I knew we were in for a great lunch at the Bonaparte Retreat based on our morning visits to the Milton Creamery and Dutchman’s Store. I couldn’t have been more right. Read more
Bonaparte Retreat: Dining in an Old Grist Mill
Food & Drink
Hurts Donut: Wackiest Donuts Ever
The young man at the Hurts Donut counter in Springfield, Missouri, told us, “When they first started, people were like, people aren’t gonna wait out in a line for a donut.” Yet, two days before our visit, a Sunday morning, there was a line out the door for four hours. What’s all the hype over donuts? One look in the donut cases will tell you. Hurts donuts are the wackiest, most over-the-top donuts I have ever eaten. Read more
Tasting Fall at Ruby’s Restaurant
When you begin breakfast with an appetizer of big, fluffy fresh-made cinnamon rolls dripping with sweet white icing and gooey-sweet caramel pecan rolls, you think you hit the highlight of the meal, but the delectable tastes don’t end with Ronnie’s World Famous Rolls at Ruby’s Restaurant in Decorah, Iowa. Read more
Charlie Parker’s Diner: Off the Beaten Path but Worth Looking For
The World War II era Quonset hut doesn’t look like much from the outside, but step over the threshold at Charlie Parker’s Diner, and you take a giant step back to the rockin’ boppin’ 1950s. Every seat was taken at the glass-block lunch counter on the Saturday we visited and nearly every red vinyl chair around white Formica-and-chrome tables was filled. Off the beaten path in Springfield, Illinois, we didn’t know about it until we joined Alicia Erickson of the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau there for lunch. Read more
MB Financial Park at Rosemont: It’s All about Dining and Entertainment
There’s a party atmosphere every night at the MB Financial Park at Rosemont, Illinois. Make that all day and all night, with a dozen venues in a single complex that offer everything from bowling to upscale dining. And in the outdoor common area, you can attend concerts or Zumba classes in the summer, ice skate in the winter. Read more
Cozy Dog: Home of the Route 66 Corn Dog
You’d be hard pressed to find a fair in the United States that doesn’t sell corn dogs. State fairs, county fairs, and local carnivals always include at least one vendor selling the hotdogs enrobed in cornmeal batter, deep fried to golden perfection and served on a stick. But did you know that corn dogs weren’t always served on a stick? Nor were they fried. Rather, they were baked and took quite a while to prepare. Ed Waldmire, Jr., who may have invented the corn dog, first served them at the Cozy Dog Drive-In over sixty years ago. Today, tourists continue to stop at Cozy Dog in Springfield, Illinois, for a taste of nostalgic Americana as they travel Route 66 .
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