Another fun place we stopped to eat on our recent anniversary trip was The Fox Pub and Cafe in Peoria. This place with English flair was fun and had great food.
Our overall rating was 4.44 (out of 5 stars).
Here's how that breaks down:
Family Friendly: 3 Stars While we'd feel comfortable bringing our kids there for lunch, it is a pub and could be more bar-like in the evening. Also, there were not many things that were kid focused (high chairs, kids menus, etc).
Menu: 5 Stars Everything looked good, and after the food was good (see below) we want to go back and try something else!
Taste of the Food: 5 Stars The Fish and Chips were why we went to the Fox, and they did not disappoint. The Reuben was the best Reuben we've ever tasted.
Appearance of the Food: 5 Stars Everything looked great too!
Restrooms: 5 Stars
Atmosphere: 4.5 Stars The English flair/theme was cool. The '.5' off was that you really couldn't avoid seeing a TV anywhere in the restaurant.
Service: 4 Stars We did have to ask for water refills, but overall the staff was very friendly and helpful.
Ethical/Sustainable: 4 Stars They didn't have any information on where there food was from, but many of their items were 'homemade' or 'made from scratch'.
Pricing: Lunch entrees were about $10 each.
For our anniversary dinner, we ate at Chez Willy's in Galesburg. We had been there years ago, and were eagerly anticipating eating there again. It did not disappoint!
Our overall rating was 4.63 Stars (out of 5 stars).
Here's how that breaks down:
Family Friendly: 4 Stars We really don't know for sure, since we didn't bring our kids along. There was nothing family unfriendly, but neither did we see any other kids, high chairs or kids' menus.
Menu: 5 Stars Simple, but good. There is a chalkboard on one wall where you can see all of the daily specials.
Taste of the Food: 5 Stars More stars if we could!
Appearance of the Food: 5 Stars You have to try the Bananas Foster! They make it for you at your table and it's really cool to watch. Not to mention how amazing it tastes!
Restrooms: 4.5 Stars
Atmosphere: 4.5 Stars It's a sweet, cozy place that invites you to linger and enjoy the great food. There is a TV in the bar area, which seems out of place for such a classy restaurant.
Service: 5 Stars
Ethical/Sustainable: 4 Stars. We don't know the source of all the ingredients, but everything seems to be made from scratch. (All of the salad dressings are even made in-house.)
Pricing: $20-30 a plate. (Great place for a special date!)
We stopped in Galesburg for dinner on our way home from vacation. Our boys love crepes and going to a "creperie" was very exciting for them!
Our overall rating was 4.31 Stars (out of 5 stars).
Here's how that breaks down:
Family Friendly: 5 Stars They accommodated us well and tolerated a cranky toddler without batting an eye.
Menu: 3 Stars There are many choices on the menu, almost too many. It's hard to focus and find something because there are so many types of options. But the biggest knock down here is their kids' menu. It consisted of Spaghetti-Ohs, Hot dog, Grilled Cheese and PBJ. Not only is such fare overpriced, but it goes against the principle of teaching kids to appreciate good food.
Taste of the Food: 5 Stars The dessert crepes are to die for!
Appearance of the Food: 4 Stars The entree crepes taste great, but they don't look very impressive.
Restrooms: 5 Stars Very clean restrooms...and we know because our family used them so much while we were there.
Atmosphere: 4.5 Stars Cool building with a lot of neat vintage decorations. The floor near our table was very sticky (before we got our food!).
Service: 5 Stars
Ethical/Sustainable: 3 Stars It seems like most things are made from scratch, but there wasn't any mention of where ingredients are sourced from.
Pricing: $10-20 range for dinner.
While on a recent family vacation, we met some friends at Wise Acre Eatery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Our overall rating was 4.75 Stars (out of 5 stars).
Here's how that breaks down:
Family Friendly: 5 Stars
Menu: 5 Stars The menu was simple, but we all wanted more than one thing because it sounded so good!
Taste of the Food: 5 Stars The food was fantastic!
Appearance of the Food: 5 Stars
Restrooms: 5 Stars The restrooms were very clean and featured actual towels that were put into a hamper to be laundered and reused.
Atmosphere: 4.5 Stars The building and decorations were very cool. The restaurant was located near an airport and across the street from a fire station, which made for some occasional added noise.
Service: 3.5 Stars They were friendly and accommodating (in spite of our large group during busy lunch hour). However, we had to consistently request water and coffee refills.
Ethical/Sustainable: 5 Stars Nearly everything on the menu (75-95%) comes from their farm, which is less than an hour away from the restaurant. How amazing is that?
Pricing: $10-15 per person for Brunch.
