What an adorable bakery/sandwich shop located in Germantown Hills. The sister shop Charlotte's…read moreCreamery in Spring Bay opened up this shop to stay open all year round (as opposed to the Summer seasonal hours). I went here for breakfast, and got a delicious egg/bacon/cheese sandwich to go along with my hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows. They had beautiful cupcakes in there little display cabinet, and pictures of other work. I would be anxious to try some of the lunch items, as they put so much effort in a little mcmuffin sammmie ($4). I like the idea of calling your order in a head of time because the love that they put into making your food does not come quickly. I hope that they will still be open the next time I visit.

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.

Bought "Thank You" treats for service providers: iced sugar cookies, pack of chocolate chip cookies…read moreand a frosted brownie ($2 each item). Super cute inside! Bright and beautifully decorated. The gal working was very nice and answered all my questions since it was my first visit. Will definitely be back to try the mini cheesecakes ($2.50 each or 12 for $24); there was a huge variety of flavors which change weekly.

Growing pains... I…read morehaven't had my finger on the pulse of what's new in my area since I've been busy with work lately so it was a complete surprise when Maria told me that Dar Al-Coffee had a new location open up out at the Grand Prairie Mall area. We made plans to drop in on a Friday when we were both not busy but dang... was this place hopping and popping when we walked in. The first thing we both noticed were the sheer amount of kids that parents brought here. I'm always amazed to see parents bring their kids to a coffeehouse because giving kids caffeine seems like a terrible idea. Granted, they could always be getting a non-caffeinated drink but since I am not a parent, not my place to judge and not the place to really talk about it. Maria and I both ordered an americano and I got a cake pop to go with it. With how busy it was, it took awhile for our drinks to come out, which is understandable. What kinda threw me for a loop is that I had to ask multiple times for the cake pop and they seemed confused when I kept asking about it. After about 20 minutes, we finally got the cake pop and the barista was apologetic for the wait and gave me a piece of dubai chocolate with pistachio in it as an apology. One thing I noticed during our few hours of sitting there and chatting is that there seemed to be a lot of missed or skipped orders. The barista running the register was constantly asking people if they were missing anything when they came up to get their orders or even lids/straws/napkins. There also did seem to be a lot of confusion between the baristas and the cook on what orders were who's and what was being brought out. I chalk this up to them being new and needing to find their footing, hopefully. One other criticism is that the register is at the back of the counter area and with where Maria and I were sitting, it got really tight for the people coming in to place an order who had to backtrack between the counter and our table to get to the waiting area. I would hope they flip that or maybe move things around a bit once they see how it bottlenecks the line. Any who, the americano was really good. I enjoyed every sip with just the slightest wish that it was a bit more bitter, but with how tired I was, any caffeine was welcomed. I let Maria have the cake pop since I realized I was pretty stuffed from the big breakfast I had and it didn't sound good after the ordeal of trying to get it. I really like the concept of Dar Al-Coffee and really enjoyed my experience at their first location. Like I said, hopefully they are working out the kinks of it being a new place as I can see Dar Al-Coffee becoming a staple coffee chain in Peoria. Hopefully I can go back after they've had some time with being open and have gotten the kinks worked out. Until then, stay caffeinated, my friends.

Wow.... Is all I could say... can't wait to get one of these in Bloomington!!! Very cool…read moreatmosphere, delicious desserts!!! can't wait to go back.

Fantastic secret gem inside Two Sisters and a Warehouse! This restaurant was recommended for their…read morechicken salad through a group on Facebook! The chicken salad here is some of the best I've ever had! I ordered a honey apple chicken salad sandwich! The bread was a soft white bread. The chicken salad was so good! It was sweet but had a lot of chicken! I will be back! Everyone should give this chicken salad a try for lunch!

The food was great! I had the chili cheese hot dog and the sauce was so good. The homemade…read moredesserts were yummy too. Can't wait to go back again and try one of the homemade fresh soups

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

This black sheep is sure to be a family favorite…read more Emily has a friend that lives in the area and will bring her Black Sheep coffee to work occasionally. She's talked about how good it is and how much she loves their drinks. It took us awhile to get there but 2026 found the time in our schedules to make it happen. We rolled in on a Saturday morning and we both were in dire need of some caffeine. Black Sheep Coffee seems like it was originally a coffee truck that set up shop in Sister Bee Gift Shop. Whether it is the same owner, I am not sure but the coffeehouse did seem to be going through a renovation the day we dropped in. The walls were bare and there was a guy slowly filling them in with hooks and stuff. Emily and I went up and she ordered the French Toast latte that was a special and I almost ordered it until I saw they had americanos. So, I grabbed my usual. While the shop was a bit busy, the drinks came out fast and I forgot about how they package their drinks here. They come in a clear plastic soda cup with a sealed lid. Emily told me about it but it wasn't until I saw it that I was overly enthusiastic about how cool it was. They seal the top of the drink like a soda can so you have to pull on the tab to open it up. I like how you can order a bunch of coffees and not worry about them spilling out of the top and that they can keep for a few days in the fridge. I sipped my americano and it was just what I like from my espresso and water. Bitter but not too strong and not too diluted. Emily was over the moon with her French toast drink that she ordered another one to have another day. Once I took a sip of hers, I had caffeine jealousy. While I loved my americano, that French toast latte was one of the best things I ever had. The baristas were super friendly and Emily snagged a punch card so I am assuming we will be back before too long. Which is fine with me as I would like to see what they do with the remodeling that seemed to be going on and maybe grab some merch while I am there next time. They did let me have one of the stickers they put on the cup for my personal sticker collection, so that was awesome! All-in-all, Black Sheep is a bright spot in the Hanna City community.

Great atmosphere and staff were friendly and helpful. Will stop by again. Coffee was delicious Cute…read moreshop too they have some natural self care products too.