Serena, IL Lifestyle and More

This Illinois Farmers Market Moves Indoors For Winter, So Your Sunday Produce Run Never Stops

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...

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 Public Radio

The Rundown: Architect living in home up for landmark status

Good afternoon! It’s Thursday, and today I learned some of the CTA’s heat lamps used to operate with potbellied stoves. The amenity is now on for the season (even if November temperatures are still mild). Here’s what you need to know today. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks...

takingthekids.com

We Ranked The Best Italian Beef In Illinois And These 7 Spots Made The Cut

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 · 2d

everafterinthewoods.com

Over 100 Years Later, Fluky’s Original Spirit Lives On In This Chicago Hot Dog Counter

The hot dog brand that claims it invented the Chicago-style dog now serves lunch inside a Walmart. Yes, really, right there between the shopping carts and the checkout lanes. That same name started on a bustling Chicago street corner back when a full hot dog meal cost pocket change. During the Great Depression, it even fed hungry folks who couldn’t spare a coin.

partner publisher · 18.8K followers

Belleville News-Democrat

2 IL pizzerias serve some of the best pies in US, report finds. Where to go

Two Illinois pizzerias earned spots on The Infatuation’s recent analysis of the best pizza places in America. Both are in Chicago and serve distinctly different styles. FULL STORY: These 2 Illinois pizza shops serve some of the best pies in America, report says Here are key takeaways: The Sept. 22 report from The Infatuation, “ The Best Pizza Places in America ,” named Pizz’Amici and Milly’s Pizza In The Pan among the nation’s best. The analysis did not numerically rank the restaurants. Pizz’Amici was praised for its tavern-style pie. The Infatuation described the crust as “impressively thin and crackery” with a bottom that is “a Dalmatian-spotted, charred beauty.” A 14-inch Chicago thin-crust pizza starts at $21. Milly’s Pizza In The Pan stood out for its pan-style Chicago deep-dish, with “zesty” tomato sauce and caramelized cheese on the crust. A cheese pizza starts at $20 for a 10-inch and $24 for a 14-inch. Pizz’Amici is at 1215 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago. Milly’s has two locations: 925 N. Ashland Ave. and 3409 N. Broadway in Chicago. Milly’s does not take reservations and makes a limited number of pizzas each day, so staff recommend placing an order online in advance. In a

everafterinthewoods.com

partner publisher · 862.1K followers

This Cash-Only Illinois Burger Walk-Up Hands Out Peanut Butter Banana Shakes And Three-Layer Fries

Peanut butter and banana, blended into a milkshake, served from a walk-up window next to a sizzling char grill. That combo alone made me stop scrolling. Then I learned the fries come stacked in three layers. This little Illinois burger stand keeps things wonderfully old school. You order at a...

Des Plaines, IL · 2d

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.

commercialbaking.com

Talerico Bakery starts the next chapter in its fresh-to-frozen story

KANSAS CITY, MO — Bob Talerico loves to tell stories. The owner of Talerico Bakery, a more than 40-year-old fried and baked sweet goods manufacturer on the South Side of Chicago, has plenty of tales to tell. One of his favorites is about how he and his buddy Michael “Mickey” Martin started the bakery in 1984 using the kitchen of a family business. After all these years, Talerico still gets excited when asked to share the story … and its next chapter.

publisher · 6.0K followers

WBEZ

Meet the prolific graffiti artist whose work is all over Chicago’s Northwest Side

Editor’s note: This story first published in 2024. Street artist Joos is perhaps best known for works that resemble ribbons of dissolving color, or paint that’s been pressure washed and left blooms of pigment behind. “It’s like, is it a shadow? Is it a silhouette? What is it?...

unearththevoyage.com

publisher · 6.0K followers

Since 1958, This Family-Run Illinois Italian Market Has Pulled Fresh Bread From The Oven Every Three Hours

I walked in for one loaf of bread and walked out with two heavy bags and a warm paper sack I could not stop sniffing. From the parking lot, it looks like any busy grocery store in Illinois. Inside, it feels like a small Italian town packed under one roof,...

Elmwood Park, IL · 6d

WBEZ

In acclaimed 'Once Upon a Time in Harlem' documentary, a Chicago journalist emerges from obscurity

At the height of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, the city bustled with activity. People recited Langston Hughes’ “Weary Blues” poem on street corners. Duke Ellington delivered electrifying performances at the Cotton Club. A’Lelia Walker, daughter of millionaire Madam C. J. Walker, drew an enviable guest list to salons at her townhouse.

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 · 2d

chicagofoodmagazine.com

LeTour Recasts as an American Neighborhood Eatery

Four years after opening in the rotunda of a 1960s former bank building at 625 Davis Street, LeTour is embracing a new chapter. Restaurateur Amy Morton’s downtown Evanston restaurant is coming into its own as an American gathering place, with a reinvented menu that brings together familiar favorites, dishes made for sharing and flavors that travel well beyond any one culinary tradition.

Evanston, IL · 2d

unearththevoyage.com

This Low-Key Illinois Supper Club Still Grills Steaks The Old-Fashioned Way For Loyal Regulars

Some of the best meals in Illinois happen in rooms that look like they have not changed in decades, and that is exactly the point. You walk in expecting a simple steak dinner and walk out talking about the piano, the white jackets, and a slice of cake the size of a hatbox.

Chicago, IL · 5d

nickscookingclub

user · 12.0K followers

Chicago Bakeries Knew Apple Pie Needed More Corners

Chicago-style bakery apple slices take everything comforting about apple pie and reshape it into generous squares made for sharing. Instead of a traditional round pie with only a few coveted edge pieces, this Midwestern favorite spreads tender apple filling between broad pastry layers and finishes the top with a sweet glaze. The result delivers soft cinnamon-spiced fruit, flaky crust, and sugary icing in nearly every bite. It feels nostalgic even if you did not grow up visiting a Chicago neighborhood bakery because the combination resembles the sort of dessert that might have appeared at a family gathering decades ago. The rectangular format also makes the treat practical: it can be cut into tidy portions, packed for an event, or served straight from the pan without worrying about perfect pie wedges. Familiar apple flavor remains at the center, but the bakery-style presentation gives it a personality all its own.

Riverside Brookfield Landmark