Sip-n-Snack - Mendota, IL.

Gotta love the name. Word on the street(local bars) was that Sip-n-Snack in mendota had some real great tavern bird. Better than Rip's as it was less greasy. Tough talk out here where Rips typically reigns supreme in any discussion. Have to say i was intrigued. Located about 15 minutes NW of Rips, through Cherry, IL. you find SnS on Ogden Avenue(Route 34) or North 4250th Street as it is known out here.

Roadhouse:



For those who have been out to Frank's Pizza in Silvas, IL. the interior is very similar. Small bar, and a counter to order and pick up your food. Menu board behind the register:



THe food, cheap and damn good. 1/4 light $4.25, tenderloin $3.75, wings $2.75. Cheap drinks as well. Was told tenderloin was pounded out inhouse, pretty solid version, but I am no expert or huge fan.

Stuggled weith solid pictures, weird lighting maybe from the beer signs, or the flatscreens that were tuned to the White Sox playing home run derby..

Fried chicken... a really, really solid version, I dont want to gush too much after one visit, but I really liked it. Really clean tasting, light batter, almost tempura like it was so airy and light. Meat inside was flavorfull and juicy.





Tenderloin, a nice version, served with some sliced pickles. Not too thick, not too thin, and tender.



wings... 6 for $2.75....? right on, typically I dont like breaded or coated wings, but these worked.. maybe some corn meal in their coating? Not sure, but i liked em':



Thinkin we got a winner here...

Sip-n-Snack
10 North 4250th Road
Mendota, IL.

815-539-7525

jimswside wrote:5

Calling to me...............................................

Might have to fire up the AMC Pacer and head on out to where the earth goes flat.

Definitely a worhtwhile stop if out this way Gary.

Fathers Day supper - Sip-n-Snack was the choice.

Fried chicken is the real deal(perhaps better than Rip's, less greasy for sure), pizza wasnt bad either.

$4.00 for a quarter light is really hard to pass up, even if SnS is about 35 minutes from my crib.

a better pic of the chix:

Earlville Drive-in Theatre was in the cards for Saturday night, no brainer was dinner at Sip-n-Snack over in Mendota(15 mins west).



Rolled in about 6:30, place was pretty crowded, but the nice thing about here vs Rips is that it is probably 3 x the size of Rips, so Ive never had an issue with a wait.

Fried chicken and wings were top notch, chicken great as always, but these wings grow on me, dusted in flour and perhaps some corn starch they are some of the crispest wings I have had.

Not sure there is any chicken better than this.:

Public service announcement: Sip-n-Snack does not open until 4:30 PM on Sundays. Mr. X and I were in the area after buying a bunch of corn during Mendota's sweet corn festival. Helpful folks at both the gas station and the corn booth gave us directions to get around the street closures in town. We were hopeful that they might be open early because of the festival, but alas, they were not.

Sip-n-Snack hours (from their Facebook page):

Wed: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Fri - Sat: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Sun: 4:30 pm - 8:30 pm

The GP wrote:Public service announcement: Sip-n-Snack does not open until 4:30 PM on Sundays. Mr. X and I were in the area after buying a bunch of corn during Mendota's sweet corn festival. Helpful folks at both the gas station and the corn booth gave us directions to get around the street closures in town. We were hopeful that they might be open early because of the festival, but alas, they were not.

Sip-n-Snack hours (from their Facebook page):

Wed: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Fri - Sat: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Sun: 4:30 pm - 8:30 pm

thanks for posting the hours Mary, Ive been disappointed a couple times.

jimswside wrote:

The GP wrote:Public service announcement: Sip-n-Snack does not open until 4:30 PM on Sundays. Mr. X and I were in the area after buying a bunch of corn during Mendota's sweet corn festival. Helpful folks at both the gas station and the corn booth gave us directions to get around the street closures in town. We were hopeful that they might be open early because of the festival, but alas, they were not.

Sip-n-Snack hours (from their Facebook page):

Wed: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Fri - Sat: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Sun: 4:30 pm - 8:30 pm

thanks for posting the hours Mary, Ive been disappointed a couple times.

All was not lost. We found a gem on our way back. I'll post about it soon.

Sip-n-Snack made for a great Saturday meal after a quick trip out to Kewanee a couple weekends ago. I had had some decent fried chicken the day before at Parsons in Chicago, but needed a fix from a spot that has been open since before the recent fried chicken craze(and will probably be around long after many of these new chicken joints have closed and re opened as a cupcake shop, etc.)..

Maybe my favorite wings around. Breading is super thin & crispy :



fried chicken may have been the best I have had here, missed the first seating, so had to enjoy some $4 rounds of Jim Beam and Lite while the next round got fried. Good thing about SnS besides the chicken being better than Rips(yep I said it), you can get a seat as the seating area is 3x-4x larger than the spot in Ladd, IL..

top of the heap:

jimswside wrote: needed a fix from a spot that has been open since before the recent fried chicken craze(and will probably be around long after many of these new chicken joints have closed and re opened as a cupcake shop, etc.)

Jim,

This is the best line of the week!

Looks great, but it might as well be in California.

Ram4 wrote:Looks great, but it might as well be in California.

lol, Hey now.. stopping busting my chops..... im keeping this spot where it belongs... out of Chicagoland.

This spot is right off Ogden Ave (Route 34) though...

Shoot, I drove to Indy a couple weekends ago just to eat and see if the heralded pan fried chicken of the region was head and shoulders above what I usually eat.. it wasnt. Great & different but not better.

jimswside wrote:

Ram4 wrote:Looks great, but it might as well be in California.

lol, Hey now.. stopping busting my chops..... im keeping this spot where it belongs... out of Chicagoland.

This spot is right off Ogden Ave (Route 34) though...

Shoot, I drove to Indy a couple weekends ago just to eat and see if the heralded pan fried chicken of the region was head and shoulders above what I usually eat.. it wasnt. Great & different but not better.

Yeah I know. It's in Beyond Chicagoland, so it's ok where it's at. Plus it's about fried chicken, which is the kind of post I want to see. I should take a fried chicken trip out to that area sometime. With my new car getting 38 miles per gallon on the highway, I should consider it.

Ram4 wrote:

jimswside wrote:

Ram4 wrote:Looks great, but it might as well be in California.

lol, Hey now.. stopping busting my chops..... im keeping this spot where it belongs... out of Chicagoland.

This spot is right off Ogden Ave (Route 34) though...

Shoot, I drove to Indy a couple weekends ago just to eat and see if the heralded pan fried chicken of the region was head and shoulders above what I usually eat.. it wasnt. Great & different but not better.

Yeah I know. It's in Beyond Chicagoland, so it's ok where it's at. Plus it's about fried chicken, which is the kind of post I want to see. I should take a fried chicken trip out to that area sometime. With my new car getting 38 miles per gallon on the highway, I should consider it.

starved rock in the fall makes for a great road trip. Puts you in the middle of all the spots in the area.