Chili's

Good ole Chili's. It's a fail-safe, and a chosen delight. It's been a favorite since they came to Peoria back around 1987 or 1988ish. It's especially dear to Dad. Just ask Mom, because they end up going there if he has his choice (or Cracker Barrel).

Me and the wife hit the East Peoria store last night around 9:30ish. It was either that or one of the other late nighters, and we had to go to Wal-Mart for important business (trash bags and caulk), so off we went. It was very uncrowded, especially in the dining area. I beleve when we got there only one table full of customers was around.

We ordered up a plate of the classic nachos, which are how nachos oughta be. Each individual chip has some kind of beany-meaty dip covered in cheese, topped with jalapeno peppers and ready to dip into sour cream or pico de gallo. Really, I oughta just get two orders of that instead of doing an entree, but what fun is that?

For our dinners Jenny had the soup and salad deal. Hard to mess up a side salad, and the broccoli cheese soup was thick and yummy. Last time she had it I dipped my fries in it. Maybe the start of a trend? I had the chicken tacos, which was new to me. Came with rice and beans, which I didn't actually care for. The tacos were pretty good, but I've had better stuff there, like the burgers and the monterey chicken, plus the chicken fried steak. All good stuff! Every once in a while they have a build-your-own-burger deal going, where you get a little notepad to check off ingredients and styles of burger. It's as close to nirvana as I'll ever get in the burger realm.

All in all, a good experience. I will indeed write about this place every time we go, because I'm always trying something different.

Chili's-HIT LIST!