Ariston Café: Iconic Route 66 Roadhouse

Note: I see that after writing this post, I am late to the party once again. Looks like DaBeef has posted on it here and others have mentioned it several times. Oddly, I ended up ordering what I might have selected based on the title of DaBeef's post.) Since DaBeef wrote that he planned to give the place its own thread, I thought I'd go ahead and do that here, under the name Ariston Café for future reference.

Ariston Café: Iconic Route 66 Roadhouse



Ariston Café may not have earned three Michelin stars -- or even one -- but if the crowd there one day last spring is any indication, it has proven “worth a journey.” Though I found the place purely by chance, needing lunch on the trip from St. Louis to Chicago, it was instantly clear to me that I was late to the party. There were some serious lenses on the cameras I spied. I decided that it was quite unlikely that I had run across a bunch of unusually conscientious Yelpers. A knot of British retirees touring Route 66 were joined by two French families with young children. Perhaps Michelin is on to the place after all. . .



Ariston Café was founded in 1924 by Panos Adam, a Greek immigrant who had arrived at Ellis Island in 1905, where he acquired the name “Pete.” The café’s original location in Carlinville, IL was on Route 4, which later became Route 66. These photographs, posted in the dining room, are of the original Carlinville location.



The business moved into its current Litchfield location on Route 66 in 1935. It is one of the oldest remaining cafes from the period.



As it appears today, the café retains many of the features present in 1935.



The most important of the original features is the family Adam. The son of the original owner, Nick Adam, and his wife, Demi, still own the place, and run it along with their son and daughter-in-law.



In 2006, the café was named to the National Register of Historic Places. This recognition was celebrated by the local community, and one local resident presented the Adam’s with this 1935 Ariston Café Menu, which is now posted on the wall near the entrance.



Both Nick and Demi Adam were greeting visitors on the day I stopped by. They seemed to enjoy talking about the history of the café, as well as the menu. I find it interesting that club sandwiches make up their own category on the menu. There is only one, a turkey club, on today’s menu. The current menu has a number of Mexican specialties, which have been offered since the 1970’s. This continues a tradition of offering something special and out-of-the ordinary that originated at least with the 1935 menu. Look closely; there is a section entitled "Oriental Dishes" devoted to "Chinese" "American" and "Italian" dishes. (Huh?)

The cocktail listing (far-right bottom) may be of interest to those who follow these things. Though the café seems to be a family destination, it also seems to have a history as a supper-club. This 1952 picture of Pete Adam shows they were serving a lot of coffee, whatever the cocktail menu suggests.



Note they were also serving local food: "chilli," a Springfield specialty and Litchfield ice cream. The fresh oysters are a mystery, but perhaps they came up from the Gulf regularly in those days. No oysters in 2013; they still offer martinis along with steaks, however.

Mid-trip, I did not imbibe, but instead I settled on a pork tenderloin sandwich and a Coke. The sandwich was crunchy and flavorful, served with coleslaw. I nearly ordered a Horseshoe, but I was pretty sure I'd be asleep within the hour if I tried to drive with that pile of cheese under my belt.



How could I turn down dessert, when Demi offered it so graciously?



I settled on the lemon icebox cake, which recalled the best dessert of my elementary school lunchroom.



Maybe next time I will try the baklava. They post their recipe on the website. I guess that there is still a little bit of Greece in Panos/Pete Adam’s place.

If you get a chance, you really should stop at the Ariston Café for a big helping of nostalgia and a good lunch -- unless it’s a Saturday, when they are only open for dinner (see hours below).

Ariston Café
413 Old Route 66 N
Litchfield, IL 62056

Tues.-Thurs.: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Friday: 11:00 – 10:00
Saturday: 4:00 – 10:00 PM
Sunday: 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM