GO SOX!!!!
Not a Food Related Post But, …….
30 09 2008Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Champions, Chicago, Minnesota, MLB, Twins, White Sox
Categories : Chicago, Illinois
Chicagoland Speedway – Joliet, IL
8 09 2008- 500 Speedway Blvd.
- Joliet, IL 60433
- (815) 722-5500
- Website
The outside of Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL
My final stop in Illinois this week was at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL for the IRL Peak Antifreeze Indy 300. I went to school in Joliet and this track was being built during my senior year. The first race was the summer after I graduated. Chicagoland doesn’t sell individual race tickets. The only way to get tickets to any of the races is to buy tickets to all the races. That first year, a buddy was able to get Busch series tickets off eBay, and until this weekend, that was the only race I had been to other than NASCAR qualifying. My dad’s cousin buys the track pass every year to get tickets to the Nationwide and Sprint Cup race, but they couldn’t care less about the ARCA/IRL weekend. For the last few years, I’ve wanted to get their IRL tickets, but I always had something going on. This year, it just worked out that I was going to be in town, so my dad asked for the tickets and he and I finally got to go to an IRL race.
Chicagoland is great for the Indy Cars. It’s the last race of the year and for some reason, the track provides a really racy surface for the open wheelers. The two closest finishes in IRL history have come at Chicagoland and this year added another one as Helio Castroneves edged out Scott Dixon by .033. The race saw a lot of three wide and side-by-side racing and that’s not just for half a lap. This was going on for 10 to 15 laps at a time. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Chicago, CHicagoland, Illinois Racing, IRL, Joliet, Nascar
Categories : Entertainment Venues, Illinois, Joliet, Reviews
The Longbranch – Clifton, IL
8 09 2008
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 »
Comments : 16 Comments »
Tags: Chef, CIA, Clifton, Culinary Institute of America, L'Erable, Longbranch, Prime Rib, Steak
Categories : Bar, Big Ten Tour, Clifton, Illinois, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews
Blues BBQ – Urbana, IL
5 09 2008
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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Tags: BBQ, Big Ten Tour, Champaign, Illinois, sandwich, U of I, Urbana
Categories : BBQ, Big Ten Tour, Chains, Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews, Urbana
Farren’s Pub and Eatery – Champaign, IL
5 09 2008
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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Tags: Big Ten Tour, Burgers, Champaign, Downtown, Illinois
Categories : Big Ten Tour, Burgers, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Downtown, Illinois, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews
Manolos Pizza & Empanadas – Urbana, IL
4 09 2008
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 »
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: campus, Champaign, Illinois, Pizza, University of Illinois, Urbana
Categories : Big Ten Tour, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, Local Flavor, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews, Urbana
Bull’s Pit Smoked BBQ – Kankakee, IL
25 08 2008
Bull's Pit Smoked BBQ in Kankakee, IL
Kankakee is the closest big town comapred to the tiny town of 750 people where I grew up. People who live in that small town, work in the Kankakee/Bradley/Bourbonnais tri-city area and they do a majority of their shopping, entertaining and dining out there as well. For the longest time, I had the same complaint about Kankakee that I did about Lansing. There was no good barbecue joint. That finally changed at the beginning of 2008.
A girl I went to high school with and her husband opened up the first BBQ joint in the area that I’m aware of. They turned an old building near downtown Kankakee into a great Memphis style smokehouse. I made my first trip to Bull’s just after it opened with my brother. At that time, I had a few complaints, but loved the BBQ. My girlfriend and I were heading from her parents in Chicago to mine south of Kankakee for a weekend of drinking and catching up with old friends. Along the way, I wanted to stop and try Bull’s again to see if the little things I didn’t like had improved.
Like I said, Bull’s is located just off of downtown Kankakee. Downtown has been run down for years and there’s not much there other than a bank, a liquor store, and a movie theater. There’s a couple business along the main road, but nothing that you would make a destination. Bull’s changes that. The business is located in a pretty non-descript building on Station St. There is a parking lot, but we found spot on the street in front of the store. There’s just a sign out front that lets you know you’re in the right place…that is until you get out and smell the smoke. Once inside, you have to make a left to get to the order counter. The layout is a little wierd with two rooms downstairs. One is the kitchen/order area. The other is the dining room. There are only a few tables, but there is a bar that runs the whole length of the room with pub stools. It really gives the feel of a Southern BBQ lunch spot. The staircase to go to the upstairs dining room is right as you enter the door. It’s a massive feature and takes up and good portion of the building. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: BBQ, Big Ten, bourbonnais, Bradley, Bull's Pit, Downtown, Illinois, Kankakee
Categories : BBQ, Big Ten Tour, Downtown, Illinois, Kankakee, Restaurant, Reviews
Portillo’s Hot Dogs – Oak Lawn, IL
22 08 2008
Portillo's Hot Dogs on 95th St. in Oak Lawn near Chicago
I said this a month ago when I reviewed the Portillo’s in Crestwood, IL (review HERE). I LOVE PORTILLO’S! The thing I miss the most about Illinois and Chicago cuisine is the Italian Beef sandwich so anytime I get a chance to get one, I make sure I do.
J and I were at her parents before continuing our trip south to my parents for the annual Homecoming celebration. We got in late and had plans to go to a 24 hour restaurant for breakfast, but we were too tired and just went to bed. When we woke up, both of us were starving. After playing Mario Kart Wii with her mom for a while, we got up and went looking for lunch. J asked what I wanted and I said I didn’t care. She knows me all too well and suggested Portillo’s. I thought we were going to the one on Cicero we always go to, but she said there was one closer to her parents place near Christ Hospital. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 8 Comments »
Tags: Chicago, Chicago-Style, Hot Dog, Illinois, Italian Beef, Oak Lawn, Salad
Categories : Chains, Chicago, Illinois, Local Flavor, Oak Lawn, Restaurant, Reviews
Country Market Restaurant and Buffet- LaSalle, IL
20 07 2008
Country Market Restaurant and Buffet located inside the Flying J Truckstop in La Salle, IL
Country Market is located at the Flying J Truckstop just off of I-80 near LaSalle. I was in the area for a concert at the Cedar Point Sportsmen Club where Sugarland was playing a charity concert. I was with my girlfriend and my parents. My mom has some friends over in that area and they suggested we all meet at the truck stop before the show.
The Country Market is a staple at Flying J’s around the country. I’ve passed many times, but never stopped. We were shown to a table near the back of the restaurant past the buffet by a hostess. While we were rearranging the tables, a waitress came to get drink orders. Waitressing 101 tells you that you shouldn’t have to ask people what they ordered when you bring it back, but even with drinks, our waitress couldn’t remember who ordered what and I had to ask. There were six of us so it took a while. By the time she got done, we weren’t quite ready to order so she left and came back when we were.
My girlfriend and I had just eaten lunch at Portillo’s (review HERE) a couple hours earlier, so we weren’t really hungry. I went with a chicken tender appetizer. The four definately out of a bag chicken tenders came with a side of BBQ dipping sauce. Like I said, I wasn’t super hungry, so I didn’t want a whole lot. This was just about the right amount for how I was feeling. The chicken and the BBQ were canned, so nothing special, but not bad either. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: breakfast, Burgers, Flying J, Truck Stop
Categories : Big Ten Tour, breakfast, Burgers, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews, Truck Stop
Portillo’s Hot Dogs – Crestwood, IL
20 07 2008
Portillo's Hot Dogs in Crestwood, IL. Real Chicago-Style Food!
I seem to be spending about every weekend back in Chicago and this past weekend was not exception. This time, however, I was in town for a concert and not work. We got tickets to see Sugarland (for the third time!) at the Cedar Point Sportsmen Club in Peru, IL. Peru is a little over an hour from Chicago, so we decided to stop at my girlfriend’s parents before and after the show. On our way to meet my parents, whom we were going to the show with, we started talking about food. We had a pretty packed day trying to fit everything we wanted to do in and we neglected lunch up until that point. Since she’s more familiar with the area, she started running down places on the way to the meeting point. After a few suggestions, I finally said, “What about Portillo’s?”
Let me start by saying. I LOVE Portillo’s. This is Chicago style food at it’s best. When I was in college, I interned downtown at Fox Sports Net Chicago. The downtown Portillo’s is located a few blocks away and I used to walk there all the time. Since I started dating my girlfriend, I take any opportunity I can to stop at this location on Cicero. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 9 Comments »
Tags: Chicago, Chicago-Style, Food, Hot Dogs, Italian Beef, Restaurant, Reviews, Suburbs
Categories : Chicago, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches
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