Where Should I Eat Between Champaign and Rantoul?

I'm going to a lavender farm next weekend (who know there was such a thing here in Illinois), which is located between Champaign and Rantoul. We'll probably drive down 57 on the way there, and we're spending the night in Champaign.

On the way back, I'm wide open to an alternative route. I'm thinking maybe a detour through Bloomington and/or Peoria or perhaps heading up I-39 and stopping in La Salle County for some fried chicken.

Give me some suggestions for places to eat along my route or within a reasonable detour.

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=20645

Swung through last Friday and it was great.

Selfish promotion alert!

I'd invite you to swing through lovely Gibson City (from Rantoul Rt136 to Rt 47) and stop by to see us at the Pub. As long as it's not Sunday, the kitchen will be open from 11-8:30.

Steve, I'm not sure what you mean by "between Champaign and Rantoul". They are pretty close to one another. You've probably seen the long thread on Champaign. Tons of fairly good options in Champaign/Urbana.

Darren72 wrote:Steve, I'm not sure what you mean by "between Champaign and Rantoul". They are pretty close to one another. You've probably seen the long thread on Champaign. Tons of fairly good options in Champaign/Urbana.

I know they're close to each other, but that's literally where the lavender farm is located. Thanks for the link to the Champaign thread.

Got it - apologies that I misinterpreted your original post.

I've posted about these places in the Champaign thread, but to summarize some recommendations for Champaign/Urbana:

Place not to miss: Seaboat (fried fish - note that their new address is 403 W Kirby Ave, Champaign; references to a so-called bad neighborhood in the Champaign thread refers to their previous location.)

Fine dining: Bacaro (excellent seasonal Italian; great wine list.)

BBQ: Lil Porgys (two locations, aquarium smoker, stick to the ribs or tips, specials are sometimes good too, quality can be uneven); Black Dog (excellent, trendy, crowded, lots of bourbons, did I say crowded?)

Other:
Bread Company: great place for lunch or dinner (different menus). At lunch they have excellent sandwiches on homemade bread. At dinner, get the fondue or raclette and supplement with other things.

Timpone's: good Italian restaurant, nice for lunch or dinner. But if I had one or two meals in town I'd pick from the above. If you go for lunch, the pizzas are excellent. Pastas are very good also.

Radio Maria: Interesting, eclectic food.

Pizza: there are some good pizza places in town (Manzella's, Timpone's, Papa Del's).

Beer: The Blind Pig. Full stop.

There is also a restaurant/brewery called Destihil, though I wouldn't go there if you only have a few days in town.

There are a lot of Korean, Chinese, and Thai restaurants, a couple Indian places, and a handful of other types of Asian restaurants. In my experience, none of the Thai places are good (even by Americanized Thai standards). Peking Garden in downtown Champaign is quite good. The Korean places tend to be good; Woori Jib right off campus is my favorite. As a general rule, stick near campus for these restaurants; skip Japanese restaurants (go to Bloomington).

Skip Luna & Escobar's. I've had many meals in each and have found them to be mediocre and uninspired. Luna used to be very good, but it has been a few years since I had a great meal there.

Finally, downtown Champaign is fun on summer evenings. A lot of bars/restaurants have outdoor seating.

You might also try to visit Prairie Fruits Farm.

I highly recommend black dog, provided you can get the timing right to get there at an off hour. Make sure to get the burnt ends and the spicy potato salad, really great stuff.

fropones wrote:I highly recommend black dog, provided you can get the timing right to get there at an off hour. Make sure to get the burnt ends and the spicy potato salad, really great stuff.

yeah, black dog is great but just so consistently jammed.

Sharp's Crossing is the lavender farm.

Put together a visit there, Prairie Fruits Farm, Lucky Duck Farm, Little Farm on the Prairie, a place in Cullom for lawn ornaments, Hahn's, and you could have yourself quite a field trip!

Add a stop at jimswide-recommended Lost in Time in Fairbury or D G Sullivan's in Gibson City and that would be a pretty good day.

Real Time Farms looks like a pretty good source for finding local producers.

Oh, also there's a Chinese restaurant called Cravings that is really great. My usual order is the Jakarta Fried Rice and the Hot and Spicy Chicken.

tcdup wrote:Sharp's Crossing is the lavender farm.

Yes. That's the one I'm going to.

I have got to find a reason to get back to Timpone's for the pizza!