Illinois

There’s a stretch of northwest Illinois where farmland suddenly gives way to limestone bluffs and a clear river…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 21

Illinois is full of small towns where the best meal in the county comes from a diner that…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 21

Illinois is full of small towns where the best breakfast comes from a family bakery that has been…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 21

There was a time when eating dinner in your car felt like an adventure, not a compromise. A…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 20

Some restaurants come and go with the seasons, but a rare few carve out a place in a…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 20

Some meals are worth a full tank of gas, and a certain daytime diner in central Illinois proves…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 20

Some meals are worth a road trip, and one open-faced creation in central Illinois pulls folks from two…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 19

Some spots have been handing out cold treats for so long that grandparents and grandkids share the very…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 19

Some of the best food in Illinois is not found in big cities or fancy dining rooms. It…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 19

There is a small spot in Illinois where two great rivers meet and life shifts into a calmer…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 18

Some breakfasts are worth a road trip, and there is a spot in Springfield that has folks planning…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 18

There is a certain thrill in walking through a room stacked with old clocks, forgotten glassware, and furniture…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 18

Summer in Illinois has a way of making even a short car ride feel like a mini adventure,…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 17

Illinois gets a lot of attention for Chicago, but the state is full of smaller towns where daily…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 17

Some places make you earn the view with miles of sweat and blisters. This one hands you sweeping…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 17

There is a spot in the western suburbs of Chicago that quietly wins people over, night after night,…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 16

Illinois has a lot more to offer than just deep-dish pizza in Chicago. Scattered across small towns and…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 16

Some restaurants serve dinner. This one serves a whole afternoon you will remember for weeks. Families load up…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 16

Some places make you want to slow down and stay a while, and this old diner in Springfield…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 15

Tucked into the far northwest corner of Illinois, there is a town where 19th-century brick storefronts still line…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 15

Some of the best morning meals in Illinois hide in towns you might drive past without a second…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 15

Somewhere along the old Mother Road in Illinois sits a diner where the walls tell stories older than…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 14

Somewhere along the old ribbon of Route 66 in Illinois, there is a small roadside spot that has…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 14

Illinois is full of quiet main streets where the best meal of the day might be a slice…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 14

If you have ever daydreamed about slowing down in a place where your dollar goes further, one Illinois…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 13

Illinois is full of small towns where the best meal in town comes from a diner that has…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 13

Illinois has plenty of famous pizza spots, but not all of them sit in the middle of Chicago.…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 13

Somewhere just southwest of Chicago, a growing neighborhood has become a favorite landing spot for people entering their…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 12

Some places don’t need flashy signs or trendy makeovers to earn a following. On a busy Chicago street,…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 12

Somewhere in the rolling farmland of southern Illinois, a set of steep stairs drops down into a sinkhole…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 12

Some places wear their age like a badge of honor, and this little corner spot in rural Illinois…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 11

A short drive from Chicago hides a stretch of Illinois where sandstone canyons, seasonal waterfalls, and wide river…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 11

Some restaurants feel like they belong to another era, the kind where dinner was an evening out rather…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 11

Fried lake perch is one of those Midwest classics that Illinois folks will happily drive across a couple…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 10

Illinois gets a lot of attention for Chicago, but the real slow-down happens in its smaller towns. If…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 10

Tucked into the rolling farmland of western Illinois sits a village of just over a hundred people where…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 10

Central Illinois has a spot where the coffee never runs dry and the corner booth fills with regulars…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 9

Not everyone wants the rush of Chicago traffic or the noise of a big-city commute. Across Illinois, there…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 9

Illinois has more riverfront than most people realize, and some of the best small towns in the state…

By Lincoln Avery · Aug 9