Trefzger's is one of those places where you bite into one of their creations and you immediately…read morethink "Ahhh I understand why they've been around since 1861". The thumbprint cookies are pure flames. I can't think of a single item that doesn't have the sweetness precisely dialed in. My only real nitpick I can think of is with the bread used for the pastries (danishes, cinnamon rolls). It's slightly too... Dry? Gluten-y? But it's not an overarching issue so it's pretty insignificant.

Beautiful, large, independent bakery with incredible sweets. Everything is amazing about this…read moreplace except for the unfriendly staff.

Review Visit: May 2nd, 2015…read more Not just a bakery but a tourist stop. If you mention getting donuts (or doughnuts) in East Peoria, everyone will talk about how good Carl's Bakery is. They produce a lot of doughnuts (or donuts) that are beloved by the residents of East Peoria. Having lived in the general area and having drove by the place a million times, I thought it was time to check it out. If you are familiar with Carl's Bakery, you are familiar with the giant rooster that is outside the building. If you aren't familiar, then there is a giant rooster outside the building. One that is prime for taking a fun photo with. My dad and I did just that after trying out their food. Carl's Bakery is one of those places that seems to be open from before the sun rises to around noon-ish. So, if you are interested in going, you better head there when the roosters crow or else they will be closing up shop. When you go, you have to compete for a parking spot on the side of the building. While Carl's has an indoor eating area, I took the limited parking as a sign that they cater to the 'pick up my donuts (or doughnuts) and go' crowd. Nonetheless, my dad and I found a spot to park and headed in. Once we were inside, we had to squeeze a large throng of people to get to the counter. We told the cashier we wanted to eat in. She guided us to a table and we took a seat. While looking over the menu, I had hopes of getting some breakfast as that is what I assumed they specialized in. Maybe we missed a cutoff point or something else happened but we ended up ordering some lunch instead. My dad got a tenderloin and I got... I honestly don't remember. Maybe a burger that came with a ton of fries. Oh, and we both got coffee. Let us start with the coffee. It was... not good. I've had cheap coffee and this stuff takes the cake. I used more half-n-half and sugar than I normally do. While I am no snob and I put down a few cups, it wasn't worth it in the end to taste some water masquerading as coffee. But no worries. It's just coffee. We were there for the food. How was that?/ A notch above the coffee. I fully admit that I don't remember what sandwich I got but I do remember not being a fan of it. My dad said the same thing about his tenderloin. Both just lacking in everything. How does that happen? Can a chef or someone with cooking knowledge explain that to me? The french fries were salvageable at least. In fact, they were the only things that tasted good. Hype. It has it's place in the world but more often than not, I find that hype ruins a lot of things for me. Movies, video games, restaurants, and various other things. It's nice to get excited about something but when it doesn't live up to that level, I believe it is more disappointing than if it weren't hyped at all. But we aren't here for a hype discussion. My dad and I got to hang out and try something new. Was it the best place ever? No. Do I cherish the memory of this outing? Heck yes. While I may have had a lack luster time here, don't let the opposite of hype dissuade you from checking it out if you are a doughnut (or donut) person. Or you want to stop and take a photo with the giant rooster outside and then find yourself magically teleported inside, trying out their coffee and menu offerings.

This is an older family business that has become curbside only, check FB for menu or call ahead to…read moreplace an order. Do not let this stop you from heading over ! Open Thursday to Saturday (always check) . Can only speak for donuts & pastries but I can't imagine that they'd fail at dinner ! The service was very personal and polite. The donuts are Old School ! Fresh Home Made, hot if you're early! Big variety , fair prices , honestly good ingredients that you can taste . I was in town for a dog show, picking up 2 dozen to have out for people and this place was a fan favorite for many . You want commercial, cookie cutter , uninspired donuts you can find that anywhere. If you want to impress or treat yourself, friends and family give this place a try !

Love this place. Every time I go back to visit Peoria, we must stop and we try to take friends. Our…read moremost recent visit, we were served by Yeni herself and she was really kind about having us try several flavors before we made our final selections. This shop has so many things! Regular ice cream, dairy-free sorbet flavors, horchata, aqua fresca and boozy flavors. So much, all home made. My plan was to have a scoop of the no sugar added avocado ice cream as I did my previous visit. It was so refreshing on a hot night. Sadly, this flavor was not available, but there were OH SO many. The lavender was wonderful. The pine nut was unexpectedly sweet and smooth. My husband ended up choosing starry night, which was a mix of berries topped with gold star shaped sprinkles and it was a beautiful presentation. My choice ended up being something she suggested that I try. I honestly can't remember the name but the 90s was in the title so of course it was something I was interested in ha ha. So let me tell you, this flavor tasted like Saturday mornings as a kid, when you're watching cartoons, eating cereal and then you drink the last bit of your sweetened milk from the bottom of the bowl. Oh my gosh, it took me back! Yeni explained that it was a mix of her homemade Mexican vanilla and she added grape nuts. Yes, you heard that right - grape nuts, cereal! I am so excited that this shop is in Peoria Heights, and I hope that it stays for a long time. We will plan to be back regularly. Thank you for the wonderful hospitality. Yeni!

Review Visit: March 3rd, 2020…read more Who gets ice cream in the winter? Seriously. Apparently a lot of people do... including myself and my friend. We actually attempted to come here the week before but their business hours updated but hadn't been fully rolled out yet. Luckily, my friend was able to find out their new times and we set our course for a different day. The winter weather in the Central Illinois region is breaking and spring is just around the corner. what a better way to get your mindset on spring than with some ice cream. We stopped in on a sunny but windy afternoon and were greeted by a friendly cashier. She offered us samples of any of their many ice cream flavors. I quickly looked over their options and zoomed in on the Coffee flavor. My friend tried a few samples before settling on Pecan. We got one scoop a piece and had them served in waffle cones. (Waffle/sugar cones are the best, by far, in my ice cream opinion.) The total for our one-scoop two ice creams was around $7.75. A bit higher than I expected but the scoops were big and I was ready for some Mexican-style coffee ice cream. We popped a seat at the front of the store and conversed while watching the foot and car traffic zip by. My friend loved her ice cream and wanted to get more before we left. I thought mine was pretty good. Not too heavy on the coffee flavor but also not overwhelming at the same time. They had about 20 flavors to choose from so I would be willing to go back and try some more out. They had a dairy-free strawberry flavor that caught my attention after I ordered. As for the interior, it was bright and warm as many Mexican places tend to be. They had 4 metal chairs at the front of the store to sit at. That is where Maria and I sat. Along the wall where you order are 4 more chairs to sit and enjoy your sugary sweets. If the weather is in your favor, you also have the option of sitting outside on some benches and chairs available. At the time of us ordering, the two TVs behind the cashier were off. After a new cashier came in to relieve the one that took care of us, we noticed the TVs were on. Upon looking that over, we noticed they offered more than just ice cream. The menu had a bunch of cultural-appropriate options that a small ice cream place like this can whip up for you. I didn't get a good photo of the menu, so I can't share with you what the menu items are... but if/when I go back, I will make sure to fix that mistake. All-in-all, it was a nice scoop of coffee on a nice but windy day in Peoria. Next time you are in the mood for some sweets, skip the national places and try some hidden gems. You might find some new favorites by doing just that.

Chili dogs are always top on my list. Best to pass on the cheese. Service is hit and miss.read more

Great ice cream! I got the smores wizard and it hit the spot. Highly recommend this place for all…read moreyour ice cream needs

The donuts were wonderful they went out of there way to make sure I got my order I will be back…read moreover and over

Due to poor planning on my part, I needed to pick up food for an event I was a part of and nothing…read morewas really open at 5 am so I drove to Pekin for doughnut. Awesome experience. The woman behind the counter was really helpful. Everything was incredible and everyone loved them. Some of these were so massive that I genuinely over ordered, but we started handing them out at the end of the day. Would go back if I lived in the area.

Just took the kids here today for the first time in years, and it was just the same as always -…read moretotally awesome! The soft serve is delicious, and they serve the cones with little edible eyes, which the kids go nuts for. Of course, we all ended up wearing more cone than we ate, because it was a little toasty outside, but it was fun to sit there and commune with our fellow humans over entirely too much sugar.

The best ice cream in Pekin, if you can get past the attitudes. After going to the Funeral home, to…read moremake arrangements to bury her father, we thought we would go here to get away from the craziness in our lives the past few days. When we arrived, the attitudes were short wicked and it looks like everyone hated their job. My wife was made out to be a dumb*** in front of everyone because she accidentally grabbed someone's Strawberry Shake instead of her Strawberry Shortcake. I won't be back, that was very embarrassing for my wife and put her in tears, she just can't get away from all this cruel crap. She just lost her father and just can't get a break

My sister and I were spending the day together and we just happened to be driving by American…read moreKolache. We were talking about how we both had wanted to stop by and check it out, so we did! We parked the car and started walking up to the door. I noticed how small the building was in person, look like there was just enough room for maybe 8-10 people to fit comfortably inside, but it was nice, you could tell that it was freshly remodeled. We didn't even make it to the door before a young lady opened the door to greet us. I think her name was Kayleigh, I apologize if I have that wrong. Anyway, she comes right out the door as we're walking up to it and she hands us this large box and tells us that we can have what's left free of charge because they were getting ready to close. The box was a hefty box too, it was hardy like this was the most durable box I've ever held that contained food. I love the fact that they want that extra measure to make sure that the box stayed durable during transportation. Impressive choice! We thanked her and thought that was really kind! I had asked her if she was the manager and I believe she said she was the owner's daughter. I asked if I could snap a quick picture of the inside since it was my first time. She said yes of course and was really sweet and accommodating. My sister and I went back to the car an opened up the box. There was a dozen kolaches on the inside and some of them were still hot! We thoroughly enjoyed sampling all of them! We didn't get any of the sweet ones but out of the ones we did try I really enjoyed the sloppy joe and the chicken bacon ranch. I love the fact that I was going in there just to be able to do a Google review, walked away with free food, and I'm able to write a positive review about this business. Looking forward to going back and trying out some of their desserts because they all do look amazing!

I really love these kolaches! I really wish the amount of filling in the kolaches would be…read moreconsistent! I love a lot of the options including buffalo chicken, Philly steak, Italian beef, and pulled pork. Recently, I stopped by and picked up a few franks Italian beef kolaches and was disappointed with the lack of Italian beef!

Cracked Pepper catered an event at the Peoria Civic Center. The Harvest salad sat out too long as…read morethe "fresh" spring greens looked dried out and had brown edges. The entree, chicken saltimbocca, was incredibly dry; I almost choked on the first bite of chicken. The sides, dauphinoise potatoes and green beans, were good. Thankfully, the desserts were delicious. There were jumbo lemon or double chocolate cupcakes. The lemon cake was dense, almost like pound cake, but had good flavor. The chocolate cupcakes were divine.

This restaurant is great! The dining area has a cozy vibe, they make pastries including a "bacon…read morelog" and they have great-tasting soups, sandwiches, salads and cookies. Today I had a lemon cookie and a southwest chicken wrap and enjoyed every bite.