Blue’s Cafe – Kankakee, IL

3 10 2008
  • 1190 W. Station St.
  • Kankakee, IL 60901
  • (815) 933-5315
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Blues Cafe on Station Street in Kankakee, IL

Blue's Cafe on Station Street in Kankakee, IL

If you watch ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson, Blue’s Cafe is a place you may actually heard of.  A few weeks ago (September 18 to be exact) Barbara Pinto showed up in Kankakee to do a Wall Street vs. Main St. story.  Blue’s Cafe was one of the places she visited to get the “regular Joe” insight into the financial crisis.

Blue’s Cafe is a spot that many people in the area automatically suggest when I ask for a local restaurant.  According to my brother, the food is ok, but the pie is to die for.  As I was waiting with my family for my niece to be born, my aunt mentioned she was hungry and hadn’t eaten all day.  Since I’m always hungry, I offered to go to “lupper” (the meal between lunch and supper) with her.  Since everybody always suggests it, I said “How about Blue’s?”

Blue’s Cafe is located on Station Street not far from the hospital.  It’s a very plain building with an old sign out front adorned with an old Pepsi logo and the words “Blue’s Cafe.”  Since we got there at such a wierd time, the dining room was fairly empty.  There are two dining rooms that probably used to be the smoking and non-smoking section before Illinois got smart and banned smoking in public places.  There’s also a lunch counter near the kitchen in the first dining room. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Diner, Illinois, Kankakee, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews

Luconi’s Pizza – Bradley, IL

3 10 2008
  • 496 S. Kennedy Dr
  • Bradley, IL 60915
  • (815) 935-5235
  • Website
  • Menu
Luconis Pizza on Kennedy Dr. in Bradley, IL

Luconi's Pizza on Kennedy Dr. in Bradley, IL

Finding places to eat in the Kankakee area has always been tough for me.  Growing up, my parents always hit the chains.  We didn’t really go out of our way looking for local restaurants.  I’m back in the Kankakee area this week because my brother and his wife are having a baby.  Their first and my parents first grandchild.  Because it was everyone’s first, my parents and my sister-in-laws parents were at the hospital bright and early this morning.  I didn’t get up and get going until lunch time.  The hospital is a half hour away so once I was in Kankakee, I wasn’t going home until I had a niece. 

I got to the hospital around 11 and started trying to convince everyone to go to lunch with me.   I got no takers, but did get some good suggestions.  My sister-in-law’s parents suggested a few places including Luconi’s.  They raved about the pizza, but also couldn’t stop talking about the hamburger.  Sounds good to me.  I do love me some burgers.

I found Luconi’s Pizza on Kennedy drive next to the Taco John’s we always went to when I was kid.  The last time I lived in the area, the building where the pizza joint now is was a cyber cafe.  It’s a really small building with a really small parking lot.  I found a space along the side and parked there.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Bradley, Burgers, Illinois, Local Flavor, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

Grizzly Peak Brewing Company

14 09 2008
  • 120 W. Washington
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 741-7325
  • Website
  • Menu
Grizzly Peak Brewing Company in downtown Ann Arbor.

Grizzly Peak Brewing Company in downtown Ann Arbor.

Our day in Ann Arbor was coming to an end and I was starting to get really hungry again.  Earlier in the week, I asked for suggestions on where to eat dinner and there was no shortage of recommendations.  Since we had spent a pretty good chunk of money on lunch and shopping, I didn’t want to hit up one of fancier restaurants on Main Street even though they were quit tempting.

What we settled on was the Grizzly Peak Brewing Company which was a suggestion from Amy.  Grizzly Peak is located just off of Main Street in a big corner building.  We parked across the street in a public lot and walked over to the brewery.  When we walked in, we found the hostess station.  There was a lady bent over the stand and I just assumed she was the hostess.  Nope.  She was waiting for her husband or something.  A waiter saw us standing there and came over to seat us.  Here was my big complaint about the meal.  I probably should have asked to be seated in the bar so I could watch the football game, but I didn’t.  Outside of the bar, there was one other couple eating and one large group.  The dining rooms at Grizzly Peak are huge and there are several options.  They seated both us and the other couple right next to the large group in a cramped dining room near the back of the space.  Come on now.  Why would you seat a couple next to a group in an empty restaurant.  We just wanted to enjoy a nice dinner, but the group wanted to catch up and you know how people get when they haven’t seen each other in a while.  Grandpa at one end of the table is yelling to his grandson at the other end of the table.  Doesn’t make a good dining experience for anyone around them and we were right next to the table.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Big Ten Tour, Brew Pub, Burgers, Downtown, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Zingerman’s Next Door

13 09 2008
  • 422 Detroit St.
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 663-5282
  • Website
  • Menu
eZingermans Next Door which is literally next door to the famous Deli of the same name in Ann Arbor

Zingerman's Next Door which is literally next door to the famous Deli of the same name in Ann Arbor

If you’ve been to Zingerman’s Deli, Zingerman’s Next Door shouldn’t be hard to find.  It’s right next door.  The shop has two purposes.  First, it’s seating for Zingerman’s Deli.  As I mentioned in my REVIEW of the deli, after you place your order, you go next door and have a seat.  A server will bring your sandwiches and you can sit down and enjoy the biggest deli sandwich you’ll probably ever eat. 

The second purpose of Zingerman’s Next Door is to offer things you can’t get at the deli.  The main focus is coffee, but they offer chocolates and even gellato. 

The tables are kind of cramped in to the space, but with as many people as Zingerman’s gets, the more tables the better.  We found one along the wall near the cash register.  Our wait was only about 15 minutes which was pretty good for the volume orders the kitchen was filling.  We ate our meal and didn’t feel rushed or cramped which happens at some of the other hot spots in Ann Arbor. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Bakery, Big Ten Tour, Chocolate, Coffee, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews, Specialty Shop

Zingerman’s Delicatessen

13 09 2008
  • 422 Detroit St.
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 663-3354
  • Website
  • Menu
Zingermans Delicatessen in the Kerrytown District of Ann Arbor

Zingerman's Delicatessen in the Kerrytown District of Ann Arbor

Since we’ve been in Michigan, the one place I’ve been wanting to eat at is Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor.  I can’t remember how I first heard about it, but it’s been on my short list for a long, long time.  I’ve passed the last two times I was in Ann Arbor because of time constraints.  Today, J and I took a shopping trip since U of M was on the road and the first thing we did was find Zingerman’s Deli.

Zingerman’s is in a unique area of Ann Arbor known as Kerrytown.  Very narrow streets  not far from downtown.  Across the street, sorta, sits the Kerrytown Shops.  There was a lot going on in the area on a Saturday morning.  Not only was the Farmer’s Market open, but there was a festival going on in the school lot near the Deli.  We drove around for almost twenty minutes before we finally found a spot to park on 5th Avenue.  It was raining pretty hard, but that wasn’t enough to keep me away from the biggest sandwich I’ve ever gotten at a Delicatessen.

When we opened the door to Zingerman’s, I was shocked to find a building full of people.  I had heard the lines got pretty long at times, but it was shoulder to shoulder inside.  We finally made our way past the meat and cheese counter to get to the line to order lunch.  There are close to 100 different sandwich combinations.  It was a little overwhelming at first, but we managed.  The wait was pretty short even though there were so many people.  The employees taking orders were very on top of things and knew what the sandwich combinations by the numbers. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Big Ten Tour, Deli, Downtown, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

The Longbranch – Clifton, IL

8 09 2008
  • 2713 N. 1500 East Rd.
  • Clifton, IL 60927
  • (815) 694-9748
  • Website
  • Menu
The Longbranch in downtown LErable

The Longbranch in downtown L'Erable

I have to preface this by saying, I might be a little biased.  My mom has worked as a waitress at the Longbranch for many years and I eat there almost every time I go home.  My aunt is a hostess and my sister-in-law waits tables a few times a month as well.  The Longbranch is located in the middle of the country in an unincorporated section of Iroquois County locals call L’Erbale (pronounced La- Rab).  L’Erable is comprised of pretty much only a downtown.  There is one street that runs through this old French Canadian settlement that has a few houses, the tavern, and the oldest frame church in Illinois.  The tavern is an old building itself.  From the outside, it would seem this building has seen better days.  Once you get inside, you might still think that, but once you sit down and the waitress puts your food in front of you, you know you’ve found one of those hidden treasures that not everyone knows about.

The Longbranch serves a dual purpose.  During the day, the bar is open and they serve lunch Tuesday thru Saturday for farmers in the area.  There’s only a few tables out front and the space is pretty tight.  At night, the Longbranch only serves it’s full menu on Friday and Saturday night.  Wednesday is Taco night, the first Thursday of the month is smelt night and there’s been talk of adding a BBQ night during the week.  At first glance, you would think this is a small restaurant and you could walk in on a Friday night and be seated right away.  You’d be wrong.  Reservations are suggested for peak meal times both nights.  As amazing as it may seem, people still travel from all over the region and as far away as Chicago to eat dinner in this tiny community.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Big Ten Tour, Clifton, Illinois, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews

Memorial Stadium – Champaign, IL

8 09 2008
  • 1402 S. First St.
  • Champaign, IL 61820
  • (217) 333-3630
  • Website
The south endzone of Memorial Stadium filled with fans as the Fightin Illini take on the Panthers of Eastern Illinois

The south endzone of Memorial Stadium filled with fans as the Fightin' Illini take on the Panthers of Eastern Illinois

I finished up my weekend in Champaign at the newly renovated Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois.  Like many other Big Ten schools, U of I decided they needed luxury suites and to do so, they chopped their upper deck seating on the west side by quite a bit.  The benefit for me is one of the best press boxes I’ve ever worked out of and a relocation of the camera platforms from a basket hanging off the upper deck that I had to climb over the rail to get to to platforms at the back of the concourse which is much safer and comfortable. 

From the outside, the home of the Fightin’ Illini doesn’t look much different.  The architects were able to keep the integrity of the building.  Something that couldn’t be done a few hours north at Soldier Field in Chicago.  Inside, the west side is a totally different building.  When you first walk in to the stadium, you come to a huge open concourse area.  Plenty of room for the thousands of fans who show up on a Saturday afternoon to walk around comfortably.  The walls are lined with concession stands and souvenir kiosks.  If your seats are in the lower bowl, you can easily get to those seats from where you enter.  When the stadium was redesigned, they made it possible to walk from one side to the other which was something you couldn’t do just a few years ago.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Entertainment Venues, Reviews

Blues BBQ – Urbana, IL

5 09 2008
  • 1103 W. Oregon St.
  • Urbana, IL 61801
  • (217) 239-9555
  • Website
  • Menu
Blues BBQ on Oregon St. in Urbana, IL near the University of Illinois

Blues BBQ on Oregon St. in Urbana, IL near the University of Illinois

I made a mistake.  I had planned on going to grab a couple slices of pizza after I got off work from a pizza joint that gets rave reviews.  Instead, I chose to go get BBQ.  That in itself is not a bad choice.  The restaurant I chose was the bad choice.

I noticed Blues BBQ last night when I went to Manolo’s (review HERE) to get pizza.  I almost went there then because it *looked* like a neat place.  When I left Memorial Stadium tonight about 8:00, I headed back to the area to get some Q. 

Blues BBQ is located in a little shopping district on the campus of the University of Illinois.  From the outside Blues looks like an upscale BBQ place.  It’s not the roadhouse you think of when you usually think of BBQ.  This should have been a huge warning sign.  When you walk in, again, you’re met with an upscale, eclectic feel.  There are a handful of tables in the dining room.  Most of them share seats with long, red benches.  There’s a bar that runs along the windows which is about the only thing in here that you would find in a typical BBQ place.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : BBQ, Big Ten Tour, Chains, Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews, Urbana

Farren’s Pub and Eatery – Champaign, IL

5 09 2008
  • 308 N. Randolph St.
  • Champaign, IL 61820
  • (217) 359-6977
  • Website
  • Menu
Farrens Pub and Eatery on Randolph St. in Champaign

Farren's Pub and Eatery on Randolph St. in Champaign

Farren’s Pub and Eatery was a suggestion I got from a poster over at Chowhound.  I wanted to find some of the harder to find places in Champaign/Urbana and I definitely did with this place.  I spent all morning at Memorial Stadium getting ready for tomorrow’s U of I/Eastern Illinois game.  By the time our lunch break rolled around, I was starving.  I left the stadium and headed back towards downtown.  Farren’s sits on Randolph Street which is a one-way a few blocks west of Neil which is the main business district.  My GPS was telling me I was there, but I wasn’t seeing it.  As I was driving by, the sign jumped out at me at the last second.  I had to go up to the next street and turn around.  The only parking around Farren’s is street parking and since it was 3:00, I didn’t have any trouble finding a spot in front.

The main entrance sits quite a ways off of the road.  I wasn’t quite sure which door to go in.  The only sign is the one out front at the road.  There are no markings on the door or windows that frame the door.  I pulled on it and it opened so I figured that was it.

There’s not a whole lot to the pub but what is there is gorgeaous.  You walk down a ramp that reminds you of a wheelchair ramp to get into the space.  There are just a few tables and the bar in the dining room.  There was only one other table being used when I got there.  I grabbed one close to the bar/kitchen to make it easy on the waiter/bartender.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Burgers, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Downtown, Illinois, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews

Manolos Pizza & Empanadas – Urbana, IL

4 09 2008
  • 1115 W. Oregon St.
  • Urbana, IL 61803
  • (217) 365-0110
  • Website
  • Menu
Manolos Pizza & Empanadas near the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana

Manolo's Pizza & Empanada's near the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana

Traveling has really wore me out….and made me hungry.  I’m sitting in my hotel room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Champaign and even though I’ve had two meals, I’m hungry.  I get on my laptop and do a search for pizza joints that sell pizza by the slice.  That’s what I really love about college towns.  You can usually find a pizza place open late.  My hotel is pretty close to campus, so I figured there would be one close and of course, there was more than one. 

I chose the one that wasn’t quite as close to Memorial Stadium…I think.  I went to the area I wasn’t familiar with tonight so I could stop by the other one after I get done with work tomorrow evening which I believe is closer.  I’m probably wrong, but oh well.  The one I chose is called Manolos Pizza & Empanadas and it sits right next to popular the night spot The Cannopy Club.

There’s not much to Manolos.  Just a glass case with already made pizza, a cash register and a bar along the back wall should you want to stay an eat.  There’s no seating, but their website says you can dine in at the Canopy Club.  I would assume that means you’ve already got tickets to a show and they just serve pizza in there.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, Local Flavor, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews, Urbana

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