Peoria: Velvet Freeze, Trefzger's Bakery, JS Rhodell Brewery

While poking around looking for Willie's Tamales, Cathy2 and I sampled a few random spots in Peoria.

Velvet Freeze is an old chain from the St Louis area. They began in the 1930s but only a handful remain, several in Peoria. We visited the one in Campustown Plaza, a characterless mall at Main & University.



You can hardly visit the "Home of the Wonderdog" without trying it, so it was one with everything plus an Art's tamale, the pride of Metamora.



The dog was much better than appearances suggest. The mediocre frank was helped greatly by a nicely spiced meaty chili sauce, a smear of mustard and plenty of chopped onion. Art's tamales, quite common downstate, are not unlike Chicago's Tom Toms or Supremes but have a distinct texture. I believe their shell contains breadcrumbs as well as cornmeal.

Next door is a hair salon devoted to the betterment of Peoria.



Trefzger's Bakery is something of a Peoria institution. Founded in 1861, it made several moves but remained a family business until 1993.



We visited fairly late in the day so the stock was depleted, making a fair judgment difficult. I enjoyed the cinnamon-dusted sugar cookies but, frankly, some of the pastries and breads didn't look promising. I'd recommend an early visit.

Peoria once was a major distilling and brewing center but no longer. Ten years ago a small brewpub opened in the old industrial area along the Illinois River. JS Rhodell is now Peoria's only brewery (all the distilleries are gone).



It's nice having a choice of freshly brewed beers served by the brewer himself but there was a disappointing sameness to all eight varieties.

Has anyone tried Agatucci's and their world famous Tiger Sauce? It's only open in the evening so we couldn't visit.

Velvet Freeze
1200 W Main St
Campustown Plaza #17
Peoria IL
309-655-0513

Trefzger's Bakery
3504 N Prospect Rd
Peoria IL
309-685-9221

JS Rhodell Brewery
619A Water St
Peoria IL
309-674-7267

Hi,

Our interest in Velvet Freeze went from Rene G checking it out alone and maybe getting a menu. I zipped out the car order when Rene G threw out the bait, "Want to try a Wonderdog proudly served since the 1930's?" Mid-century antique food takes very little to get me motivated.

It is not uncommon our order is a one-of several items on the menu to get an idea of scope as well as preserve our desire to eat for the next place. While it stated 'Wonderdog' on the door, the signage above the counter was "Wonderdo." I glibly ordered a Wonderdo, pronounced as "wonder-do." I got a blank look from the counter person. I tried again pronouncing it, "wonder-dough." Again, I got a blank look. "Look I am reading off your sign, maybe you tell me how it should be stated?" "Oh, you want a Wonderdog. That sign fell down a while back and the 'g' popped off." "Great, I want one Wonderdog and a tamale." "For both of you?" "Yes, we have other stuff to eat today." I know, I should have said Wonderdog from the get-go.

Trefzger's Bakery had a display of sheet cakes with a wide range of styles. My favorite was the 'Deer Hunting' themed cake. Amongst colorful frosting autumn leaves was a plastic deer head and shoulders peeking out. I believe they had a few disproportionately small hunter figurines, while the deer head was quite massive by comparison. If only I had the guts to take a picture.

JS Rhodell Brewery allows people to brew their personal recipes. While the beer flight Rene G ordered had various colors and brew recipes, there really was a sameness to the taste. Above the bar were casks of hop concentrates imported from the UK, which Rene G thought might be the cause for this monochromatic taste profile. Many of the people around us at the bar made their own brews who compared notes with the bartender. This could be a good stop for the home brewer who wants to hang out with their tribe.

Driving south to our next restaurant, we saw a few places advertising BBQ and homemade pork tenderloin sandwiches. If we weren't on a mission, I could easily see our hanging out in Peoria a bit longer.

Regards,

Wonderdogs were served for years in Champaign at, drumroll, Wonderdog, located at 6th and Green in Campustown. Sadly, now closed for at least 10 years and badly missed.

iblock9 wrote:Wonderdogs were served for years in Champaign at, drumroll, Wonderdog, located at 6th and Green in Campustown. Sadly, now closed for at least 10 years and badly missed.

Good news! As the blog Champaign Taste says, Wonderdogs is still in Champaign, it only moved from 6th to Wright. But do you think Wonderdogs and Velvet Freeze are related? I haven't been to Wonderdogs but their menu is more extensive and Chicago-oriented (Italian beef, gyros), they use Vienna dogs and the Wonderdog is dressed differently (cheese is standard at Wonderdogs).

Sign on Door of Velvet Freeze in Peoria



Anyone notice a familial resemblance between the Velvet Freeze mascot and Hot Doug?

Wonderdogs
605 S Wright St
Champaign IL
217-355-9090

Rene G wrote:Good news! As the blog Champaign Taste says, Wonderdogs is still in Champaign, it only moved from 6th to Wright. But do you think Wonderdogs and Velvet Freeze are related?

Wow, next time I am in the twin cities i may have to have a chili dog. I doubt Wonderdog is related to any other restaurant. It has been more then ten years since I ate at the original location, but I do remember it was a pretty traditional hot dog stand with a slightly greek lean. I did have many many wonderdogs back in the late 80s and early 90s but always thought that was just how they referred to their chilidogs. Thanks for the investigation Rene