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everafterinthewoods.com

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This Unassuming Illinois Spot Piles Pizzas High With Toppings And Serves Wings Worth Licking Your Fingers For

Sixteen first-place wins at Chicago’s WingFest is a lot of hardware for one modest neighborhood grill. Add four Best of Fest awards, and that shelf starts looking crowded. The place doesn’t stop at wings, either. Homemade tavern-style thin crust pizza comes out of the same kitchen, along with garlic buffalo wings that seem to have their own fan club.

Palatine, IL · 1d
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takingthekids.com

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We Ranked The Best Barbecue In Illinois And These 7 Smokehouses Made The Cut

Two of the best barbecue joints in Illinois sit inside old train depots. I love that. Brisket and railroad history might be the most Midwestern pairing ever invented. The surprises keep stacking up from there. One Chicago spot has been a South Side standard for over 70 years. A small...

Illinois · 1d
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Q107.5

partner publisher · 8.6K followers
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Belvidere To Champaign, Illinois Barbecue Rivals Texas And Memphis

Illinois has some seriously good barbecue tucked away in small towns and Chicago neighborhoods, but most people don't realize it's even there.

Illinois · 7d

Q985

partner publisher · 3.8K followers
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These 12 Illinois Restaurants Make The List Of America’s 100 Best

Illinois landed twelve spots on OpenTable's best restaurants in America list, and they're all a road trip away in Chicago.

Illinois · 2d

unearththevoyage.com

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Illinois Families Fill Their Pantries At These 8 Old-School Meat Markets Making Their Own Smoked Sausage

Some of the best food in Illinois hides behind plain storefronts with hand-painted signs and a smoky smell drifting out the door. You walk in expecting a quick errand and walk out with a cooler full of brats, sausage sticks, and summer sausage you did not plan to buy. These...

Illinois · 1d

unearththevoyage.com

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This Tiny Illinois Bakery Serves Flaky Danish Pastries So Authentic You’ll Swear You’re In Copenhagen

Some of the best bites in Illinois hide in places you would drive right past without a second look. I walked into a small, quiet bakery expecting a quick donut and walked out with a box of buttery Danish treats and a new weekend habit. The kind of flaky layers...

Burr Ridge, IL · 4d

everafterinthewoods.com

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Swedish Meatballs And Lingonberries Still Fill Plates At These 6 Illinois Old-World Restaurants

Lingonberries show up in lemonade and salad dressing at one of these spots. That tart little red berry clearly refuses to stay politely on the side of a pancake. I love that detail. Swedish meatballs and lingonberries are still on the menu across Illinois, from a historic prairie village to busy Chicago neighborhoods.

Illinois · 2d

smilepolitely.com

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Big Thorn’s gorgeous retreat with well-crafted beers

Big Thorn Farm & Brewery has been on my radar for years, and I finally made it there where the temperature was balmy. Although almost an hour drive from Urbana through empty cornfields, it was a pleasure to arrive at this forest retreat. Besides the many beers on tap, they had a food truck onsite as well. Since the weather was still warm when I visited, the outdoor Tree Bar was open but soon that will switch to their indoor facility.

Urbana, IL · 2d

smilepolitely.com

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Drinking like a pirate at The Boxcar on Prospect

Ahoy, mateys! Ever been craving a place to imbibe that feels like a classic dive bar but with pirate vibes and cocktails in insanely cool tiki cups? Well, even if these extremely specific conditions don’t apply to you, dear reader, I’d still like to tell you about The Boxcar on Prospect.

Champaign, IL · 3d

smilepolitely.com

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Better save room for dessert at Farren’s

Farren’s first opened way back in 2000 as a green Randolph Street burger basement pub. I know I’m not the only one who remembers standing along the ramp waiting for a table to eat Farren’s famous burgers and followed the restaurant’s eats when Farren’s moved in 2019 to the old Radio Maria (now Blue Ethiopian). That was quite the glow up, but last year’s scootch down Walnut Street to the current University Avenue corner was the final flourish. Farren’s new location is the entire first floor of the historic Inman.

Champaign, IL · 1d

everafterinthewoods.com

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Families Pile Into Cozy Booths At These 7 Illinois Pancake Houses

One Illinois pancake house serves its giant flapjacks inside a curved metal Quonset hut. Another has been flipping pancakes around the clock, day and night, since the 1960s. I love that detail. A late-night pancake craving can actually be answered in this state, no waiting for sunrise required. The rest...

Illinois · 1d

Local 4 WHBF

partner publisher · 15.9K followers

Illinois Hemp Act regulates sale of certain drinks

Some Illinois businesses are paying close attention to a new law that will affect what drinks they can sell. Under the Illinois Hemp Act, any consumable or hemp-derived product, including drinks, containing more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container is banned from bars, taprooms, restaurants and convenience and grocery stores. They can only […]

Illinois · 1d

Q985

partner publisher · 3.8K followers

Wisconsin Claims Two Spots In Top Fifty-five Foodie Cities In US

Madison and Milwaukee both cracked the top 55 foodie cities in America, with Milwaukee coming in ahead of Chicago by one spot.

Wisconsin · 6d

25newsnow.com

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Thanksgiving turkey prices hold steady at Peoria Heights meat market despite rising food costs

PEORIA HEIGHTS (25News Now) - With Thanksgiving just over two weeks away, Central Illinois families are preparing for their holiday meals, and one local meat market says shoppers won’t have to pay more for their Thanksgiving turkey this year. Alwan & Sons Meat Company in Peoria Heights is keeping...

Peoria Heights, IL · 2d

takingthekids.com

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The Secret Illinois Buffet That Locals Try To Hide From Outsiders

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.

Illinois · 5d

everafterinthewoods.com

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This Old-School Illinois Butcher Shop Still Cuts From Hanging Cattle And Makes Over 80 Sausages

A carved wooden pig head hands out your number at the door. That’s how your visit starts at one of the most beloved butcher counters in Illinois. The kitchen behind the counter turns out more than 80 kinds of sausages and brats. A smokehouse adds more than 10 kinds of homemade bacon to the lineup.

Chicago, IL · 5d

takingthekids.com

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Most Of These Old-School Steakhouses Closed Years Ago, But This Illinois One Still Serves T-Bones And A Full Buffet

A 16-ounce T-bone and an all-you-can-eat buffet still share the same menu at one Illinois interstate stop. Plenty of families thought that combo vanished along with the restaurants of their childhood. The chain behind it once dotted highways across the Midwest. Most of those locations closed years ago, so finding...

Illinois · 2d

We Are Illinois

partner publisher · 5.8K followers

12 Illinois Restaurants Land On OpenTable's Top 100 In America For 2026

Twelve Illinois spots landed on OpenTable's Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2026, and every one of them sits right here in Chicago.

Chicago, IL · 2d

everafterinthewoods.com

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This Illinois Restaurant Serves Holiday Meals Beneath A Giant Christmas Tree

A Christmas tree stands right in the middle of a department store dining room, rising so high it nearly brushes the ceiling. People book tables months ahead just to eat lunch under it. The room itself dates back to 1907. The walls are covered in walnut paneling, and crystal chandeliers...

Chicago, IL · 4d

Q985

partner publisher · 3.8K followers

5 Smart Ways to Save on Thanksgiving Dinner in Illinois

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.

Illinois · 2d