Huff Hall – Champaign, IL

21 03 2009
  • 1206 S. 4th Street
  • Champaign, IL 61820
  • (217) 244-9755
  • Website
Huff Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois set up for gymnastics

Huff Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois set up for gymnastics

Even if you’ve never been to the University of Illinois and you’ve never heard of Huff Hall, you are quite familiar with a term that was coined during the days when the IHSA boys state basketball championships played in the gym.  It’s actually pretty fitting that I’m writing about this right now.  The term “March Madness” is a term that was trademarked by the IHSA after a court battle that also gave the NCAA a right to trademark the term.  The IHSA still claims to have invented the term and they own the sole trademark to the phrase “America’s Original March Madness” which is how they bill their tournament these days

The phrase “March Madness” was first used in 1939 to describe the state basketball championships that were held at Huff Gymnasium.  The layout and design of the building made it loud and when the place was full, it was deafening.  If you’ve ever watched an IHSA small schools game, you know how loud it can get.

Huff Hall was built in 1925 as a multi-purpose gymnasium named after George Huff who was the school’s athletic director from 1895 to 1935.  It’s a 4,500 seat arena with a permanent upper deck and retractable bleachers in the lower area.  Like Michigan State’s Jenison Fieldhouse, Huff Hall is the home of the U of I’s volleyball, wrestling,  and gymnastics teams. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Entertainment Venues, Illinois, Live Entertainment

Knockouts Sports & Grill Bar- Matteson, IL

9 03 2009
  • 4800 211th Street
  • Matteson, IL 60443
  • (708 ) 283-9903
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Knockouts Sports & Grill Bar on Lincoln Highway in Matteson, IL

Knockouts Sports & Grill Bar on Lincoln Highway in Matteson, IL

Since we just made a quick trip to Chicago for a birthday party, we really didn’t have time to drive to my parents for any length of time.  I had something I needed to give my brother and my mom had some things for me, so we decided to meet in Matteson, IL for lunch.  Our first choice was Nino’s Pizza, but it was closed.  Then we tried Baker’s Square, but it had gone out of business.  On the way in to town, I noticed a sports bar on Lincoln Highway.  I called my dad and told him to meet us there.  You can never go wrong with a sports bar.

Knockouts is on the corner of 211th (Lincoln Highway) and South Cicero in Matteson just down the street from the Lincoln Mall.  It sits in front of a strip mall, so you actually enter the parking lot down the street and come in behind the building. 

Knockouts is a typical sports bar.  We walked in to find a pretty empty dining room.  There’s a big island bar in the middle.  There’s a couple different dining spaces with different types of tables and chairs.  When you first walk in, there’s a raised area with nice wood chairs and tables.  Along one wall near the bar is a series of pub tables.  Since there was five us, I headed towards a table in the larger area.  There was one table for six near the back, but it was right next to the jukebox…and that jukebox was LOUD.  I walked away from it and pushed two tables together.  The MSU game was a couple TV’s and the NASCAR race was just starting so we had plenty of entertainment. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Illinois, Matteson, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar

Goal Post Pub – Oak Lawn, IL

9 03 2009
  • 5207 1/2 95th Street
  • Oak Lawn, IL 60453
  • (708 ) 422-5275
  • Website
The Goal Post Pub on 95th Street in Oak Lawn, IL

The Goal Post Pub on 95th Street in Oak Lawn, IL

OK, here’s the set up.  J and I were in Oak Lawn for one of her friend’s surprise birthday party.  Supposedly, we were in town because I was working.  Since I was working, J asked two of her friend’s (birthday girl included) if they wanted to go to dinner.  They went to their favorite restaurant in LaGrange.  Halfway through dinner, I called J telling her I got out of work early, her parents weren’t home, and I didn’t have a key to get in so I went to a bar to watch the basketball games.  As the dinner wore on, I was getting crankier and crankier because I had to sit at a bar and wait for them.  In reality, I was at the bar, but I was there with the birthday girl’s husband, parents, and fifty of her closest friends.  When the three ladies got to the bar I was at, J called me again and told me to meet her in the parking lot.  I had just ordered a beer, so she was gonna have to come in.   The other friend, said they should come in and say hi since I was in such a bad mood because I was stuck at a bar by myself.  That did it.  They got the birthday girl to come in first.  I was sitting at a bar by myself and they could see me when the walked in.  The party goers were behind a wall.  When the birthday girl got close enough, I pointed behind her.  She turned around, everyone yelled surprise and she jumped twenty feet.  Totally fooled.  Had no idea it was coming. 

The ironic thing (to me anyway) is that the party was a bar called The Goal Post in downtown Oak Lawn.  The bar expanded into the business that used to be next door.  The last business to use that space was the birthday girl’s women’s only gym.  I thought it was funny.  I don’t know if anyone else did. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Illinois, Irish Bar, Oak Lawn, Reviews

7-Eleven – 103rd & Central – Oak Lawn, IL

9 03 2009
  • 10220 Central Avenue
  • Oak Lawn, IL 60453
  • (708 ) 346-0816
  • Website
The 7-Eleven on the corner of 103rd and Central in Oak Lawn, IL

The 7-Eleven on the corner of 103rd and Central in Oak Lawn, IL

You should know about my new found love for frozen drinks by now.  After a quick dinner at Brown’s Chicken & Pasta, I had a decision to make. I could either go back to J’s parents for an hour or so and risk either falling asleep or getting involved in a Wii game and miss the party or I could just kill time shopping or something. 

I chose shopping.  I only know two ways to get to the Chicago Ridge mall.  One is to take the busy Central Avenue to 95h or to take the even busier Cicero Avenue to 95th.  J and her family weave through the neighborhoods, but I’m not brave enough to drive and find that way on my own, so I chose Central to 95th.  I figured along the way, if I saw a Speedway or 7-Eleven I was going to stop for a Frozen Coke/Slurpee.  As I turned from 103rd to Central, I noticed a 7-Eleven in the strip mall on the corner, so I made a quick lane change and went after my Coke.

Normally, I wouldn’t blog about every 7-Eleven I stop at.  You all know by now what the store’s all about and you really have even less interest in a Chicago convenience store than you do a Chicago restaurant, but it’s not the Slurpee’s that make this 7-Eleven stand out.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Grocery, Illinois, Oak Lawn, Reviews

Brown’s Chicken & Pasta – Oak Lawn, IL

9 03 2009
  • 4740 W. 111th Street
  • Oak Lawn, IL 60435
  • (708 ) 424-9280
  • Website
  • Menu
Browns Chicken & Pasta on 111th Street in Oak Lawn, IL

Brown's Chicken & Pasta on 111th Street in Oak Lawn, IL

There’s been a fried chicken debate going on between J and I since we started dating.  I have always preferred Popeye’s Chicken while her family grew on Brown’s.  If you’ve never heard of Brown’s, it’s probably because it’s a Chicago chain.  If you have heard of Brown’s, it’s probably because of the “Brown’s Chicken Massacre” which happened at a Palatine location in 1993. 

We were in Chicago for a surprise birthday party for one of J’s friends.  It was J’s job to distract the birthday girl and get her to the party later in the evening.  J and another friend decided they needed a girl’s night out at Al’s Char-House in Lagrange (review HERE).  Since I was being used as an excuse to be in Chicago that weekend, I couldn’t be seen and therefore couldn’t go to dinner with the girls. 

After dropping J off, I was on my own for dinner.  We just had the Popeye’s/Brown’s discussion earlier this week so I thought I’d give the Chicago chain a chance to see if they really were better than my beloved Popeyes.

Brown’s has several locations in Chicagoland, but the one closest to where I was is on 111th and Cicero right at the Oak Lawn/Alsip city limits.  It’s a really small shop and really hard to get in to.  I missed the entrance and had to go up a block and turn around.  When I turned in to the very small parking lot, I headed straight one of just a handful of spots in front of the building. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chicken, Illinois, Oak Lawn, Restaurant, Reviews

McDonald’s – South Holland, IL

19 02 2009
  • 700 E. Tri State Tollway
  • I-80/294 Milepost 1 – Lincoln Oasis
  • South Holland, IL 60473
  • (708) 596-3195
  • Website
  • Menu
The business listing for the Lincoln Oasis on the Tri-State Tollway

The business listing for the Lincoln Oasis on the Tri-State Tollway

OK, this is my last Illinois review for….two weeks.  Finally, after a week back in Illinois for a family emergency and then work, I was heading back to Lansing.  I like my family and miss them a lot, but I was really, really ready to get back to Michigan.  J and I had been watching the radar for the last two days wondering if I was even going to make.  It never fails, if we have to drive through southwest Michigan and Northwest Indiana, it’s guaranteed to snow.  Guaranteed.  Today didn’t look much better, but I decided to chance, so after a quick phone call to J to let her know I was on the way, I packed up my truck and headed north.

I left my parents right around 11:30 and sort of ran out in a hurry wanting to be on the road in between snow storms, so I didn’t get lunch with them.  I was on the road about an hour when I started to get hungry.  I knew I was coming up on the Lincoln Oasis, so I decided just to wait.  For those of you that aren’t regulars on the toll roads, the Oases are stops along the toll road where you don’t actually get off the highway, so you don’t have to pay to get off and get back on.  On I-294 (the Tri-State tollway), the Oases are suspended over the road.  In other places, they usually look more like rest stops with gas stations off on either side of the road, but around Chicago, there’s not much room, so they built a parking lot on either side then built the actual building across.  We used to stop at one of the other Oasis’s near O’Hare when we went to shows at The Rosemont Horizon (later called Allstate Arena).  They always have some sort of fast food.  Some have Wendy’s.  Some have McDonald’s.  This one has McDonald’s.

This McDonald’s is located in the Lincoln Oasis which is near South Holland, IL on the Tri-State tollway.  There are are other restaurants and services.  The McDonald’s only takes up a small part of the space yet they are pretty much the main attraction since they are open 24/7.  I was northbound on I-294 when I stopped.  The McDonald’s is near the south bound side, so I had to walk all the way through to find McDonald’s tucked in to a little corner.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Chains, Fast Food, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews, South Holland

Antonio’s Pizza – Champaign, IL

19 02 2009
  • 619 E. Green Street
  • Champaign, IL 61820
  • (217) 365-9500
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Antonios Pizza on Green Street in Champaign, IL

Antonio's Pizza on Green Street in Champaign, IL

You should know me by now.  When I’m on the campus of a large university, I go looking for pizza-by-the-slice.  I was in Champaign to witness one of the worst basketball games I have ever seen.  If you happened to watch the Penn State vs. Illinois basketball game, you know what I’m talking about.  Before that atrocity, I needed to find dinner.  Most of my co-workers went to a Mexican place, but I wanted pizza, so I headed to Green Street and started walking.

Antonio’s Pizza is in the 600 Block of Green Street which is U of I’s big restaurant district.  They’ve got everything from Asian to chains to bars to pizza.  I walked by a few places that looked good, but didn’t do anything for me.  From the corner of 6th and Green, I could see a green, white, and red striped awning.  I knew it had to be a pizza place, soI crossed the street and kept walking. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

Kroll’s South Loop – Chicago

16 02 2009
  • 1736 S. Michigan Avenue
  • Chicago, IL 60616
  • (312) 235-1400
  • Website
  • Menu
Krolls South Loop on Chicagos Near South Side.

Kroll's South Loop on Chicago's Near South Side.

I wasn’t planning on eating lunch in Chicago today.  My dad and I went to the Chicago Auto Show, so I put on a post on Chow.com asking if there was anyplace to eat within walking distance of McCormick Place.  Most of the replies said no, but someone replied this morning and J happened to see it so she texted me with details.  About 2:00, dad and I were getting hungry so I thought, what the hell.  It’s only a half mile or so away, so I called J to get directions and we went for a walk.

Kroll’s South Loop is on the Near South Side at Michgan Avenue and 18th Street.  It’s a little, corner neighborhood bar.  They have the menu posted outside and prices looked reasonable, so we went inside to grab a bite to eat. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Chicago, Illinois, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

McCormick Place – Chicago

16 02 2009
  • 2301 S. Lakeshore Drive
  • Chicago, IL 60616
  • (312) 791-7000
  • Website
The entrance to McCormick Place in Chicago.

The entrance to McCormick Place in Chicago.

This is funny.  Last month, when I was writing the review for Cobo Hall after we went to the North American International Auto Show, I mentioned I had never been to the Chicago Auto Show or McCormick Place.  I happened to be home this year during the auto show and I asked my dad if he wanted to go.  You see, he was supposed to drive up for the Detroit show, but snow kept them home.  I figured the Chicago Auto Show was a good replacement…and boy, was it.

 

McCormick Place is on Chicago’s South Side right where I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) turns into the famous Lake Shore Drive.  When you’re on the highway, it’s really tough to see anything other than a massive building.  I had no idea what the front of the building looked like or even how to get to a door from Lake Shore drive, but I have driven by it hundreds of times.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicago, Entertainment Venues, Illinois, Live Entertainment, Reviews

Nino’s Pizza – Alsip, IL

15 02 2009
  • 4835 W. 111th Street
  • Alsip, IL 60803
  • (708 ) 423-9100
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Ninos Pizza on 111th Street in Alsip, IL

Nino's Pizza on 111th Street in Alsip, IL

Valentine’s Day wasn’t the typical Valentine’s Day for J and I.  We had another commitment that took precedentover a romantic night out.  No worries.  We had our night on Friday night instead.  On Valentine’s Day, after we got done with what had to be done, we started thinking of places to go eat that wouldn’t have a huge wait or be swamped with people.  Most of the usual suspects were booked up, but I remembered a place we have driven by many, many times and never stopped at.  The real funny thing is my brother was raving about a pizza he had in Matteson which is about a half hour away.  I finally figured out the name of it and realized there was another location right down the road from J’s parents.  Even though it had been there most of her life, J had never eaten at Nino’s, so thought we’d give them a shot.  To make this even better, a friend of ours from Peoria told us some time ago that her family actually owns the Nino’s in Alsip…still, we had never stopped in for a pie.

Nino’s Pizza is near the corner of 111th and Cicero right on the city limits for Alsip and Oak Lawn.  It’s a rather old building with neon tube signs on the front and side of the building.  It looks like a throwback pizza parlor.  J had called before we left to see if they had a huge wait and they said we’d be ok if we could get there in twenty minutes or so.  I had a feeling a pizza place wouldn’t be packed on Valentine’s Day and I was right for the most part.  The place was full, but there was no wait.  We found a parking spot and headed towards the entrance which is on the side of the building.

Once inside, we were met by a hostess who said she had four tables and we could pretty much just pick.  We took one fairly close to the door so J’s parents, who were meeting us there, could find us.  The decor is very rustic.  There is a lot of those thatched wood panels that you see on patio’s.  They even made a drop ceiling out of them.  There are several old chandelier’s scattered throughout the joint.  The tables are topped with the typical red and white checkerboard table cloths.  There are a number of old, wooden booths scattered throughout, but they looked pretty small like they were meant just for couples. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alsip, Illinois, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

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