charlie parker's diner-springfield,il

happen to be going through springfield, so stopped at charlie parker's.
i figured i at least could check it off my DDD book.
being tuesday it was fried chicken for the special. this was some of the best fried chicken i have eaten, side of corn & smashed,gravey& a small pcs of cake
all for 6.50 . lg pepsi 1.95
i guess the horseshoe sammy is one of there special's , but the chicken was awesome. i will be stopping again



charlie parker's diner
700 north st.
springfield,il.
(217)241-2104
charlieparkersdiner.net

Charlie Parker's is often cited as the best breakfast in Springfield. I've eaten breakfast in our state capitol only twice but much preferred D&J Café.



The restaurant is housed in a large Quonset hut just off I-55 (the old Route 66), not far from Cozy Dog and Darcy's Pint. Inside, it has pseudo-50s décor which I don't love. Charlie Parker's is known for their huge pancakes. Eat a stack of four and they're free.



Fresh Buttery Taste® Spread and maple-y syrup come along. The pancake itself is quite good, and a little different than the usual griddlecakes. It's very thick—about ¾ inch—with a browned crunchy crust reminiscent of hoecakes. I wonder if there's some finely ground corn meal in the batter. Pretty good but pretty overwhelming. It would be appropriate for a table of four to share one as a breakfast appetizer.



Eggs with smoked pork chops and potatoes is a decent plate of food. Smoked chops ought to be a more common breakfast meat. I wasn't thrilled with the "seasoned American fries"—deep fried potato cubes sprinkled with some sort of Cajun spice.



"Homemade hash" was truly awful—simply a few slices of lousy corned beef sitting atop a pile of standard-issue hashbrowns. I've had better biscuits and gravy and I've certainly had worse. The gravy had an odd fluffy texture and was pretty light on the sausage and pepper.

Charlie Parker's Diner
700 W North St
Springfield IL
217-241-2104

Rene G wrote:

That is the smallest dollar bill I have ever seen! And what's with the little shrimp cocktail fork in the background?

Hi,

This pancake arrived on a pizza pan. It was approximately 16 inches diameter. A small family nearby ordered a four-stack. Not surprising, they took most of it home.

I'm glad the dollar bill offered some perspective. A quarter would have been swallowed up in the pancake field.

Regards,

I had breakfast at Charlie Parker's recently and came away very unimpressed. I wouldn't bother going back. D&J Cafe is much better for the low, low price. Cafe Brio is a great option for Saturday brunch. Catie Girl is excellent.

Hi,

I just checked on Caties Girl's, at the very least their horseshoe sounds good, "Horseshoe Caitie Girl's Style: Jalapeno cheddar cornbread, pulled pork BBQ, pepper jack cheese sauce, and tri-colored fries." None of the menus featured breakfast.

Regards,

Couldn't Congress do something important and ban websites that have music when you click them on?

bbqboy wrote:Couldn't Congress do something important and ban websites that have music when you click them on?

Why not go direct to the offending website. If they knew it was affecting business, they just may reconsider featuring music.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I just checked on Caties Girl's, at the very least their horseshoe sounds good, "Horseshoe Caitie Girl's Style: Jalapeno cheddar cornbread, pulled pork BBQ, pepper jack cheese sauce, and tri-colored fries." None of the menus featured breakfast.

Regards,

Caitie Girl's temporarily stopped serving weekend brunch but will start again soon. If you are in the area, best to call ahead to see if they are serving.

I had a very bad experience at Catie Girl's last year and vowed to never return, I would be curious to hear if it has improved.