Chestnut
Twelve Illinois spots landed on OpenTable's Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2026, and every one of them sits right here in Chicago.
Somewhere in Massachusetts, people put chow mein noodles and gravy on hamburger buns. In Illinois, a sandwich comes buried under French fries and cheese sauce. And in Mississippi, pig ears are a longtime sandwich filling. These aren’t novelty foods created for social media. They’re regional traditions with histories stretching back...
Thanksgiving dinner is getting more expensive, but Illinois families don't have to break the bank. Here are five easy ways to save money on this year's holiday feast.
Lunch arrives on a three-tiered tower of real china, and the stained glass windows above your table once watched over a church congregation. That’s the setup at one little lunch spot in Illinois. The building is more than a century old. Old church benches still serve as seating, and...
When the Illinois wind starts biting, a long dinner beside a real fireplace starts sounding like a smart plan. Supper clubs have always been about slowing down, with steaks, seafood, relish-tray nostalgia, and the kind of service that makes a Tuesday feel like an occasion. This list rounds up seven...
Free Greek donuts are not something you expect with breakfast, but one Illinois cafe has been known to hand them out on select weekdays. That small surprise is enough to make any morning feel brighter. The kitchen leans on Greek roots and classic diner comfort. Lemon rice soup shares a...
A truck stop restaurant that started in 1928 as a garage selling sandwiches is still serving an all-you-can-eat buffet today. That alone deserves a second look. The buffet starts at 6 AM. Breakfast favorites, comfort-food classics, and rotating dishes fill the line, with a soup and salad station waiting nearby.
Bread arrives at the table with a knife standing straight up in the loaf. That’s how dinner starts at one Illinois steakhouse, and it only gets better from there. Next comes an unlimited salad bar loaded with soup, hot dishes, puddings, and potato salad. Then there are the pies.
Ready to find the best Mexican food in Illinois without leaving the state?. These 7 restaurants serve bold flavors and satisfying meals that’ll keep you coming back for more!. 1. El Tragón Taquería (Chicago) The name “El Tragón” roughly means “the big eater” in Spanish, and honestly,...
Snow on the boulevard doesn’t cancel this Sunday market. When winter hits, the whole thing simply heads indoors and keeps going. I love that idea. Your weekly bread, eggs, and cheese haul doesn’t have to pause just because Illinois decided to freeze solid for a few months. In...
One Illinois joint made a list of the 50 best burgers on Earth, rubbing elbows with Tokyo and Dublin.
One breakfast spot in Illinois serves a pancake roughly the size of a large pizza. I can’t stop thinking about the size of the plate needed for that. Then there’s the breakfast horseshoe. It’s a local legend built from toast, eggs, meat, and potatoes, all buried under cheese sauce or gravy.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) - The Curve Inn is officially celebrating its reopening tonight. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is being held after the historic bar was shut down for months following a fire in February. The fire was ruled to be accidental in nature. Investigators believe it was electrical and started in...
Some of the best meals in Illinois are served in towns with one main street and a water tower you can spot from the highway. Many of these restaurants have been run by the same families for decades, feeding farmers, road trippers, and grandkids alike. This list covers seven of...
A sandwich stand on a busy Chicago street became the filming spot for a hit TV show, and its business reportedly more than doubled. That is the kind of pull an Italian beef sandwich has in Illinois. The idea goes back about a century. Thin-sliced roast beef gets soaked in...
Illinois has some seriously good barbecue tucked away in small towns and Chicago neighborhoods, but most people don't realize it's even there.
Peacocks stroll the grounds outside a dairy barn that now serves fried chicken and char-grilled steaks. That just made my day. A barn built for cows now hands out dinner plates instead of milk pails. The family behind it has run this business for four generations. Every dinner entree comes...
Craving chocolate shops in Illinois that will satisfy your inner chocoholic and leave you grinning ear to ear?. These 7 legendary chocolate shops are hiding throughout Illinois with incredible handcrafted treats and unforgettable flavors!. 1. Graham’s Fine Chocolates & Ice Cream (Geneva) Geneva has a lot going for it...
Madison and Milwaukee both cracked the top 55 foodie cities in America, with Milwaukee coming in ahead of Chicago by one spot.
