Monday
Dec272010
Monday, December 27th, 2010—Bar 351
Sunday, December 26th, 2010—Bar 351
The Getaway
Today, I'm meeting two friends who joined me on the bar crawl last spring, Rick Halberg and Bob Gordon. We went to the Burger Barge in East Peoria last April, check out the post here: Burger Barge. I've decided to check out a bar in West Peoria called The Getaway, it sounds like a nice friendly, neighborhood bar. My only concern is that if it's going to be open on the Sunday after Christmas. There's only one way to find out, let's go.
Open for business! Let's go check it out.
The entrance is in the back of the building.
The front room is done up in Tiki style. Aloha!
But as you descend the stairs you'll find a nice dark, cozy atmosphere with a well worn "U" shaped bar that seats roughly about a baker's dozen. There's also chairs and stools along the walls to sit at.
And here's Dan the friendly owner and he also bar tends on Sundays.
And here's Rick and I having a beer at the bar and waiting for Bob. Rick does voice over work and plays bass and sings in the band Sister Groove. You can read more about the band here: Sister Groove. Rick also has a blog that's updated frequently, here it is: Groovyrick's Blog.
Sunday's are football Sunday's at the bar and all three TV's are tuned to the games. When the Bears are playing, they get the big screen. Yes, this is a Chicago Bears bar.
There's a mirrored wall opposite the bar with a wooden railing to set your drink or your elbow on.
The other side of the bar.
The blinds on the window are shut, allowing this place to stay dark, even on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I like that.
Christmas was yesterday, but their tree is still up.
Here's some of the Christmas cards underneath the tree. Hey, there's the 365 card...I wonder how that got there? Ho, ho, ho! Green Giant.
Here's a picture of the bar's mascot, Buddy Scaggs. As you can see, he's a Cubs fan and I wonder if he's any relation to Boz.
A list of the daily featured cocktails hang on the wall.
Next to that is some signed dollar bills.
And here's Bob Gordon. For over last 20 years, Bob has owned and run Acme Comics and Collectibles. You can check out the store's website here: Acme Comics.
Most of the people were a little camera-shy in here, so I was grateful to Amy and Dusty who happily posed for a 365 photo. I apologize for it being a tad blurry, I had had a few drinks by now.
A silhouette of Dan behind the bar watching the Bears beat the Jets.
Shortly after this picture was taken, Dan informed me there was free food upstairs. On Sunday's the bar always puts out a free spread for the customers. Nice!
Wow, sliced ham in country gravy, it looks delicious!
Here's the sandwich I expertly assembled. Note the extra mustard. Mmmm!
I told you it looked delicious and now I can verify that: It was delicious! And free! I may have seconds, goodnight, everybody!Review
The Getaway is a nice, cozy friendly bar tucked away in a neighborhood in West Peoria. The upstairs front room has a Tiki decor and downstairs is a small "U"-shaped bar with regulars from the neighborhood drinking, watching sports and shooting the shit. Have no fear if you're a newbie in here, everybody's friendly and after a drink or two you'll feel like you've been coming here for years.The booze is inexpensive in here and it's a full bar, although I wouldn't suggest ordering a fancy-schmancy cocktail in here. There's a decent amount of bottled beers with the majority of them priced at $2.50 a bottle. In the fall and winter Sunday's are transferred into "Football Sunday" with all three TV's tuned into games and a free food spread laid out. Hint: If you want to get along with everyone, I suggest you root for the Bears. Da Bears!
321 North Western Avenue
Peoria, Illinois
309-637-1178
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P.S.
Tomorrow, I'm flying back (hopefully) to New York, so tomorrow's post won't be up till early evening tomorrow, stay tuned and thanks for reading the 365 blog. 14 days to go!
15 References
Reader Comments (27)
Screw the Bears !!!
A great Peoria bar! Loved the mascot and your Boz Scaggs remark, I forgot all about him! LOL! Looks like a nice friendly joint and $2.50 beers and free food, I'd live there if I was in Peoria!
Nice bar with a good atmosphere.
And good luck with your flight.
A big shout-out to Dan and all of the folks who were there yesterday and made us feel right at home. This place was awesome. Remember Marty, the next time we're there Dan owes us a beer...he said so!
people really seem friendly in peoria, love the fact that you took the bar crawl there. have safe flight tomorrow! go bears! LOL!
You ARE an expert sandwich assembler! Speaking about expertly made sandwiches, absolutely the best submarine sandwich I ever ate in my life was in Peoria when I was a kid. It was a place my old man called out to for the family meal from time to time, and I have no Idea the name of the joint or if it survives today. It was not a chain, no chain shop could possibly be responsible for something that good. I'd give anything for one more tast!
Buddy Scaggs on the wall means its a very good bar. I love bars that love dogs. The Getaway reminds me of Koz's Mini Bowl in another state, like an old wooden house turned into a bar,,,cool.
See? I told you the slow cooker is a sure sign of a good bar! I'd love to spend a football Sunday at The Getaway. Neon, tv's, beer, ham...it's got everything you need to kick back, relax and watch the Bears beat the Jets (GO BEARS! - Sorry, Gene). I couldn't read the entire name of that one drink special, but I sure would like to know what goes into the red ... burst. And, um, the cherry packer sounds interesting too. I love that picture of Buddy Scaggs. If dogs could be race car drivers, I'll bet he'd be world champ.
On a side note, "Parking in Rear" signs always crack me up. Heh heh...parking in rear...
I thought of Biff as soon as I saw the slow cooker :) Free food always a good sign. Just curious, is there anyone in like their 20's or 30's that lives in Peoria?
Good luck getting back. It ain't pretty here. Safe travels.
@Gene: Here Here!! I concur.
@Biff: Here Here!! I concur. I'd head back to America just for sunday football. We should do that one day!!
I really like this place. Maybe because it looks so cold out side and so cozy inside.
Peoria bars don't seem too different from the NYC bars. It's been a nice change of pace the last few days in the world of 365.
Good luck with getting back to NYC, MArtster. Be safe, Be well, Be slightly intoxicated.
Dear Marty: You are a freaking TURD! Remember the part where you were supposed to call me to let you know where you were going Sunday? Yeah, that didn't freaking happen, now did it? Plus, you went to a bar RIGHT BY MY HOUSE! WALKING/STUMBLING DISTANCE. The best part is, I'm still planning on writing about you later this week. Yeah, that'll be pleasant.
I just saw the news, people. New York just got hit with what we got last week. Good luck, Marty, I mean that. 20 inches of snow in New York...you'll be doing the crawl in snowshoes!
@Jaws: I just saw the news also,,,New York City got hit with not 20 but like 34 inches of snow. Airport at LGA is now open but no airplanes as they were flown out before storm hit. A real nightmare and could take days for people to get home. You think Marty's consecutive days of crawling is in jeopardy? He may have to hit a few more bars in Peoria.
I like Peoria
I want to visit there.
maybe this is god's way of forcing Marty into downtime..
I'm sure there are plenty of bars still left to hit.
people in Peoria need some kind of thing to do.
I just hope they don't fly him into o hare and make him wait to catch a plane there.
that would fucking bite.
i fucking hate ohare
i take turbo props out of a dinky shit airport by my house and fly into minn. just to fucking avoid ohare.
If the storm and travel force Marty to miss one night of bar crawling, I say we let it go and give him a pass, who's with me? (And I fully expect a chorus of boos!)
@Mad Max: I would say that Marty himself would no way miss a day because even though it is totally understandable because of an act of god,,,,he has worked too damn hard an is so close to the end that if he had to just do a few more bars at airports,,,he would do it. He will not miss a single night and he can always set up a makeshift bar at Dad's home and have 3 drinks,,,,a few pictures and presto,,,another day notched.
Great bars get Free food! ;)
We've got Free food at AB bar, but don't be too fastidious with hygiene there! ;) The cheese 'sweat' , the chips are sometimes 1 week old and there are cockroaches all over the kitchen !! (oops I should not say that here, or if Jason read it, he's going to freak out the next time he's coming!!! lol) But I love AB bar anyway!
I'm late, but Merry Christmas Marty and Merry Christmas to you all and Happy Birthday Jesushole !!! :D
I still can't get over the free food! hope the flight home was worry free. :)
@Everyone: I'm on a plane right now headed for New York and I just bought two Budweisers! I have 88% power left on my laptop so I'm going to start saving the post. I don't know if I'll finish before I get back, but I'll be checking back in from time to time to say hi! Thanks for your comments and hey Luciano, the drinks are on me Friday the 7th for forgetting to call you. So quit acting like a stood-up sixth grade girl already! And thanks for the faith in me Al! Okay, I have to get to work, eight miles high.
The Getaway looks like a very friendly place indeed and how nice that they serve free food.
@Tiki Bar Susie: I'm up in he air right now putting together today's post. There's internet up here, a modern-day miracle!
The Getaway is awesome and not just because they give away free food !!
Good luck flying! Safe trip home.