The boys slept late this morning and I started to get antsy. We were supposed to work on the shelves for Leo's room but I knew he'd be bleary for God knows how long even once he got up so I said, "Let's just get in the car and drive." Ernie acquiesced so we slunk out quickly before the boys could wake up and delay us. We drove a bit and then I said that I was thinking Peoria. He agreed and we took off on 150 west. The clouds were heavy and gray and it felt good to just be driving.
We went through Bloomington and I thought of stopping at Lucca Grill but it was too early so we meandered on. I was obsessively looking at listings and it came down to getting a burger or heading a little further west to Jubilee Cafe. Ernie liked the idea of having a burger and a beer so I looked at various lists and decided on the Burger Barge. I knew I'd read a review of it on some blog once that made it sound good. It turns out it was close to the casino so I started to say no, but then we pulled in on the worn down little road and found a slightly ramshackle place (mind you, that's not necessarily a criticism...it's how I describe my own house) surrounded by a full parking lot of cars, with the river running just beyond it. Ernie chortled, so we decided to do it.
We walked in to overwhelming noise. A waitress shouted across the room that we could sit wherever we wanted. We made our way to a booth in front of windows overlooking the river. The roar of the room was a bit deafening...evidently there was a girls high school softball team having their end of season whatever. They all had uniforms and about half had huge orange ribbons on their hair. I was fascinated.
The waitress came over and wiped our table down and took drink orders. We perused the menus that were so worn and greasy I was a bit hesitant to hold onto them firmly. But hey, you never know, right? We ordered basic cheeseburgers and frings for me (a mixture of french fries and onion rings), fries for Ernie. I went and found the bathroom and when I came back I sat down and said, "I think this is the filthiest restaurant I've ever been in." Ernie just started laughing. I told him I had thought about washing my hands after going to the bathroom but couldn't bear touching the sink. He told me to drink up. As our food arrived the softball coach stood up make his end of season presentation to the team...recounting what each player had achieved, etc. Honestly, it was quite touching, if not also rather bizarre.
I've been trying to slowly add different things back into my diet. Today, part of the reason I had gone for burgers was because I decided a good burger with a bun would be my experiment with gluten. I took one bite and decided there was no way I was going to experiment with a lousy burger so I just ate the patty. It was um, fine. A bit dry. I ate the onion rings but left the fries. Throughout all this Dire Staits seemed to be playing and playing. It probably wasn't that long...I guess time stood still as we listened to the softball team players clapping for each other. Eventually they clapped some more, exchanged gifts and left. It was very quiet and about 10 degrees cooler. We looked at each other because neither of us had anything to say, ate a bit more, and left.
Oh, and as Ernie noted, even though the waitress had wiped off the table for us....no matter how long we sat there...it never seemed to dry.
And for a little more insight...here is part of the menu. For instance, if you are really hungry, you can have the Big Kahuna Tavern Burger, with a 6 inch Hawaiian Sweet Bun, with a one pound burger, 4 slices of bacon, ham, grilled onion, American cheese and 2 fried eggs for $14.68. And you can make it a DOUBLE for only $7 more. As the menu trumpets: "Weighing in at 2-4 lbs."
Sweet Jesus.
After we left we were feeling somewhat shell shocked but not quite ready to head home. We decided to just hit a junky old antique mall that we used to go nearby. We followed the iPhone's directions so it took forever to get there, but then again we got a nice look at the back roads of East Peoria, even though we both mused to each other, "Didn't we used to just take that road and turn left at the T, and then left again?" Man, antique malls sure ain't what they used to be. This one was somewhat forlorn. The big middle section that used to be a restaurant just had a few antiques on display. We'd never found much there, but usually a bit of solid stuff, once in awhile something nice. Amazingly enough, we did find a few pieces of 19th century glass. Poor little orphans. We did buy one goblet. An 1870's pattern called Heart. It's a pretty little thing. God knows I don't know how we'll even squeeze it in the cupboard, but what the hell, they get broken occasionally so it will find it's way in eventually. There was a old clipping inside it that had a picture of a much earlier flint pattern known as Heart. This one has nothing to do with that but they must have thought it did. The funny thing about the clipping is that it shows an old flint lamp, and then says, "Sandwich, very early. Clear. One of many Sandwich pieces at the Houston Museum, Chattanooga. It's shown here because it's pressed glass and still around." I don't know...they just really amused the hell out of me....shown here because it's still around....
We meandered home, stopping at some Dollar General stores to see if we could score the ramen flavored Pringles for Owen, but no such luck. Three more days of vacation. God only knows what they will hold.... And next time I get in a Peoria frame of mind....I'm holding out for Jubilee Cafe.