here is another place I want to try thats over in Spring Valley, its been around since 1914.

please no one assume that it is as good as Cafe Spiaggia.

Verucchi's Ristorante
600 N. Greenwood
Spring Valley, WI.

http://www.verucchis.com

Jimswside:

Another fab looking joint...

I wonder if you should start a thread devoted just to these types of places that you've encountered (Italian or whatever) throughout the area.....

These are all going to be gone soon, and I really want to get out and see as many as possible before they go......good stuff!

My addition would be Anthony's in Lake Geneva...

http://www.anthonyssteak.com/

ParkLaBrea wrote:Jimswside:

Another fab looking joint...

I wonder if you should start a thread devoted just to these types of places that you've encountered (Italian or whatever) throughout the area.....

These are all going to be gone soon, and I really want to get out and see as many as possible before they go......good stuff!

My addition would be Anthony's in Lake Geneva...

http://www.anthonyssteak.com/

thanks, anyplace thats been around since 1914 I want to check out.

I think alot of the places I and other folks have visited are spread between the "surviving in Ottawa", and other threads either devoted to them(Rip's), or food specific threads(fried chicken, or tenderloins).

I try to start new posts for places I go if I see they havent been posted about or a thread dedicated to them, so they dont get lost or are hard to search out.

jimswside wrote:I try to start new posts for places I go if I see they havent been posted about or a thread dedicated to them, so they dont get lost or are hard to search out.

Hi,

I see no problem when someplace is far away to have stuff grouped together for a location or region in one thread. People don't always spend a lot of time reading from thread to thread.

There is a major thread for Springfield. I once posted about a truck stop with made on the premises pie that is just 15 miles south along I-55. I think it would have greater interest if I had stuck it in the Springfield thread instead of by itself.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote: I once posted about a truck stop with made on the premises pie that is just 15 miles south along I-55.

Cathy, that's near where my peeps are from and I'm headed there tomorrow. Any chance you could provide a link to your post, or tell me what town the truck stop is near? I'm guessing from 15 miles south along I-55, you mean Divernon, but I searched LTH for Divernon, Pawnee, Aubern, and Virden, and didn't find the post you're talking about.

Personally I think it would be best to use the actual name of the town in the title of a thread about a place. Naming what bigger city it is near somewhere in the original post is helpful, but I wouldn't favor putting such posts in the threads on those bigger cities.

HI,

It is Trucker's Homestead. I believe the Chef-onwer I knew has sold the place and moved on.

The restaurant will still be there, but who knows if it is the same name, menu or character. I hope you might at least pop your head in and look around, not necessary to eat there.

Trucker's Homestead was a sponsor for the Blue Ribbon Pie competition at the Illinois State Fair. Without a word, this competition was discontinued this year.

Regards,

Speaking of Toluca, I believe I passed through your neighborhood, jimswside, yesterday on my way home from Springfield. I opted to go up 39 to avoid the construction on 55 around Bloomington-Normal. It was a pretty drive along I-80 around 5 pm yesterday, and I passed an important benchmark for people in my field (the AASHO Road Test site near Ottawa, IL... let me know if you want details - you probably don't). I saw the signs for Utica and remembered the Cajun Connection, but was late getting home so I had to keep going. I used to think 55 was more interesting than 57, but that whole stretch between Joliet and B-N has been making me pretty sleepy lately. I welcome suggestions for places to stop and eat or buy food to take home anywhere between St Louis and Indian Head Park. I foresee plenty of other Springfield and C-U runs in my future.

Just googling around, it does appear that the Trucker's Homestead restaurant is still in business in Divernon. I didn't have time to drive south of Springfield yesterday, but I will check it out as soon as I can.

SaintPizza and I got sidetracked recently on one of our semi-regular excursions downstate, and instead of heading down 55 like usual, we ended up on 39. I was madly searching for LTH recommendations on my cell phone but service in the area was spotty. When I saw the sign for Toluca, I was pretty sure the town name was familiar and I did manage to get this thread to come up, so we pulled off there and had dinner at Mona's. She got fried chicken and, torn between an order of livers and a tenderloin, I opted for the livers with the "family style" dinner option that included a salad and pasta. The livers were good, and the pasta was OK. I was very impressed with the fried chicken though. The appearance of the chicken suggested that it was battered rather than breaded, but with a hard crisp and very tasty shell. I don't know that I'd make a special trip out that way again, but I do hope I find myself in the area and get to eat there again.

I took these pictures of the Mona's and Capponi's signs in all their nighttime glory. What a strange thing, for 2 restaurants like this to be right next to each other in such a small town.

HI,

Those restaurants were once arch competitors. They now have the same owner.

I don't recall if it was on the paper tablesetting or on the wall, but they showed their region with clients streaming in from Peoria, Bloomington and Lincoln, IL. For the area, it appears to be destination dining.

Regards,

Hi Cathy,

I think there was some mention of that in the menus. Also, I found this 2008 article from a central Illinois newspaper's web site about the 2 places that implies there may still be some competition (in the customer's eyes if not the restaurants') between the 2 places, regardless of the common ownership. Or at the very least, that the restaurants are not considered interchangeable, and that there are regulars on both sides who will frequent one to the exclusion of the other.

Toluca is a former coal mining town that was at its peak in the early 1900s. The mines shut down in the 1920s and Mona's opened in the 1930s. Some of my ancestors worked (and died) in the mines and I still have family in Toluca to this day. I have never lived in Toluca (Chicagoland native), but I visit regularly and will continue to do so for the duration of my life. My great-grandfather was a chicken fryer at Mona's for 30-some years. Though not related to the Bernardi's, some of my family members are close friends with their descendants, many whom are still based in/around Toluca. I've been eating at Mona's since before I was born.

Mona's and Capponi's, though founded by Italian immigrants, do not offer authentic Italian food: it's simple, hearty fare you'd expect in a rural community built around coal mining, farming, and glass bottle factories. Their menus have changed a bit over the years and they do introduce new dishes, but their core offerings have stayed exactly the same. There is a deep love for these restaurants not only in Toluca but, yes--within a sizable radius.

Though I admit the bias I've just described, I'm also a well-rounded foodie who has been living in the Chicago suburbs my entire life. I've eaten at the upscale Next, Sepia, and NAHA; I've had countless other dining experiences at respected mid-scale establishments (Balena, Kinmont, Trenchermen, Publican...) and casual (Antique Taco, Parson's, Big & Little's...). I've brought several Chicagoland-based friends to Toluca over the years and each and every one of them has loved their meals there and thought it to be a special place. I've also made several Chicago area connections who, as it turns out, happen to have been to Mona's on several occasions in their pasts, and every one of them has loved their meals there as well and speak of it fondly. I buy their frozen meat sauce to bring back to Chicagoland for one of my friends who no longer visits Toluca but misses Mona's food and charm.

My family's standbys are the fried chicken, fried fish specials on Friday, and any spaghetti or "ravs" with their famous meat sauce. If you're ordering a salad, Mona's house dressing (a simple vinaigrette) is a given. The salads haven't changed a bit either--yes, just chopped iceberg lettuce with a baby carrot and a single radish. We also enjoy their cocktails at the bar -- a mere $5-6 in comparison to Chicago's! The old-timey ambience at the bar is hard to come by elsewhere. And again, I've been to Aviary, Milk Room, Scofflaw, Billy Sunday, Maria's... The balance between quality/value/charm at Mona's is outstanding. You don't come here looking for fine dining-you come for the entire experience. Drive/walk around a bit and climb the Jumbo to further enhance your experience.

So, that's the insider scoop, for what it's worth. I've been to Cajun Connection as well and would recommend Mona's/Capponi's over Ron's CC any day.

welcome to LTH, tendeas, and thanks for the post. your description makes me hope i pass through toluca at some point so i can try mona's. places like that are a dying breed...