People Line Up at This Illinois Puerto Rican Restaurant for Lechon Jibaritos, Mofongo, and Alcapurrias
A Chicago sandwich swaps out bread for two flattened, fried plantains, and one busy Northwest Side counter put that idea right…
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IllinoisThis Old-School Illinois Railroad Museum Lets Kids Climb Aboard a Real Caboose for Just a Few Dollars
A real steam locomotive sits parked beside a working Amtrak station, and you can tour it with a guide. That alone made me sit up. Add…
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Illinois
This Unassuming Illinois Restaurant Serves Massive Burgers Famous Throughout the Midwest
A burger stand has been flipping patties from the same walk-up windows since 1948. That's nearly 80 years of burgers, fries, and frosty root beer handed through glass. The menu stretches well past basic burgers. Double decker…
Illinois
This No-Frills Illinois Restaurant Serves a Reuben Sandwich So Good, It’s Worth a Road Trip
Your table gets a bowl of toasted bagel chips before you even order a sandwich. That freebie alone tells you this deli takes snacking seriously. The real headliner is the Reuben, piled with corned beef, sauerkraut, and a house…
Illinois
This Route 66-Themed Illinois Diner Serves Some of the State’s Best Country Fried Steak
Pulling off Route 66 for a hearty diner meal feels especially fitting in Dwight. Old Route 66 Family Restaurant leans into its Mother Road location with vintage signs, colorful murals, and nostalgic memorabilia covering the walls…
Illinois
14 Illinois Day Trips From Chicago That Are Absolutely Worth the Drive
A herd of real bison roams the prairie about an hour from downtown Chicago. Not statues. Not a zoo exhibit. Actual bison, grazing in tallgrass while city traffic hums somewhere far behind them. That fact alone made me rethink…
Illinois
This 35-Foot-Long Dragon in Illinois Is Almost Too Weird for Words
A giant metal dragon in central Illinois shoots real flames when you feed it a token. That little coin buys a few seconds of fire beside a quiet country road. The beast stretches about 35 feet long, with a tall neck rising…
Illinois
9 Small-Town Illinois Spots Serving Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches That Barely Fit the Bun
A bar in a farm town of about 400 people has a menu item called the Stack Giant Tenderloin. I read that name twice, because it sounds like a warning label. Another small-town spot offers something called Share a Loin. A drive-in…
Illinois
8 Quirky Museums In Illinois Worth Adding To Your Next Road Trip
Road trips become considerably more memorable when the next stop involves sock monkeys, Superman, or something you never expected to find in a museum. Illinois is packed with wonderfully unusual collections, scattered everywhere…
Illinois
This Unassuming Restaurant in Illinois Will Serve You the Best French Fries of Your Life
Strawberry rhubarb, raspberry ribbon, coconut cream, and caramel apple pies can all show up at one small diner in central Illinois. That dessert lineup alone sounds like a good reason to fill up the gas tank tonight. The doors open…