and room opposite the game room. This place is huge!
There's a nice patio outside with tables and chairs to sit outside and enjoy a cocktail...
Which is exactly what Rachael and Jeff were doing. They told me they're regulars and help keep this place in business, good for them!
And I returned to our table just as the food was arriving. We started off with a couple of appetizers, mini corn dogs and...
Southwestern egg rolls. These come with homemade dipping sauces and the two sauces in the middle were really tangy and tasty. I even ended up dipping a corn dog in them.
McCritter's has a Sunday special where you can order a ten inch pizza for just three bucks apiece, so Star, Kevin and I each ordered a different style of pie. I ordered a plain cheese pizza with double cheese.
Kevin got the supreme which has pepperoni, sausage, onion and green peppers as toppings.
Star ordered the barbecue chicken pizza. They were all great tasting pizzas, but this one was the hit of the afternoon!
There's large chunks of chicken with a blend of rich melted cheese and a smoky barbecue sauce that was tangy, slightly sweet and savory. The crust is thin, but has a nice chewy consistency to it. This is definitely one of the best pizzas of the tour! Oh and I forgot to get the hot sauce shot and once again I forgot to bring along one of Ragin' RR's giant Tabasco bottles, but they had the ever-present Frank's Hot Sauce and Sriracha hot sauce.
And for dessert we had another bucket of beer! Cheers and thanks to Star and Kevin for hanging out and driving and everyone at McCritter's for the friendly hospitality and delicious food!
And now time for the next day cold pizza challenge! I still have two bottles of the Baba beer for those of you keeping score at home.
It's delicious, but I wish I had some of the barbecue chicken pizza left, but we devoured that at the bar. We'll see you all tomorrow!
Pizza Rating
Four Chefboyardees—For the barbecue chicken pizza, one of the best pizzas on the tour so far!
McCritter's Bar and Grill
2801 Court Street
Pekin, IL 61554
309-642-6556
Related Posts: YOP @ Firehouse Pizza Pub, Grady’s Pizza, Castle’s Patio Inn, Aurelio’s Pizza, The Pour House, No Wake Zone, Farmington Pizza Company/Acme Saloon, Tobin’s Pizza, Joe’s Sports Grille, Broken Tree, Hoops Pub & Pizza, Oliver's Pizza & Pub North, Rizzi’s on State, Bacci Pizza, Veterans Pub and Pizza, Larry’s Driftwood Pizza, Norwood Pub ‘N’ Grub, Barrister’s Pizza and Pub, Mickie’s Pizzeria, Double A’s, Lucca Grill, Avanti’s, Leonardo’s, Lou’s La Grotto, Knuckles Pizza, Davis Bros. Pizza, Kenny’s Westside Pub, Dave’s Pizza, Peoria Pizza Works, Sugar and Agatucci’s.
You've got no worry,
You're so mystifyingly glad,
I'm Mr. Dieingly Sad.
Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!
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Today’s post was brought to you by Double A's Pizza • Sport's 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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