Just off-campus, in the same building as Super Savers, is a hidden gem that I never would’ve tried if it weren’t recommended by my roommate.
On the outside, West Town Tap appears to be your average dive bar, but the inside actually has a cute, homestyle feel. Additionally, all the employees were masked, and all the tables were socially distanced with room to spare.
It opens at 6 a.m. with a huge breakfast menu and starts serving regular bar food at lunchtime. I decided to go for breakfast, because I am always on the hunt for the best morning-time meals in Peoria.
Totaling only $15.35 before tip for two whole meals, here are my thoughts on West Town Tap’s take at what I consider the essentials of a good breakfast:
Black Coffee: 3/5
I wasn’t expecting much from plain black coffee at a bar, and West Town Tap did not surprise me. Although it was more acidic and strong that I normally like in my morning coffee, it was hot, it had caffeine and our waitress kept it coming.
Croissant French Toast: 4/5
When I ordered this French toast, I was expecting something similar to regular French toast, but it was made with a croissant instead of sliced bread. For this reason, I was surprised to see the waitress bring a plate of cornflake-covered, deep-fried croissants to the table.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it until I actually took my first bite. The croissant wasn’t completely soaked in grease like I expected, but instead had subtle hints from the frying. This with the notes of vanilla in the croissants worked so well together that I didn’t even think of needing any butter or syrup, which are normally two essentials of a good French toast. The only thing that brings my rating of this plate down is the fact that I really was planning on a good, normal French toast.
Biscuits and Gravy: 3/5
West Town Tap has two gravy options for their biscuits and gravy: Guinness ancho gravy and traditional sausage gravy. I wasn’t sure which one I should try, so the waitress suggested I get both on the side for a $1 upcharge so I wouldn’t have to decide. In the end, I was very thankful for this suggestion.
The Guinness ancho gravy was very heavy on the ancho chili flavor, and very light on anything else. I personally did not like this very prominent flavor. For this reason, I was glad to have tried it, but I covered the rest of my biscuits in the traditional sausage gravy. Another quality I wasn’t crazy about in this meal was the lack of flakiness in my biscuits. They were very flat and almost flavorless. The traditional sausage gravy was pretty good and made the whole meal enjoyable for the most part, but I wasn’t extremely impressed by any of the components of the dish.
