Illinois

Illinois might be famous for deep-dish pizza and Italian beef, but the state hides some seriously good barbecue…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 19

Sunday brunch in Illinois is more than just eggs and coffee. It is the one meal where the…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 19

A little shop on a historic Main Street has been drawing treat lovers back for more than three…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 18

Some restaurants earn a loyal following not by chasing trends but by doing things their own way and…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 18

There is a corner of small-town Illinois where old pharmacy cabinets still line the walls and a soda…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 18

Illinois still holds onto a dining tradition that feels like a step back in time: the supper club.…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 17

Belgian waffles have a way of turning an ordinary morning into a good one. The best have crisp…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 17

There is a real difference between a burger made from a frozen puck and one built from beef…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 17

Central Illinois surprises people who expect nothing but flat farmland stretching to the horizon. Tucked between rows of…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 16

Living well does not always mean spending big, and Illinois has plenty of small towns that prove it.…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 16

Illinois has plenty of big-name bakeries, but some of the best fresh pastries come from small towns most…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 16

Some places make you work for the reward, and this one hides at the end of a bumpy…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 15

Some restaurants seem to run on a clock that stopped ticking decades ago, and that is exactly the…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 15

Some places hide their best surprise at the bottom of a staircase. In the far southern tip of…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 15

Illinois is famous for Chicago, but the state also hides dozens of small towns where the loudest sound…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 14

Some sweet spots earn a loyal following the quiet way, one warm cobbler at a time. Tucked into…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 14

Illinois is packed with old-fashioned roadside diners that fire up the griddle before the sun is fully awake.…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 14

Some places in a small Illinois town quietly earn a following that stretches back generations, and folks keep…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 13

Some restaurants get talked about for a season, then fade away. Others quietly become the place families return…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 13

Some of the best doughnuts in Illinois are gone before most people have finished their first cup of…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 13

Some towns move at their own pace, and that slower rhythm is exactly what keeps drawing people who…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 12

Italian beef is one of those sandwiches that starts arguments at family dinners, and Illinois takes it seriously.…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 12

Along a quiet stretch of Salt Creek, a wooden waterwheel keeps turning just like it did back in…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 12

Illinois has more real Mexican food than a lot of people expect, and you do not have to…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 11

Craving crispy schnitzel, house-made sausages, and a plate of sauerkraut that tastes like home cooking? Illinois has a…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 11

Illinois does not usually come to mind when people picture covered bridges, yet the state quietly keeps a…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 11

Some places make sweets, and some places turn sweets into a tradition that families pass down like heirlooms.…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 10

Everyone races to Starved Rock, but the smarter crowd slips down the road to a park where the…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 10

Cars roll in, a speaker crackles to life, and within minutes a red cardboard box arrives at the…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 10

Illinois has taco spots on nearly every corner, but only a handful earn the kind of loyalty that…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 9

Illinois has plenty of big-city dining, but some of the best steaks in the state sit in towns…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 9

Some Illinois towns are small enough to drive through in a minute, but their breakfast spots have people…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 9

There is a small shop along the Illinois River in Peoria where the flavor list keeps changing and…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 8

There is a certain kind of place where the parking lot tells you everything before you ever open…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 8

Supper clubs feel like a slice of the Midwest that refuses to go out of style. In Illinois,…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 8

Illinois hides some of its best doughnuts in towns you might drive right past. These small bakeries open…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 7

Illinois may be a landlocked state, but that has never stopped its towns from serving some seriously good…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 7

Downtown Alton hides a little cafe that has been feeding hungry regulars for more than two decades, and…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 7

Deep in the rolling hills of southern Illinois sits a short trail that rewards a light walk with…

By Lincoln Avery · Sep 6