American Harvest Eatery: Best Chef in Springfield

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois November 24, 2013American Harvest Eatery, restaurants Springfield Illinois 0 Comment

The sea scallops almost melted in my mouth, they were done so perfectly, with a hint of the smoky pork belly that accompanied them offset by the sweet-savory of pear mostada and cider gastrique. Plated on a bed of smoked carrot puree and garnished with miniature carrots and marcona almonds, the dish was as pleasing to the eye as it was to the palate. It’s no wonder that Jordan Coffey, executive chef at American Harvest Eatery, was named the 2013 Best Chef in Springfield by the Illinois Times.

Coffey and his wife, sous chef Aurora, both began their careers at Augie’s Front Burner in downtown Springfield and learned the business from the ground up, starting as a dishwasher and cashier, respectively. Today, at not even 30 years old, Jordan and Aurora partner in the food design and preparation at American Harvest Eatery, Augie’s second Springfield restaurant, a restaurant whose mission is to use only the freshest ingredients sourced from Illinois farmers.

The menu changes seasonally to showcase the seasonal ingredients. For instance, the salad I chose was a beet salad with baby greens, raisins, pistachios and a ginger vinaigrette. Other first course options included autumn ingredients like butternut squash, kale and brussel sprouts.

Desserts are no exception to the goal of using seasonal local ingredients. The dessert menu for fall includes Pumpkin Tiramisu, Pear Butter Sorbet, and Mike’s Caramel Apple Cake, never your ordinary desserts. One dessert I tried was vanilla bean and goat cheesecake with salted caramel, apple compote and honey cashew bleu cheese ice cream.

American Harvest Eatery, open six days a week for lunch and dinner (closed Sundays), is located about 15 minutes southwest of downtown Springfield at 3241 W Iles Avenue. Its strip mall location may seem ordinary from the outside, but once you taste the extraordinary food, you’ll realize why Jacob Coffey was named best chef in Springfield.

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Bread Basket Café & Bakery, Danville IN: Fresh and Delicious

Connie Food & Drink, Indiana November 2, 2013August 24, 2016bread basket, bread basket cafe, Bread Basket Cafe & Bakery, bread basket menu, Danville Indiana, hendricks county, hendricks county restaurants, hoosier pie trail, Indiana Restaurants, the bread basket, where to eat in hendricks county 0 Comment

It may be a little hard to find since it’s a couple of blocks off of Danville’s square, but the Bread Basket Cafe & Bakery is worth looking for. The welcoming staff of this family business make you feel as comfortable as the warm buttery yellow walls and stone fireplace of the old renovated house that serves as the cafe. And their mission, “…to provide a bite of something local, fresh, and simply decadent,” couldn’t describe the food better. Read more

It’s Apple Picking Time at Royal Oak Farm Orchard, Harvard IL

Connie Attractions & Events, Food & Drink, Illinois September 19, 2013September 19, 2013apple picking illinois, Illinois attractions, Orchards in Illinois, Royal Oak Farm Orchard 0 Comment

Apple pie, apple strudel, apple turnover, applesauce, apple butter, apple cider, or a big bite into a crisp, freshly picked apple. Sweet, tart, or somewhere in between. However you like your apples, Royal Oak Farm Orchard has them for you to bake, cook, or eat as-is. Wow, do they have the apples, 15,000 trees and 29 varieties.

For three months every year, from mid-August to late October, Royal Oak Farm Orchard, the largest orchard in northern Illinois, is open six days a week (closed Sundays) for you to pick apples. Raspberries are available in late summer and early fall, and you can pick your Halloween pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, too.

Royal Oak has a great cafeteria-style restaurant that serves sandwiches like pulled pork or Italian beef, entrees like their famous chicken pot pie, salads, soups, and delicious desserts like fresh-baked pies and apple slices.Besides apple picking, lots of activities are available, too. You can listen to music, sometimes live, as the kids play on the playground or visit the petting zoo.

Ride with the kids on the Royal Oak Express, a trackless train ride, or the carousel.

On the hay wagon tour of the orchard, you’ll learn the orchard’s history, see the present and hear about the future, like the apple tree maze that was planted and will be available for use in 2015. The trees are planted close together to form European-styled hedge maze.

Be sure to stop in to the Country Store, where you can purchase fall decor items, jams, jellies and syrups, and baked treats like fruit pies, turnovers, strudel, and their popular apple cider donuts.

If you don’t care to pick your own apples, you can buy them pre-picked in the Apple Barn, along with lots of other fresh, colorful fall fruits, vegetables, pumpkins, and gourds.

Royal Oak Farm Orchard is located at 15908 Hebron Road in Harvard, Illinois. Admission is free, but there is a small fee for the train, carousel and orchard tour. They are open in 2013 through November 16. Check the web site for exact hours and u-pick schedule.

Tour Stone Hill Winery, Hermann MO: Most Historic and Awarded Winery in the State

Connie Attractions & Events, Food & Drink, Missouri September 5, 2013November 22, 2015Attractions in Missouri, Hermann Missouri, Stone Hill Winery, wineries in missouri 1 Comment

Entering Stone Hill Winery’s cool limestone cellars that date back to the mid-1800s, you inhale the heady aroma of oak and fermenting wine mixed with the cellar dampness. It is in these cellars of Missouri’s second largest winery that 250,000 gallons of wine are produced per year, resulting in more award winners than any other winery in the state.

The History
In 1836, German immigrants settled in Hermann, Missouri, hilly land along the Missouri River reminiscent of German Rhineland, perfect for growing the grapes of their homeland. The winery opened in 1847 under the name Michael Poeschel, after the founder. After changing hands and names several times, George Stark took ownership of the winery, changed its name to Stone Hill Wine Company, and by the late 1800s the winery became the second largest in the country and the third largest in the world, producing 1.25 million gallons of wine per year.

All of that came to an end when Prohibition took effect. Barrel upon barrel of wine was dumped into the Missouri River, and the vineyards were burned. For decades after that the cellars were used to grow mushrooms, until in 1965 Jim and Betty Held bought it and reopened the Stone Hill Winery.

The Tour
For the bargain rate of only $2.50 you can tour the winery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and taste as many wines as you’d like. As your guide takes you through the cellars, he or she will relate the history of the winery and many tidbits of information about the wine making process. Here are a few of the facts you’re likely to hear on your tour:

The cellars were carved out of limestone and rank as the largest set of underground arched cellars in North America.
Sweet wines age in stainless steel tanks; dry wines age in white oak barrels.
One of the winery’s pre-Prohibition barrels still exists. It had been shipped to a St. Louis monastery during that Prohibition and used for communion wine.

The tour ends in the tasting room, where you can sample the finished product. After sampling, you may choose to enjoy a full glass of your favorite at the adjacent Vintage Restaurant, serving American and German cuisine.

Stone Hill Winery is one of several wineries on the Hermann Wine Trail. Hermann, Missouri, is located about 80 miles west of St. Louis on the Missouri River.

Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket: A Route 66 Icon

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois August 15, 2013July 7, 2017Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket, Route 66, Route 66 Restaurants 0 Comment

Family road trips were in their heyday. Route 66, the 2,448 mile two-lane Mother Road connecting Chicago with Los Angeles, was completely paved by 1938, making cross country travel a popular family vacation. Stops at kitschy roadside attractions, small motels and family friendly diners were as much a part of the adventure as the destination. One of those diners was the Chicken Basket in Willowbrook, Illinois. The restaurant is still in existence today as Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket. One taste of the fried chicken, crisp on the outsider, tender, juicy and flavorful on the inside and you’ll know how Dell Rhea’s has survived the rerouting of Route 66, the subsequent decommissioning of the road, and difficult economies. Read more

Silver Moon Winery, Lanark IL: Wine Tasting and Food Pairing

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois July 29, 2013January 8, 2018Carroll County IL, Illinois attractions, Illinois wineries, Northwest Illinois, Northwest Illinois wineries, Silver Moon Winery, Wineries in Illinois, wineries in northwest Illinois 0 Comment

Many of us casual wine drinkers know that white wine goes with chicken and fish and red wine pairs well with red meat. But unless you’re really into wine, it’s hard to know exactly which types of wine to pair with what foods, including appetizers and desserts. Do I serve a pinot grigio or chardonnay, pinot noir or merlot? At Silver Moon Winery in Lanark, Illinois, you’ll begin to learn the differences. Read more