Irwin, IL Food & Drink and More

9 Illinois Restaurants So Unusual They Deserve Their Own Reality TV Shows

Somewhere in Illinois, your burger can roll up to your seat behind a toy U.S. Army locomotive. It travels on a tiny track, trailed by model cars and a Lego caboose. I still can’t decide if that’s adorable or genius. The train is only one oddball on this...

Chicago, IL · 12h

everafterinthewoods.com

This Old-Fashioned Illinois Candy Shop Still Makes Its Own Fudge And Caramel Apples In A Nostalgic Little Shop

Caramel apples come with a choice of fruit at one little Illinois candy counter: tart Granny Smith or sweet Honeycrisp. That decision alone could stall a family for ten minutes. Then you spot the bear claws, the cheese popcorn, and the chocolate-dipped apricots. The fudge is made in house, the...

Chicago, IL · 4d

everafterinthewoods.com

This Illinois Restaurant Transforms Into A Magical Christmas Wonderland For The Holiday Season

Ornaments cover one Illinois dining room so completely each December that it feels like eating inside a snow globe. Add wreaths, snowflakes, glowing lights, and a whole crowd of Christmas trees, and the place turns into pure holiday magic. The building has served as a public house since the 1890s....

Chicago, IL · 3d

takemetotn.com

This Unassuming Illinois Pizzeria Serves Sausage Pizza So Good It Should Almost Be Illegal

Anthony Bourdain called one pan pizza the only deep dish he ever loved. That pie still comes out of a small, homey pizzeria on a quiet suburban street in Illinois. The crust edge gets so dark and caramelized that it looks almost burnt. It isn’t. That crunchy, cheesy rim is the whole point, and the sausage on top is a house blend.

Illinois · 6d

everafterinthewoods.com

Swedish Pancakes With Lingonberries Still Anchor Breakfast At This Andersonville Diner In Chicago, Illinois

A Viking breakfast in Illinois comes with falukorv sausage, eggs, potatoes, and thin Swedish pancakes topped with lingonberries. That combination alone made me sit up straight. The room matches the plate. Swedish folk art fills the walls, and whimsical tablecloths cover small tables in a cozy blue and yellow space.

everafterinthewoods.com

This Family-Run Illinois Italian Market Still Bakes Its Bread Fresh And Piles Subs High For Under $10

A 9-inch Italian beef from this deli can show up looking more like a 12-inch one. That’s the kind of generous surprise that gets an old-school Illinois sandwich counter talked about across the city. The beef comes from a family recipe, and it can arrive fully dipped and dripping....

familydestinationsguide.com

This Illinois Seafood Restaurant Is Known Far And Wide For Its Incredibly Fresh Fried Fish

Some restaurants earn their reputation quietly, one perfectly fried piece of fish at a time, and The Fish Keg in Chicago has been doing exactly that for longer than most food trends have existed. If you haven’t heard of The Fish Keg yet, that’s about to change. The...

fastfoodclub.com

Since 1946, Shoup’s Country Foods Has Fed Hungry Hoosiers… Wait, It’s Teibel’s In Schererville

Some Northwest Indiana restaurants come and go faster than rush hour on US-41, but one Schererville dining room has kept its doors open since long before the interstate era. Families have marked birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and ordinary Thursday lunches inside its many rooms for close to a century. The headline...

Schererville, IN · 3d

fastfoodclub.com

Since 1938, Russell’s Barbecue In Elmwood Park Has Served Beef Sandwiches From The Same Pit

Some families pass down recipes, and some pass down a favorite booth. Just west of Chicago, there is a barbecue counter where grandparents, parents, and kids have all ordered the same beef sandwich across many decades. The place opened in 1938, long before drive-thrus and self-serve soda machines were common,...

Elmwood Park, IL · 4d

thebloomingtonstar.com

6 Chicago beef stands where the Italian beef comes dipped, juicy and topped with giardiniera

Chicago, Illinois – There is a particular way to eat an Italian beef sandwich in Chicago. You lean forward, keep a few napkins close, and accept that the bread may have absorbed enough rich meat juice to make your usual sandwich technique completely useless. The beef is thin, the...

Chicago, IL · 4d

unearththevoyage.com

This Family-Run, Cash-Only Illinois Bakery Still Draws Fans For Its Famous Cheese Sticks

Some of the best food in Illinois hides behind plain storefronts you could drive past a hundred times. I almost did, until the smell of warm bread and the line at the door made me pull over. Inside, there were trays of pastries, towering cakes, and a buttery, cheesy treat...

Chicago, IL · 3d

takingthekids.com

This Illinois Donut Shop Tucked In An Alley Makes Vegan Donuts So Good People Order Ahead And Detour For A Dozen

Twenty-four hours. That’s how long the brioche dough takes before it becomes a doughnut at one tiny Illinois window, and the whole thing is vegan. No eggs, no butter, no milk. Yet the lineup reads like a classic bakery case, with Boston cream, apple fritters, and a flaky vanilla bean cronut.

partner publisher · 863.1K followers

Parade

In 1893, a Woman Born Into Slavery Made Pancakes at the World’s Fair and Became the Country’s First Living Brand Ambassador; She Was Buried in an Unmarked Grave

Born into slavery in Kentucky. Made pancakes at the 1893 World’s Fair for 27 million visitors. Became the country’s first ever living brand ambassador. Buried in an unmarked grave. The brand she made famous lasted 130 more years.

publisher · 127.3K followers

NBC Chicago

Home Run Inn unveils brand new pan pizza

Chicago’s iconic Home Run Inn pizza chain is well-known for its signature tavern-style pizza, but now they’re offering up pan pizzas in the freezers of area grocery stores. According to a press release, the pan pizza will be available at all Chicago-area Jewel stores and Tony’s Fresh Market...

Chicago, IL · 3d

NBC Chicago

publisher · 127.3K followers

Grandfather, retired restaurant owner killed in 2021 honored with Chinatown street renaming

A beloved grandfather randomly gunned down in broad daylight in Chicago’s Chinatown was honored and remembered on Friday. Family of Woom Sing Tse gathered for a special tribute and dedication. His murder several years ago sparked fear in Chinatown. Now, with his killer sentenced, the city is honoring Tse,...

publisher · 127.3K followers

NBC Chicago

These twelve Chicago restaurants made OpenTable's 2026 list of top 100 in the US

Twelve Chicago restaurants made a new list of the top 100 spots to dine in the country. The list, created by restaurant reservation platform OpenTable, was "generated from over 11 million reviews from verified OpenTable diners and dining metrics," its introduction states. Only restaurants in "good standing" with OpenTable and...

fastfoodclub.com

Halfway Down Route 66, Adrian’s Midpoint Cafe Still Hits Different For Texas Diner Fans

Chicago sits 1,139 miles behind you, and Santa Monica waits about the same distance ahead. Out on the flat Texas Panhandle, a small town marks the exact middle of America’s most famous highway. Most drivers would blink and miss it, yet travelers from around the world plan whole days...

partner publisher · 5.3K followers

Axios Chicago

Chicago dining scene sees healing foods and new Chinese spots

The Chicago food scene is cooking up fresh developments in food as medicine, new Chinese eateries, a Fulton Market Gibson's and some changes at LeTour and Sifr. Let's dig in. Herbal medicine: Award-winning Edgewater Thai restaurant Herb is launching new dishes designed to heal and delight. Chef Patty Neumson tells Axios that recent health challenges inspired her to infuse fresh menu items with healing ingredients from traditional food cultures including ginger, turmeric and cassia leaves. Winter squash chicken curry at Herb in Edgewater. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios Eat up: I recently sampled a velvety winter squash and chicken curry, zingy ginger pork, refreshing pomelo salad and pleasingly (for me) bitter cassia leaf curry that can be served with tofu or beef. All intense but delicious. Fresh Chinese spots Dungeness crabs at Marina Bay in the 88 Market. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios Last month saw the opening of perhaps the city's biggest Hong Kong-style dim sum and seafood spot with Marina Bay in Chinatown's 88 Market Place. The enormous main dining room offers dim sum until 3pm, when it becomes a Hong Kong-style seafood restaurant and banquet facility. What I'm eyeing: All the traditional Cantonese fare, of course, but also matcha Phoenix buns