Trattoria Da Francesca - Waterman Illinois

About 3 weeks ago we where at Honey Hill Orchard in Waterman, Illinois and I had been told by a friend to try Trattoria da Francesca on US 30 in the downtown of Waterman. The white stone building is just past the stoplight and on the north side of the street giving you full view of the constant truck traffic on 30 and the freight trains on the BNSF tracks about 100 yards away. At that time 3 weeks ago harvest was in full swing and the trucks were flying by. You walk into a enclosed counter area for pick ups but to the left behind some lattice is about 10 tables in a white room decorated with photos of Italy. The menu is laminated paper but there are specials on a board. On that day, my partner had the homemade gnochi and as I really don't like Italian, I had a burger and fries. The gnochi was exceptional, the sauce had so much cheese mixed into it that it wasn't very red, just a light reddish.The portion was huge, served in a platter about 12" across making for 3 lunches of leftovers after she ate. The hamburger was similiar to the premade thick pub burgers that Jewel sells and totally tasteless. The fries very crisp and fried to order.

Yesterday we were returning from Peoria on I-39, we were near Ron's Cajun Connection about an hour too early than his open time of noon and it was too cold and windy to kill time somewhere just to eat there. We got near the US 30 exit and decided to go back to Trattoria in Waterman. Specials for the day were Portabella ravioli and stuffed eggplant amongst a few other things. My partner asked what the eggplant was stuffed with and was told ricotta so she ordered that. OK, I'm a loser here, this time I went for a BLT which was served on a toasted sub roll and totally impossible to eat without making a big mess and loosing most of it. The eggplant came with a side of penne, everything had a light tomato sauce on it, the eggplant spent time in the broiler with some cheese added. Again a huge portion that was broken down to 3 lunches of leftovers after she had eaten a good amount in the restaurant.

The Trattoria also serves chicken, hot dogs and burgers but their Italian fare here is the winner by far. I know we'll go again, next time I will try a personal sized pizza, they looked really good. They do have a decent selection of wine and also serve beer.

Trattoria Da Francesca
140 West Lincoln Highway (USRte 30)
Waterman, Illinois
815-264-8811

thanks, added to my list of places to try. We are only about 30 mins from Waterman.(we actually almost bought a house in the newer development east of town before all the train traffic made us change our minds & choose Marseilles.)

Good call not to buy out there Jim, they were auctioning off 4 houses in that subdivision yesterday. The subdivision on the southeast corner never got past a model built over a year ago. BTW, Trattoria does have chicken on their menu, I have no idea how it compares to Rips but their fries are nice and crispy! We were on the stretch of I-80 that passes Ladd and there is now one of those Interstate informational signs for Rips at the Ladd exit.

all that potential train traffic scared us away.

We were out in Waterman picking apples and raspberries about a month ago. I wish I would have known about this place then, we tried to go to Bristol Tap, however they have a sign up that says not kids allowed, so we ended up @ Pepe's in Yorkville.

Bristol Tap and Kids

Bristol Tap is a tavern. I've seen kids in there before, and my dad would certainly have taken me there as a kid. I'm surprised at the "no kids" sign. I wonder if they really mean it at lunch time.

Although there is a poster featuring the backside of some thong-clad gals on the front door.....

tcdup wrote:Bristol Tap and Kids

Bristol Tap is a tavern. I've seen kids in there before, and my dad would certainly have taken me there as a kid. I'm surprised at the "no kids" sign. I wonder if they really mean it at lunch time.

Although there is a poster featuring the backside of some thong-clad gals on the front door.....

Bar & grill/taven, its all good, as long as there are tables & I am not sitting at the bar with a child , I see no issue with allowing or taking kids in places like that.

It just seemed kind of ignorant to have a sign stating "no babies, or toddlers". It's their business & their right to do as they please, but I probably wont give them another shot, & I'll vote with my wallet.