Explore Three Gardens near Champaign, Ill.

Connie Attractions & Events, Illinois July 25, 2014July 25, 2014Allerton Park, Champaign, Champaign IL, Illinois attractions, Illinois gardens, Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden, Mahomet Botanical Garden, U of I Arboretum, UI Arboretum, University of Illinois Arboretum 0 Comment

It was a perfect summer weekend, sunshine with a few puffy clouds dotting the azure sky, a slight breeze and low humidity, ideal for a summer stroll through gardens of colorful flowers, hedge-lined pathways, cascading waterfalls, and arbors with benches for relaxing and taking in the beauty. We visited three gardens in and near Champaign County, Illinois, on that weekend, all only 15 to 30 miles apart. Two of the gardens, Allerton Park and the UI Arboretum, are owned by the University of Illinois, and the Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden is part of the Champaign County Forest Preserve District.

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Allerton Park & Retreat Center
Once the estate of Robert Henry Allerton, the property was donated to the University of Illinois, along with the income from the 1946 farm crops to establish operating funds. Today the 1500 acre park, one of the seven wonders of Illinois, includes the Georgian Manor house used for events, seven natural setting trails totaling 14 miles, and 14 formal gardens that include extensive plantings and over 100 sculptures and ornaments. Walk down paved pathways lined with Chinese musicians, stroll through the walled garden, or climb the spiral staircase in the House of the Golden Buddahs for a view of the gardens from above.

Allerton Park & Retreat Center is located at 515 Old Timber Road, Monticello, Illinois.

University of Illinois Arboretum
Considered a living laboratory, the UI Arboretum includes plant collections and facilities for teaching, research and public service programs. However, as a non-student, you can simply visit to enjoy the beauty, much of it made possible through donations by generous alumni. Bursts of color in the Idea Garden’s border annuals and the Children’s Garden create a cheerful atmosphere, while the calm serenity of the gardens surrounding the Japan House will leave you feeling tranquil . Development of the 160 acre arboretum property began in the early 1980s. Today 57 acres are developed, leaving plenty of room for further growth.

The University of Illinois Arboretum is located on Lincoln Avenue in Urbana, Illinois. Check the web site for detailed directions.

Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden
This gem of a small eight-acre garden is tucked behind the Museum of the Grand Prairie in the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve in Mahomet, Illinois. The garden includes a one-room schoolhouse and a Japanese garden with a waterfall backdrop and a bright red bridge crossing a pond filled with water lilies. Lots of flowers indigenous to Illinois, like the purple coneflower and the yellow daylily are displayed throughout the garden.

While you are there, be sure to visit the museum and the rest of the forest preserve. Our time was limited, but I would have loved to have rented a paddle boat to pedal around the lake. The Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden is located at 650 N Lombard Street, Mahomet, Illinois.

See more photos of the gardens in the video slideshow:

You can easily visit all three gardens in one day, although we broke it into two days and visited area wineries, too. There is no admission fee for any of the three gardens.

Disclosure: Our visit to the Champaign area was hosted by the Champaign County CVB, but any opinions expressed in this post are my own. Our accommodations were at the Hyatt Place Champaign Hotel.

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Q Smokehouse, Champaign IL: Authentic Smoky Barbecue

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois March 17, 2014March 20, 2014Champaign, Q Smokehouse, restaurants in Champaign 0 Comment

I love good barbecue, the kind with deep smoky flavor, the kind that’s everywhere in the south but rare in Illinois. I tend to gravitate to barbecue restaurants even in Illinois regardless, on the off-chance I’ll find a winner. So when I was in Champaign looking for a quick lunch, I was drawn to Q Smokehouse. Walking through the door, I drew in the aroma of an authentic smokehouse.

At the walk-up counter, order your choice of sandwich: pulled pork, pulled chicken, sliced brisket, smoked sausage, or burnt end. Burnt end—it jumped out at me. I’d only had a burnt end sandwich once before and I had instantly decided that was my favorite of all barbecue sandwiches. What are burnt ends? According to Wikipedia, “Burnt ends are flavorful pieces of meat cut from the point half of a smoked brisket…considered a delicacy in barbecue cooking.” Burnt ends have some char, but they’re also quite tender.

Sandwiches come with two toppings from a choice of ten, including items like bourbon apples and Carolina slaw. I chose caramelized onions and bacon. Several different sauces were available in pump dispensers. I like to do taste tests with different sauces, but unfortunately only two of the dispensers were working properly.

As it turned out, the sandwich didn’t even need sauce, it was that flavorful, and the house cut fries, with enough in the order to feed two, were a tasty addition. A muffin shaped cookie was a nice finish to the meal.

In addition to sandwiches, Q Smokehouse offers appetizers like barbecue eggrolls and entrees like pulled pork burritos and baby back ribs.

Q Smokehouse, located at 617 E. Green Street in Champaign, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. Check the web site for the full menu.

What’s your favorite barbecue restaurant? Answer in the Comments below.

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Museum of the Grand Prairie: Lincoln and Life in Central Illinois

Connie Attractions & Events, Illinois March 13, 2014March 20, 2014Champaign, Illinois attractions, Museum on the Grand Prairie 0 Comment

Abraham Lincoln is most often associated with Springfield, but he spent time in nine counties throughout Central Illinois as he traveled the 8^th Judicial Circuit practicing law. The Museum of the Grand Prairie in Mahomet captures Lincoln’s travels through the area, as well as life on the prairie in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Sit in a wagon much the same as Lincoln did. The video in front of you gives the illusion that you are riding through the prairie.

Learn humorous stories about Lincoln, like the time he hid the meal gong from the American House proprietor because it would wake up Lincoln and the other lawyers who stayed there.

When Lincoln was having his photograph taken, he was wearing his travel clothes, which were inappropriate for a formal photograph. The photographer, Samuel Alschuler, gave Lincoln his jacket to wear. The sleeves came almost up to the elbows of tall Lincoln.

See a replica of the Goose Pond Church where Lincoln spoke to a packed house, campaigning for John C. Fremont, the first Republican Party presidential nominee.

Other exhibits in the museum include artifacts like the Mitchell Wagon, used to cart corn to the local elevator.

The Chesebro Blacksmith shop that stood untouched from the 1930s until 1993 in Saunemin, Illinois, has been partially reconstructed with the contents in the exact place as they were originally.

Learn about typical families who lived in the area. This intricate gate was at the home of the local blacksmith.

A temporary exhibit titled, “Home Grown: Gardening Yesterday and Today,” opened in March, begins with the cultivation ways of Native Americans, moves to 19^th century orchards and pollinators, into the mid-20^th century Victory Gardens and canning, and onto sustainable gardening techniques of today.

The next time you’re traveling to or through Champaign County, make a little jog to visit the delightful Museum of the Grand Prairie. The museum is located at 950 N Lombard, Mahomet, Illinois, in the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve. Check the web site for hours and directions. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

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Big Grove Tavern, Champaign IL: Farm-to-Table Fine Dining

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois March 7, 2014March 20, 2014Big Grove Tavern, Champaign, Illiois restaurants, Restaurants in Champagn 0 Comment

You would think that a restaurant with “Tavern” in its name would be a casual bar that serves only pub food like burgers. Not so at the Big Grove Tavern, one of just a couple of fine dining establishments in Downtown Champaign, a fine dining restaurant whose menu changes with the seasons to use ingredients from local farms, sources that are written on a chalkboard in the dining room.

Yes, there is a bar in the Big Grove Tavern, and yes, they do offer bar snacks. And at lunchtime you can get a burger, too. But the Tavern Burger isn’t your ordinary pub burger. Rather, it’s a combination of beef, bison and pork with red onion marmalade and cornichon aioli.

At dinner a small pail of popcorn on your table continues the tavern theme, but low lighting from bulbs strung across the ceiling creates an ambiance that complements the elegant dinner menu choices. Although you can still order a Tavern Burger for dinner if you’d like, entrees like Seared Mahi Mahi served with charred leeks, glazed chestnuts, broken yolk and celery leaf are offered. I enjoyed the succulent Bistro Filet, medium-rare, on a bed of cider BBQ sauce with sides of roasted root vegetables and crispy fingerling potato chips.

The uniqueness doesn’t stop with entrees, but follows through to dessert, too. I was tempted by the Popcorn Panna Cotta just out of curiosity and thought about the grapefruit sorbet, light and refreshing after a beef dinner. But as usual, I couldn’t pass up the chocolate and went for the Spiced Chocolate Bread Pudding. Its rich brownie-like texture and flavor, offset by cool vanilla bean whipped cream that topped it, was a decadent finale to a delectable dinner.

As for service, it couldn’t have been better. Our server was attentive and knowledgeable about menu choices, water glasses were refilled regularly, and service was prompt but not too rushed.

Whether you’re in the mood for a snack, a sandwich, or a full entrée, Big Grove Tavern’s farm-to-table menu offers unique and tasty options. My opinion is obviously shared by many others, as Big Grove Tavern has won multiple OpenTable Diners’ Choice Awards.

Big Grove Tavern, located in Downtown Champaign at the corner of Main and Neil, is open seven days a week. Check the web site for hours and menu.

Disclosure: My visit to Big Grove Tavern was hosted by the Champaign County CVB, but any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

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The Art Party Studio, Champaign IL: Discover Your Inner Artist

Connie Attractions & Events, Illinois March 3, 2014November 22, 2015Champaign, Illinois attractions, The Art Party Studio 0 Comment

Paint? Me? I have trouble drawing a stick figure. They say you don’t need prior experience to create a painting at The Art Party Studio in Champaign. Just bring your own bottle of wine, if you’d like. They take care of ice, glasses, painting supplies and the lesson. So being the adventurer that I am, off I went to The Art Party Studio, bottle of wine in hand, figuring I could use the wine as an excuse if my painting was a disaster.

It turned out most everyone in the class was the same as me, little to no painting experience and just there for the fun of it. The canvases were all set up on easels when we got there, the sample painting up front (I’m really going to paint a lighthouse?), so I settled in with a glass of wine. I was happy to see some of the design already outlined on the canvas.

After our instructor, Chance, shared a few tips about using and rinsing the brushes, we dove into painting, Chance explaining and demonstrating the techniques as we went along. Soon the canvas was almost filled with sky and water. I don’t know whether it was the wine or getting involved in the painting that did it, but I was relaxed. I no longer cared if my painting didn’t turn out well. I was having fun.

On we went to fill in the lighthouse and rocks. My lighthouse wasn’t exactly straight, even having had an outline to follow. Oh, well, must be the wine. Adding in the sun and additional rocks freehand was a bit challenging, but I managed.

A little wash of watered down white across the water, a tad more white in the sky, add my initials, and voila!

Every one of the 25 paintings done that night turned out decent. There may have been no future Rembrandts in the class, but we all had a great time.

The Art Party Studio is located at 111 S Walnut, Champaign, Illinois. Tickets are $35 for one person, $60 for two, art supplies included. You must be 18 or older to attend, 21 to drink alcohol. Visit their web site for the schedule and further details.

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