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I'll back up the good comments on Derald's. we've gone twice and both feedings were quite good. excellent fish sandwich and I liked the jalapeno swiss burger. not too much parking but you can call in your order. it will be one of our regular spots for lunch

I'm headed down in a couple of weeks for the Illinois Marathon and I'm looking for a pre-marathon dinner place - I did search through this thread, but much of the info seems outdated. I'm looking for an old school, non-chain Italian restaurant with decent or better pasta (pizza on the menu would be nice too). I did look at the menu for Bacaro, and although it looks fantastic for another visit it's probably a bit fancified for a pre-race meal.

Do not go to Biaggi's. Besides being a mini-chain, it is not very good. But it is the most popular Italian restaurant in town, I think.

Here are some ideas:

Manzella's
115 South 1st Street
Champaign, IL
(217) 352-7624 ‎
http://www.campusfood.com/restaurant.as ... lid=254676
Excellent thin crust pizza, lots of pasta dishes.

Buttitta's
1201 South Neil Street
Champaign, IL 61820-6543
(217) 355-8656
http://buttittascu.com/
I haven't been to this place yet. It is a reincarnation of Dom Patio Villa (an old Italian restaurant in Champaign), in a new location. The menu looks like a mix of older and newer dishes.

The Great Impasta
156 C Lincoln Square
Urbana, Illinois
217.359.7377
http://www.greatimpastarestaurant.com/home.html
Large pasta menu. Decent food.

Minneci's
401 S. First Street
Champaign, IL 61822
(217) 352-4425
http://www.minnecisristorante.com/
The one meal I ate here was bad, but that was about 8 years ago.

I think your best bet would be Timpone's:

710 S. Goodwin Ave.
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Phone: (217) 344-7619
Fax: (217) 344-7648
http://www.timpones-urbana.com/

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"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

I'm embarrassed that I forgot about Timpone's. Food is better than the places I listed (save for the one I hadn't tried), but it isn't "old school", "red sauce" Italian, if that part matters. If you are looking for a bowl of pasta that would normally feed 3 adults, Timpone's isn't the place. But the quality is much higher.

I guess I wasn't quite sure what old-school and red-sauce were meant to imply; I was focused on the non-chain aspect. Timpone's is one of the best restaurants in the area, wouldn't you agree? And it's been around a long time, so they must be doing a lot of things right.

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"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

Yes, I agree. That's why I wrote "Food is better than the places I listed" and "the quality is much higher." Sorry for any confusion. I only mentioned the red sauce because I presume Tobermory is looking for a big plate of carbs for a pre-race meal and said that Bacaro was a big fancified. Timpone's sits about halfway on that scale between the places I listed and Bacaro.

Of course, another great option for prerace carbo loading is a deep-dish pizza at Papa Del's.

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"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

Derald's Diner has closed and has been replaced with Maize Mexican Grill.

Derald's food truck appears to still be in operation.

Sea Boat may be one of the best restaurants ever. Maybe that's an overstatement. But it is hard to find a place that does fried fish and fixins' as well, especially in Champaign. (Note: if you haven't been to Champaign in a few years, Sea Boat has moved from its original location on Market St. to new and nicer digs on Kirby, near Neil St.) I've always gotten the fried Walleye, but they also have catfish, shrimp, code, and chicken. The fish is breaded with a nice, somewhat spicy coating. Just about all of the sides are homemade. The greens are cooked with smoked turkey. Fried okra is fantastic. Staff couldn't be friendlier.

Sea Boat
403 West Kirby Avenue
Champaign, IL 61820-7209
(217) 355-9933
http://theseaboat.com/

I'm heading down to the film festival next week, and looking for some new ideas in Champaign. Anything new and interesting, especially close to the Virginia Theater?

Thanks.

Carmon's Bistro is a new bistro that took over the space from the restaurant formerly called Carmon's. My one meal there was very good. It's a small restaurant and so is generally more difficult than most places in town to get a table.

There is a new brewery/restaurant downtown called Destihl. I've had a few meals here. The only one that was a disappointment was a burger, which was over cooked. The best dish I've had is the pork shank. Beer is very good.

Friends have recommended Seven Saints, a bar and restaurant that does a lot of slightly upscale sliders. I haven't been myself.

Other places nearby that aren't new:

Bacaro is a short walk from the Virginia theater and it's the best restaurant in town, IMO. It's fairly upscale.

Peking Garden is a very good Chinese restaurant and is about a block from the theater. They have the American-Chinese classics, but also have a very good selection of more interesting dishes.

Radio Maria is very good, though I haven't been in a while.

Luna is a popular restaurant downtown (formerly known as Cafe Luna and located near campus). I've been perhaps 4 times in the last year and have been pretty disappointed with the food. This used to be a very good place, but clearly something has changed.

Other notes:

Jim Gould's (a steakhouse) has closed.

I've always been disappointed with Ko Fusion and Escobar's.

I haven't been to Nitaya Thai in years, but it was pretty bad last time I went. It's about a block from the theater.

If you like beer, head to The Blind Pig. It's one of the best beer bars I've been to.

Destihl
301 N. Neil Street
Champaign, IL 61820
P: 217-356-0301
http://www.destihl.com/

Peking Garden Restaurant
206 N Randolph St, Champaign, IL
(217) 355-8888 ‎
pekinggardenchampaign.com

Seven Saints
32 East Chester Street, Champaign, IL
(217) 351-7775 ‎
sevensaintsbar.com

Carmon's Bistro
415 North Neil Street, Champaign, IL
(217) 378-2299 ‎ · carmonsbistro.com

Thanks for the rundown.

I haven't eaten at Nitaya in years either; we've been heading out to Thara Thai on Bloomington Road.

I'll report back if I find anything good. My biggest regret is that the fabulous Urbana Farmers' Market opens the following week.

Since the OP specified "area"...I'd like to offer my place in downtown Gibson City. We're a family friendly Irish flavored Pub with a menu ranging from pizzas to prime rib. We're becoming a handy starting or stopping spot for folks traveling in for Illini games and pretty much anything UofI related. By the way...we're "D.G.Sullivan's 109 W 8th St, just 1/2 block west of City Hall in the middle of the business district. You'll find around 35 craft beers, local sourced burgers, dairy, honey and whatever else we can find. You can check out our website, oddly enough "dgsullivans.com" for a good look at who we are and what we do.

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D.G. Sullivan's, "we're a little bit Irish, and a whole lot of fun"!

What? You're name's not Sullivan?

Just kidding. Thanks for the heads-up on your place in Gibson City. I will stop by on my next round-trip to CU.

On a different note, I was sorry to see the blog "Champaign Taste" call it quits a year or so ago. It was a good resource for CU restaurant reviews, special food events, and occasional recipes. It's still a website worth visiting, though info on restaurant openings and closings is of course not up to date.

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"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

We'll be looking for you Katie!

I too miss Lisa Morgan's blog "Champaign Taste", she did start up a Facebook page, but it's not as good a read as her recipes and reviews were!

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D.G. Sullivan's, "we're a little bit Irish, and a whole lot of fun"!

If one is heading down to Urbana (or back up), LTHers might well consider the fine Cazadore's in Onarga, IL, right off I57. Excellent tacos and carnitas and menudo on the weekend. See http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=20645

Timpone's didn't wow me, but it was serviceable Italian. But of course the problem is inevitable when one compares CU to Chicago: really an unfair comparison. One needs a restaurant culture, which one will not find in CU. Timpone's isn't red sauce Italian, but neither is it Cal-Ital or Northern Italian. It has a selection of decent contemporary Italian-inflected dishes. My short ribs with house-made gnocchi were tasty, but not really distinctive.

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Toast, as every breakfaster knows, isn't really about the quality of the bread or how it's sliced or even the toaster. For man cannot live by toast alone. It's all about the butter. -- Adam Gopnik

Came away really impressed with Just Hamburgers in Paxton, IL. Spots been around for 40 years. Hit right at the beginning of luch and the place was hopping, they do smashed griddle burgers here and the double cheeseburger I had was a very good version, crisp griddled crust, still juicy inside. Bun, cheese and toppings worked in unison. Liked the ordering process as well. Place you order(cash only) they tell you your number, you get in a fast moving line and your sack of food appears quickly. They got this system down pat. Steady stream of customers for their lunch while I was there. Open 11-1:30 & then 4-7. Newspaper article I read says they buy their beef local, and trim it and grind it themselves. Double burgers are like $2. Fries are good as well. For reference a little thicker than Steak and Shake.



couldnt get an lth worthy pic of the burger.

Just Hamburgers
214 E. Ottawa Rd.
Paxton, IL.

217-379-4222

Also popped over to DG Sullivans and met Jeff and his wife, friendly folks with some good meat and dairy recs for the area. Enjoyed a pizza and a couple beers there before we headed back to Fairbury.

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I got a real good mind.

Before Cotton was King: http://www.grubseeker.blogspot.com

During a stop in Champaign yesterday, I found Ye Olde Donut out of business.
A worthy replacement was Carmella's Creme Donuts. A bit dingy inside, but the basic glazed donut and the maple-glazed cake donut my son and I had were definitely a notch above Dunkin.
Cash only, with a drive-thru.

Carmella's Creme
1611 W. Springfield Ave.
Champaign
(217) 531-0024

Yeah, Ye Olde Donuts has been out of business for a while. In fact, since then two other businesses have come and gone in that spot (see my post above).

I've had Timpone's on my list since you first made this claim. My time to try it came last week. I was expecting an old school Italian tavern type place and some damn good pizza. Well one of two aint bad, especially when it's all about the pizza. As I now see others have mentioned this on-campus restaurant isn't the old school red sauce variety but they have some top notch tavern thin. Not the best I've ever had but def in the mix. Pie's come in one size (10 Inch) and are a good deal at about $10 for one with topping. The sausage was terrific with some fennel in every piece. Any students on campus eating Papa Johns over this need to learn a little more. Do note they're open for lunch until 2:00p and close until 5p. The hours kept me from trying sooner. Well worth the wait.


Sausage and Onion Pizza

Timpone's
710 S Goodwin Ave
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 344-7619

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Smokin' Chokin' and Chowing

Glad you were able to try it DaBeef! It is not a pizzeria, it's a fancy Italian restaurant that just happens to also have pizza as an afterthought. It has been a long time since I had it. I usually have 2 pizzas because they are so light and it is so rare that I get the chance.

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LADIES - Please check out my girlfriend's clothing site that might be of use to someone you know PM me for coupon

No love for Merry Ann's on this thread? I find that surprising, I thought it was something of a champaign institution. Anyways, this was probably one of my favorite spots back when I went to UIUC. It's a greasy spoon diner, their specialty and the only thing I ever ate there is called a "stack," which is a layer of hash browns covered with cheese, then your choice of sausage or hamburger, then 2 eggs whatever style you want, then biscuits if you want em, all slathered under gravy (I think it's sausage gravy, but it's been a while). Anyways, I have only ever been to the location on Neil and Kirby, but apparently there's one downtownish too. Another disclaimer is I don't think I ever ate here while sober, so I recommend doing the same.

Merry Ann's Diner
1510 South Neil Street
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 352-5399

1 E Main St, Champaign, IL
One Main Plaza
(217) 531-1160 ‎

We recently drove thru Champaign and ended up at Dublin O'Neils for lunch.
Despite the ridiculous name, the food was very reasonable,
and amazingly good
It may have been like brunch time because I had a salmon benedict that was delicious.
someone else had a very respectable shepherd pie,
and there nice burgers, etc.
I would not hesitate to go back, esp if I weren't driving and could drink...LOL

Dublin O'Neil's
301 N Neil St, Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: 217-531-1152
www.dublinoneils.com

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"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home."
~James Michener

Hi all,

Went to the 15th Ebertfest over the weekend. It was bittersweet, as one can imagine. Films were pretty good.

As to food, had great pizza as usual at Jupiter (love a salami pizza), and a stellar Thai meal at Thara Thai out on Bloomington Road. That resto is really amazing -- good food and a completely diverse clientele, including an elderly farm couple. We had pad thai, chicken satay, fried pot stickers, spring roll, and a curry with coconut, chicken, potato. Everything was excellent, as usual.

For new restaurants, we went to Mongolia 301 for lunch. It was $10.95 for an unlimited bowl, which is a great price. Very nice selection of veggies and protein. They didn't chop the ingredients super small, however, and while it didn't meld the ingredients totally, it had the effect of keeping some of the veggies somewhat crisp. You have a choice of white/brown/fried rice, and you can also a naan-like bread cooked on the flat-top. The bread was delicious. You can also have your ingredients made into soup.

We also went to Dublin O'Neil's, which is housed in the same building and I think are owned by the same people. Anyway, our food was excellent. We had braised short ribs served over mashed potatoes, asparagus and red cabbage. I'm not a big red cabbage lover, but it was a nice contrast to the rich, fall-off-the-bone short ribs. O.M.G. They were so good. Companions had really stellar beef stew and excellent fish & chips. Fish & chips were nearly enough for 2 to share. The fish breading was light and flavorful, and the fish was perfectfully cooked. We also had Irish soda bread, which was very granary-like and unlike the ISB I was used to in NYC. Highly recommended

We also went to Big Grove Tavern, which was only serving their bar snacks when we were there. We had almost one of everything: fried grits, served with bbq aoli, pretzel, a deviled egg, and smelt. The smelt were a trifle overwhelmed by the beer batter, but the lemon dipping sauce was soooo good. I think the grits were my favorite. And the glass of house red was only $4!

We also had tapas at Radio Maria. Again, really good food. We had lamb meatballs, hummus, lamb meatballs, fried goat cheese, a ham & cheese arepa and a bread plate. I have to say we were disappointed with the bread plate, which, while good, was $6 and was basically 1 roll with accroutrements.

One of our better meals was breakfast at Sam's. It's just a greasy spoon, but is super popular and friendly. We had the usual breakfast, with nice crispy-edged pancakes that were really tasty. They just do it right.

Carmen's, which was a creperie then French bistro has morphed into "Wedge", a Mexican resto/bar. Didn't go, although it was well-recommended.

Also had a serviceable breakfast at Courier Cafe, but the potato pancakes were awful. It was sort of a pancake batter with potatoes. Just wrong, but I should have known better. Biscuits & gravy was good, though.