White Fence Farm, Romeoville IL: Popular Chicken Restaurant on Route 66

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois December 30, 2014December 2, 2015Illinois restaurants, Restaurants in Romeoville Illinois, Restaurants on Route 66, Romeoville Illinois, Route 66 Restaurants, White Fence Farm 0 Comment

White Fence Farm has been serving diners since before Route 66 existed. Their famous chicken didn’t appear on the menu, however, until the mid-1950s, and over the past six decades, that’s what they’ve become known for: chicken that’s crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside. Not only has White Fence Farm grown in popularity, but the restaurant area itself has ballooned over the years, to twelve dining rooms and a seating capacity of over 1,000, plus a small museum. Read more

Choose Wisely: Soup and Salad bar at Shrine Restaurant, Belleville, Illinois

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois December 21, 2014March 20, 2016lady of snows, lady of snows shrine, lady of the snow, lady of the snows shrine, National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, our lady of snow, our lady of snow shrine, our lady of snows, our lady of snows belleville, our lady of snows shrine, our lady of the snow, our lady of the snow shrine, our lady of the snows, our lady of the snows belleville, our lady of the snows shrine, shrine of our lady of snows, shrine of our lady of the snows, shrine restaurant, the national shrine of our lady of the snows, the shrine belleville, Waistline Watching Traveler 0 Comment

I once had a coworker who ate almost nothing besides soups and salads for lunch and dinner. Her breakfast was always a banana and yogurt. She never ate a donut or indulged in birthday cakes. I never once saw her eat a hamburger. Yet she always seemed to struggle somewhat with her weight. Then one day she discovered that the salad she’d occasionally order from Taco Bell had over 700 calories and more than 30 grams of fat! Read more

Lino’s Restaurant of Rockford: Old World Charm and Flavor

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois December 15, 2014Lino's, Lino's Italian Restaurant, Lino's Pizza, Restaurants in Rockford, Rockford, Rockford Illinois restaurants 0 Comment

Restaurants that serve food made from Mom’s recipes are the best. That’s what you get at Lino’s Restaurant in Rockford, Illinois: Italian cooking made the way the family’s ancestors did it in Italy. Served with friendly conversation in a setting reminiscent of Italy, I felt like family or a good friend being welcomed into a home.

Lino’s is a Rockford staple, open since 1972, with three major expansions since then. Each of the rooms in the restaurant is decorated after a slice of Italy, including a Leaning Tower of Pisa in one room. According to a couple of customers I spoke with, Lino’s is the go-to place for family celebrations. Some dine there weekly.

Each day of the week Lino’s offers a different dine-in special. Although I was tempted by the baked lasagna, which another customer raved about, I went with the Friday cod special, which you can get either deep fried or baked.

Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE subscription, enter your e-mail address in the Subscribe2 box to the left and click Subscribe.

True to Italian mom cooking, you don’t leave the table hungry. The meal includes pasta or a potato, a salad, fresh warm bread, beverage and ice cream. I chose Lino’s Special Salad, greens topped with egg, Italian sausage and tomato and tossed with house-made Italian dressing.

I also tried the minestrone soup, chock full of ditalini pasta and veggies and not overpowered with garlic.

Since I didn’t order an Italian entrée, I had mostaccioli as my side dish. Again, the rich tomato flavor was enhanced, not overpowered by garlic. (Can you tell I’m not a huge fan of garlic overuse?)

The fish was extraordinary. Both the deep-fried and the baked versions were tender and flaky, and the batter on the deep-fried was light. Lino’s doesn’t have a specific recipe for the batter, they just toss the ingredients together, the way you do when you’ve prepared a dish over and over again.

When it came time for dessert, one of the servers mentioned she likes the combination of spumoni and rainbow sherbet, so I asked if I could have it that way, a half scoop of each. They were happy to comply, and I found that it’s true, you get a sort of Creamsicle taste, but with a variance on the flavors.

I couldn’t possibly eat all of the food that was served to me, but that’s what take-home boxes are for. I understand that Lino’s has been awarded the Readers’ Choice Award by the local newspaper for favorite Italian restaurant multiple times, as well as the award for favorite pizza. On my next visit I’ll have to try the pizza.

Lino’s Restaurant is open for dinner seven days a week and offers both dine-in and carry-out service. Check the web site for hours and menu.

Disclosure: My visit to Lino’s was hosted by the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and Lino’s. However, opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE. After subscribing, be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm. – Connie

Tippecanoe Place: Dine in a Stately Old Mansion

Connie Food & Drink, Indiana November 17, 2014November 17, 2014Indiana Restaurants, South Bend, South Bend IN, South Bend Indiana, South Bend restaurants, Tippecanoe Place Indiana, Tippecanoe Place restaurant 0 Comment

I love old mansions and am especially partial to old stone mansions. I also, of course, like a good meal. Put the two together, and it’s a sure winner. I had the pleasure of enjoying Sunday Brunch at the Tippecanoe Place restaurant in South Bend, Indiana, earlier this year. The opulent ambiance is a wonderful setting for a sumptuous meal.

Dating back to 1889, the 26,000 square foot stately mansion was originally the home of Clement Studebaker, co-founder of South Bend’s Studebaker automobile manufacturing company. During World War II, the mansion served as headquarters for the Red Cross. Today Tippecanoe Place welcomes guests for lunch and dinner, as well as Sunday brunch

Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE subscription, enter your e-mail address in the Subscribe2 box to the left and click Subscribe.

I could feel the richness of the building just opening the heavy wood doors inset with leaded glass.

I saw only a few of the mansion’s 40 rooms on my visit. Our seating was in the mansion’s light and airy drawing room, which includes one of the building’s 20 gorgeous fireplaces.

This alcove off to the side is perfect for a family get-together.

In contrast to the drawing room, the adjacent library exudes its richness through heavy, dark, carved molding. The library is where the brunch buffet was set up.

The brunch menu includes several hot breakfast and lunch items, including made-to-order omelets and hand-carved ham and beef.

There were several salads and sides to choose from, including lots of fresh fruits.

The dessert buffet, in a room separate from the rest of the food, had even more fruit, plus pastries, cookies, and cakes.

The dinner menu includes appetizers like Lobstercakes Tippecanoe and Baked Brie en Croute. Entrees are pasta, three cuts of prime rib, steaks, rack of lamb, seafood items like Pacific swordfish served with basil risotto, and poultry, including roasted Indiana duckling served with a choice of two sauces.

Lunch is mostly lighter fare, including salads like the fresh berry chicken salad, sandwiches like a smoked turkey Reuben or a portabella mushroom sandwich. Pasta, prime rib and a couple of grilled seafood dishes are available for lunch, as well.

Tippecanoe Place, located at 620 W Washington Street in South Bend, Indiana, is a great place to celebrate a special occasion or to treat yourself to a nice meal during your South Bend getaway. Check the web site for hours and menus. Closed Mondays.

Disclosure: My visit to Tippecanoe Places was hosted by Visit South Bend and Tippecanoe Place, but any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Other posts you may be interested in:

Touring the University of Notre Dame Campus, South Bend, Indiana

Café Navarre, South Bend IN: Top-Notch Farm-to-Table Dining

Tour the South Bend Chocolate Company Factory

Shop the South Bend Farmers Market Year Round

Tour and Taste at 18 Vodka, Mishawaka, Indiana

Koi Asian Bistro, Bourbonnais, Illinois: Japanese, Chinese and Thai Cuisine

Connie Food & Drink November 12, 2014Bourbonnais Illinois, Kankakee County restaurants, Koi Asian Bistro, Restaurants in Bourbonnais 0 Comment

You know you’ve found a good restaurant when there are a lot of cars in the parking lot. That’s how I realized that Koi Asian Bistro in Bourbonnais, Illinois, had developed quite a following. I hadn’t paid much attention to it before, even though I pass it several times a week. But one day I noticed all the cars and knew none of the other businesses in that strip would have that many customers at one time, so I made it a point to try it. I was impressed, impressed with the decor, impressed with the menu selection, and especially impressed with the food.

The décor is sophisticated Japanese, with lots of black wood and bamboo and Japanese lanterns hanging above the tables.

Koi specializes in Japanese, Chinese and Thai cuisine. I have to admit I am far from an Asian food expert. I rarely eat it, and I have no idea what the difference is between sushi, sushimi and maki rolls, but Koi has lots of all of them. I counted 18 different kinds on the Sushi and Sushimi menu, 21 on the Classic Rolls or Hand Rolls menu, and 19 on the Chef’s Special Rolls menu. They offer far more entrees, though, including several rice dishes, noodle dishes and tempura.

Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE subscription, enter your e-mail address in the Subscribe2 box to the left and click Subscribe.

Our waitress brought us a bowl of edamame, boiled and salted, to start. I’d never eaten edamame served this way before, still in the pod, and was unsure how to eat it. Apparently there is no correct way. Some people peel it to get to the beans in the pod, and some eat it like an artichoke, running the pod through your front teeth, and the beans pop into your mouth. I found the latter to be the easier method.

Not being very adventurous when it comes to food, I ordered tried-and-true sesame chicken. The sweet, sticky sauce and nutty taste and crunch of the sesame seeds is one of my favorites. The portion was more than I could eat. I took at least half of it home to enjoy for lunch the next day.

My husband ordered off of the Chef’s Special Rolls menu. Impressively plated, complete with a flower, he confirmed it was as delicious as it was pretty.

We splurged and split dessert, tempura cheesecake. That’s deep-fried cheesecake. Again, beautifully plated and delicious, but bit over the top in richness.

In Bourbonnais, an area with mostly fast food, pizza and diners without much ambiance, Koi Asian Bistro stands out. On my next visit, I may even be adventurous and try one of the maki rolls.

Koi Asian Bistro is located at 906 N. Convent Street in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Check the web site for hours and full menu.

Exploring Omaha’s Old Market District

Connie Food & Drink, Nebraska October 21, 2014November 1, 2017downtown Omaha restaurants, downtown Omaha shops, Old Market District Omaha, Old Market Passageway Omaha, omaha downtown, restaurants Omaha 0 Comment

I love exploring revitalized historic districts like Omaha’s Old Market District. 1880s brick buildings line the district’s cobblestone streets. Unique shops, art galleries and interesting pubs and restaurants fill those buildings. Omaha resident and fellow travel blogger Lisa Trudell, half of The Walking Tourists, introduced my husband and me to the area. Read more