It started as a bakery. Now it's one of the best restaurants. Everything to try at Ardor

In Peoria, Ardor Breads and Provisions recently received national recognition. The business, located at 301 SW Water St., was among 47 restaurants across the United States to be named in the 2024 USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year list.

“The accolades and the awards are not why we do this,” founder Cody Scogin said. “It's not what matters, but it's nice to be recognized for your efforts and your hard work.”

Read the big listWhat's the best restaurant near you? Check out USA TODAY's 2024 Restaurants of the Year.

What makes Ardor stand out 

Ardor has come a long way since beginning as a bakery in 2020. Last year, the business expanded to include its full-service restaurant. Scogin said getting the restaurant up and running was no simple task and said there were moments where he wondered, “What have we done?” Now, though, he said business is thriving.

“It's been tremendous. It's been a journey, to say the least,” Scogin said. “It's been a lot of highs and lows, and we're having a lot of highs lately. So, I think some of the food we're doing is — I can say — hands down, especially when it comes to dinner, the best food I've ever cooked anywhere.”

The word "ardor" relates to passion or enthusiasm. For Scogin, this passion and dedication are central to the restaurant's concept. Vegetables from the Ardor garden are harvested, prepared and served. Foods are cooked over a live hearth in the kitchen. Scogin said pastries can take three days to make.

“It’s a lot of work…” Scogin said. “We always joke that like, ‘We do things harder at Ardor.’ Everything we do is the hardest way possible.”

In the end, though, Scogin said the business strives to offer guests the best quality possible.

What to order at Ardor

• Baked goods and pastries: Even after the expansion, Ardor continues to offer a variety of baked goods. Customers can order loaves of bread, such as sourdough and focaccia. The bakery also sells pastries including a vanilla crousti; an everything brioche; a cheese Danish; a dark chocolate, sea salt and rye cookie and more.
• Ricotta dumplings: Served with cabbage and made with homemade ricotta, Scogin described the dumplings as “very delicate, light, airy, rich (and) cheesy.” It's like chicken and dumplings.
• Kimchi fried chicken sandwich: Cabbage slaw, Yuzu-Kosho mayo and a homemade kimchi-based vinaigrette served on brioche.
• Dry-aged duck breast: Dry-aged duck breast slowly cooked in cast iron over the hearth, served with parsnips and persimmons.
• Bone-in pork chop: Scogin said the dish — which includes carrots and pickled apples — was “inspired by my trips to Southeast Asia and Vietnam and it has all the flavors of fire and charcoal and pork and fish sauce. I mean, it's just insane.”

Check out the online menus here.

Did you know?

Directly above Ardor, Scogin is working to open a new concept. He expects Revel & Maker to open in the spring of 2024.

“It's going to be a very intimate setting,” he said. “It’s going to be a very classic, elevated cocktail bar.”

The menu will feature lighter dishes, according to Scogin. Along with this, he said many of the dishes will highlight seafood.  

For Scogin, though, the primary draw at Revel & Maker will be its cocktails and drinks. He said he envisions guests dining at Ardor before going upstairs for drinks or stopping by for a quick cocktail ahead of dinner.  

And while Scogin said there are no other plans currently on the horizon, he added: “I know we won't stop there. We'll grow. What that means, we don’t know.”

Details: 301 SW Water St., Peoria, IL; 309-431-7801, ardorbp.com.

USA TODAY's Restaurants of the Year:How the list of best restaurants was decided