I absolutely loved the avocado toast here. The avocado to toast ratio was perfect and they…read moresprinkled a slightly spicy tangy powder on top that made it extra delicious. They topped it with some pumpkin seeds as well. I asked for no egg and it was still so satisfying. The cafe itself is cozy and welcoming with a cute exterior seat that makes a perfect little stop on a road trip. Inside there are comfortable chairs by a fireplace that give it such a homey feel. They also have a to go fridge with ready to heat items which is very convenient. The staff was friendly and kind which made the visit even better. Definitely worth stopping in if you are passing through.

Nestled in the heart of Gridley, Illinois, Common Grounds Cafe & Pie Shop at 102 Gridley Rd . is a…read moreculinary pit stop that transforms humble small-town charm into a flavor-packed adventure. Owned by Katrina and Kyle Reinhard, this cozy café--housed in a revamped gas station with a drive-thru--delivers bold twists on comfort food, artisan coffee, and pies that could rival any big-city bakery.  Pie Odyssey The pie case here is a treasure trove of creativity. Dive into the Key Lime Pie--a tangy, velvety masterpiece hailed by Chicago restaurateurs as "the best they've ever had". The Coconut Cream Pie floats on a cloud of whipped topping, while the Chocolate Cream Pie is a decadent, cocoa-rich dream. Don't miss the Kuchen, a German family recipe with a buttery crust and custardy filling that tastes like German heritage. ( their rotating selection promises surprises.)  Drinks with a Dare Their coffee game is strong, thanks to Gobena Coffee--roasted locally and supporting global orphan care. The Banana Cream Latte is a creamy, whimsical sip, while the Strawberry Piña Colada Smoothie tastes like a tropical vacation in a cup. Adventurers can try seasonal concoctions like the "Winter Wonderland Steamer" or a spicy chai latte.  Savory Quests Breakfast kicks off with a hearty Steak Bagel, layered with juicy beef and a perfectly fried egg. For lunch, the Buffalo Chicken Flatbread packs a punch with smoky heat balanced by cool ranch drizzle. The Beef & Cheddar on Ciabatta is a melty, savory triumph, and the Country Ham Quiche (likely a typo for "quiche") features flaky crust and robust ham chunks--a nod to their farm-fresh ingredients.  Vibe & Verve Once a gas station stop, now a rustic-chic hub with leather armchairs and a fireplace, Common Grounds blends small-town warmth with gourmet flair. The Community Room hosts everything from pie tastings to bridal showers, and the staff's friendliness is legendary. Just brace for prices that lean urban. Final Bite Common Grounds is a detour worth taking. Come for the pies, stay for the caramel-smoked macchiatos, and leave planning your next visit. As one reviewer raved: "You don't need a big city for big flavors". Rating:  5/5 stars -- where every bite feels like a discovery.

A T M O S P H E R E You know you're back in small town farm…read moretown Illinois when you walking into an amazing Mom and Pop shop like Jubilee Cafe! This place is so cozy! S E R V I C E The servers are super sweet! They're on top of providing timely service, quick refills, and making sure you have what you need. F O O D I had the Chicken Wrap and it was pretty good! And then... I had the Banana Pie... and that was to die for!! Pie is definitely their thing! 100/100 recommend!! My dad and mama loved the pie so much, we got a full chocolate pie for around $19 to go. You cannot beat their great prices and service! Go check them out!!

I've been coming here a couple of times a week. Usually friendly waitresses.. yesterday was a…read morebit different. Unfriendly waitress who disappeared, wait for my lunch was much longer than normal. To the point where the other waitress was giving me the "raised eyebrows" look.. My waitress also neglected to tell me about the fish basket special but served me chicken and noodles that had been reheated way too much! When I explained the poor "tip" I rendered, she just shrugged her shoulders like no big deal..

Fresh flavors and a calm, uplifting vibe!!!!!…read more Intuition Coffee + Juice offers an excellent experience with high-quality drinks made thoughtfully. The coffee was smooth and well-balanced, and the juices tasted fresh and vibrant, not overly sweet or watered down. You can really tell care goes into the ingredients. The space feels clean, calm, and welcoming--perfect for a quick stop or a relaxed sit-down. Staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and happy to make recommendations. Overall, Intuition Coffee + Juice stands out for freshness, consistency, and a great atmosphere. A well-deserved five-star spot that's easy to come back to.

Coffee is below average. Very acidic tasting. Nothing special at all, which is a shame because the…read moreambiance is very cool. Great place to hang and work. Building is very cool. Service was slow, although you expect it to some extent because they seem to care about the coffee (they teach classes on how to make various coffee drinks).

Don't let its size deceive you. This small coffee stand surprisingly offers a diverse selection of…read moreflavors and food items. The versatility of their options allow you to fully customize your drink to your satisfaction. The employees were also extremely welcoming and friendly as you make your way through the drive thru. Their speedy service is another additive bonus to this establishment, making it very easy to grab a bite or coffee while on your way to work or school!

Friendly & speedy service with great food options & stellar drink menu. You can call ahead and then…read morepick up without waiting in the second part of the line.

My husband and I love to explore little towns in Illinois. El Paso was adorable. This coffee shop…read moreoutshines any I have ever been to. The ambience was A+++, the avocado toast was so yummy and my vanilla ice coffee was perfection. The service is warm, friendly, and fast. I will come back.

Java Café is such a cozy little spot in a quaint town. I had the veggie avocado toast and it was…read morefresh and flavorful. The veggies are served raw per the kitchen and it worked well, though I do wish there had been a little more avocado. Still, it was delicious and satisfying. I paired it with the rooibos hibiscus tea which was light and refreshing. They also have self serve water and a clean up yourself setup which keeps the vibe laid back. Food is served during breakfast hours only, but they do keep a grab and go refrigerated case stocked with premade items if you stop by later. Staff were friendly and kind, and the atmosphere is extremely inviting with plenty of nooks to settle into. One of the highlights is a painted chess table that adds to the artsy charm and is perfect for a photo. They also have a shaded outdoor patio if you want to sit outside. Definitely worth stopping in if you are in the area and looking for good food, tea, and a comfortable place to relax.

For the past two years, I have been getting best brew coffee before work when I can, and it is my…read morefavorite start of the day. The staff and ownership there is amazing and hilarious super welcoming. coffees to die for.

From coffee truck to temporary location back to coffee truck…read more My friend Maria first told me about this place and how it is a coffee truck that's taking temporary residency in this Tropical Sno building until the end of winter. Not really wanting to stand outside and order coffee in 10 degree weather, I kind of forgot about it until we were at a hockey game and Maria said it was still open and was having their final day the next day. Having already plans to go to Weaver's for lunch on that same day, it only made sense to drop in next door to grab some caffeine before lunch. So, that's what Emily and I did. We both needed some caffeine before we dug into our lunch. The menu was pretty vast for being a mobile truck. I'm guessing them being in an actual building lets them expand their offerings. Being situated in the Tropical Sno building also lets them tap into that companies sauces and syrups to build some pretty interesting combinations and drinks. Emily got The Best Brew and I snagged Night Shift Special with some caramel flavoring. We took a seat to enjoy what little sunshine there was on this dreary day. It was a bit too cold to sit outside and enjoy our coffees so we took them to the car to sip them down. We tried Emily's first and it was really good. The cinnamon bun flavor was just subtle enough to not make the drink all about itself. Then we tried my Night Shift and we both fell in love. Usually when Emily and I grab coffee and food, she gets the better tasting thing but I won this one with the best tasting drink ever. This drink is legit a Top 3 coffee drink I've ever had. Every sip was smooth and delicious and full of flavor. After we drank most of our coffees, we wandered over to Weaver's for even more tasty goodies but we kept thinking about that Night Shift Special. With The Best Brew moving back to being a mobile truck, I am going to have to keep my eye on where it'll be setting up shop to get more of that sweet sweet Night Shift Special.

How sweet it is!…read more Let's preface this blog post by saying that The Sweet Bean is set to close on May 13th. Not only did I recently hear about this place for the first time but in the same breath I heard they were closing. So, I knew it was a high priority to check it out. It just so happens that my girlfriend also loves coffee and sweet treats, so we booked it there the first chance we got. I'm not too familiar with the inner workings of how Pekin is laid out so I never would've stumbled upon this place without either being told about it or finding it on Yelp/Google/other sources of information. Thank gosh for GPS We arrived in the later part of the morning once we woke up and got moving for the day. We both were in need of some coffee and something to put in our bellies. Upon entering, we were greeted by a friendly person behind the counter who ended up being the owner. She asked us what the photo taking out front was about and I briefly mentioned how I like to try out local coffee places. She said they only have the basic coffee choices as they are more of a bakery and I said that as long as you serve coffee, that is good enough for me. Emily got a flavored cold brew and a giant turtle cookie and I got a plain cold brew and a dark chocolate cherry... scone? I'm not 100% sure it was a scone. I just pointed at what I wanted and she told me what it was but was too distracted by all the delicious-looking treats in the display case to remember what she said. The total for two 16 ounce drinks and two baked goods was only $13. That is a really good deal, imo. We snagged a table and sat there, sipping our coffees and trying each other's snack. Emily was jealous of my treat and I was a bit jealous of her treat. They were both super delicious and I am glad we got them heated up as I think that really make their homemade deliciousness POP. I couldn't get over how thick and chewy my treat was. It tasted exactly like how it sounds but cranked to an 11. The cold brew was just that. Long-steeped coffee over ice. I don't think I've ever had a cold brew that wasn't just that and that is perfectly fine in my book While we were checking out, we noticed some stickers for sale. I tried to buy 2 but was told I had to use venmo to pay for the stickers as they were being sold by an independent seller. We ended up grabbing 5 for $15 once I worked out how to pay the person directly. This might be the first time I've seen something sold in a store that wasn't able to be rung up at the register. I didn't get a photo of the 5 we bought but you can rest assure they are mostly coffee-themed. I am truly sad this place is closing up it's doors. You can see on their FB page the reasons why so I won't go into that here. Make sure you pop in while you can before the oven is turned off for good.

Love this new little place in town! Fresh homemade muffins - love the banana nut, wow. Haven't…read moretried anything else yet but the coffee is great too. Comes from a coffee place in Peoria that roasts their own they said. Really good. Beats Starbucks any day

Review Visit: June 6th, 2016…read more If you visit the blog often, you will notice my trend for visiting coffeehouses and see that I tend to order Iced Caramel Lattes at most places. Black Maple was no different. A perfect blend of milk, espresso and caramel made this one place I would love to re-visit. It would've scored a perfect 5, but they are a walk-up/drive-thru only, so if it was a rainy day, it could possibly affect trying to get something from there. Also, they could've used some benches outside, but since it is located in the parking lot of a hotel, they are doing great with what they have. I don't frequent Canton, but I am going to always visit this place if I do.

We were really excited to try this place but very unimpressed. They didnt have anywhere hardly to…read moresit inside. When we ordered we asked how sweet drinks were and were told they weren't sweet. My husband ordered a vanilla latte which had hardly any flavor (including coffee flavor). I ordered a caramel macchiato which was SO sweet. We also ordered a bfest croissant. The croissant was panini style so smooshed and burnt. Sorry to say we will not be back. Hope others have a better experience then we did.

Visited 2x while in town... had the Colombia pour over... amazing! Friendly staff, great space!…read moreKinda wish I had work to do so I could stay and hang a bit!

STILL my number 1 of ever, after hundreds of shops working coffee by cold brew, espresso,…read moresparkling, and more between Philadelphia, St Paul, Miami, Denver, and San Diego, Zion remains the crowned! I am in love with their wildly wacky tonics, most recently this spring pomplemousse! The tea cake latte is fine too but I miss the old vibrant mixes that were more adventurous. There's a wholesome obnoxious vibe between pure white walls, dirty disco and thumping music, a polite and talented barista troupe, posh and perfect menu both alcoholic and food. Avo toast will convert the most hardened of appetites! I've never tried a cocktail yet a bit intoxicated with their methods for putting together java and espresso. I wish they offered discounts for personal cups, a more inviting and fair rewards program, and the bright big space suddenly becomes a small noisy circus on busy weekends but overall this is the ideal. Peoria should be proud!

This has been my husband's and I new favorite coffee place! I love their seasonal iced latte…read moreflavors and they make in house whip cream! I also love getting their tres leche cakes they are just so delicious! I forgot to take a picture it was just too good!

I came here with my mom and 2 kids. My daughter and I both had the Trenzado- the pink one. We…read morewere going to share but ended up fighting over it because it was so good. My mom had a cinnamon/ sugar pretzel which was also delicious. My daughter also tried the matcha tea with strawberry flavor and I had an iced latte. It was very comfortable inside. We decided to sit out side while my 4 year old played at the playground at Grand Prairie mall. I would definitely recommend this cafe and bakery.