Our original destination was closed tonight, so we circled back to Johnny’s Family Dining on Dewitt Ave (corner of 1st Division St). This is the former D&W restaurant. We went in hoping the food and service were at least similar to D&W, which was always a decent place to grab a meal. We were not disappointed. We were there fairly early, so there was no crowd. It did start to fill in by the time we left, but it was far from full.

Among tonight’s specials were Roast Turkey and Dressing, which Sarah ordered, and Baby Back Ribs, which I ordered. We started with salads, which were standard lettuce and tomato style. Not too big and very fresh. They came with some surprisingly tasty breadsticks. Sarah’s meal, which she ordered with a baked potato, was quite generous. She brought home enough for another meal. She got several slices of well-prepared turkey breast meat over a large helping of tasty dressing. On the side were her potato and green beans. My ribs were supposedly a half-rack, but they seemed much larger. They were cooked to perfection and the meat literally fell off the bone. I just had to lift the bones out to remove them. My only nit-pick, and it’s a tiny one, was the BBQ sauce. It was tangy/spicy and quite good, but there was a bit too much of it. Maybe next time I’ll see if they’ll bring it on the side. I opted for fries and was very pleased with them. They were crispy and had some sort of tasty batter covering.

Our meal tonight came to a whopping $17. You can’t beat that for two very tasty and generous sit-down dinners. We noticed on the specials menu that they have stuffed peppers on Saturday night. We’ll be heading back to try them.

Once again this year we trekked out to New England for Christmas. We only ate out a few times thanks to superb cooking by Sarah’s mom (delicious beef brisket and latkes) and my sister (awesome beef tenderloin). On the way out we stopped at Blue Colony Diner in Newtown, CT. It was our first time there and we weren’t quite sure what it would be like. We had just seen a billboard on the highway and thought we’d give it a try. Turns out Blue Colony Diner is a well known landmark. It’s very large for a diner and the menu is huge. So are the portions. Sarah had some seriously meaty lasagna which became three meals. I had a really good pastrami Reuben.  A gentleman sitting near us had the baked haddock. It was the largest helping of food for one person I’ve ever seen. Great place to stop if you’re passing through the area on I-84. Three and a Half Spoons

Whenever we get out to Massachusetts we try to grab a meal at The Chatta Box in Bridgewater, MA. The Chatta Box is simply the best Asian fusion restaurant we’ve ever encountered. The food is sublime. I ordered our longtime favorite, Mango Stir Fry with Chicken. It’s the near dish in the picture below. It’s served in a mango shell (the purple you see in the picture). It’s sweet and spicy and fresh and delicious. Sarah ordered Tropical Explosion, which was tofu with pineapple and peppers and mango and onions. Similar to mine but just different enough. Both were excellent. Five Spoons

Lastly, Sarah’s parents took us out to Butterfly Restaurant in West Hartford, CT. (Thanks, Judy and Steve.) We usually make it to Butterfly on our trips. We each order a dish and then mix and match. This time we had pork fried rice (which was a welcome treat as good fried rice is hard to find out here in IL), crispy orange beef, sesame chicken, and broccoli and garlic. All were very tasty. We really miss having a good Chinese restaurant nearby. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Four Spoons

This evening we opted for Chinese and stopped in to Empire Chinese Restaurant on Green St. in the Campustown area of Champaign, IL. Empire is like many places on Green where you order from a counter and eat with plastic utensils. The menu is virtually identical to most other Chinese places in the C-U area. The prices are very low, though. We were amazed at how much food $20 would buy. As you can see below, we went big knowing we’d have  plenty left over to take home. We started the steamed dumpling appetizers. Sarah ordered Kung Pao Chicken and I had Mongolian Beef and Beef Fried Rice.

The dumplings were excellent. They’d make a great lunch by themselves. Sarah thought her Kung Pao was very good. I tried some and thought it had a nice spicy bite to it. My Mongolian Beef was good, but heavy on the brown sauce and onions. It could have done with more scallions and a bit less sauce and onions. Still, better than most beef type dishes at similar restaurants. The fried rice was typical of this area and a bit bland, although the generous amount of beef in it was lean and tender. We’ll definitely return to Empire for different meals. They had some other meals that looked tasty.

Today we were in Champaign early (for us) and decided to try brunch somewhere. We parked in the new downtown deck and headed out to try our luck. We first stopped at Jim Gould’s, but when the brunch menu on the sign inside the door does not include the price, you have to figure it’s high. I’m one of those people who cannot justify $20 for brunch when I can barely finish a single plate at that time of day. So we moved on. We ended up at Radio Maria, which is always one of our favorite go-to places for lunch. Their brunch menu is, like all their menus, interesting, to say the least. Several different ways to enjoy your eggs, many with a strong Mexican influence. You can also get more traditional omelets and non-breakfast entrees.  They offer a few different mimosas as well as a variety of juices and coffee. I gave in to temptation and ordered a Mango Mimosa. It was tasty, but I’m not sure I’d spend the $6.50 for it again.

Sarah ordered the Masa Boat Surprise, which is a cornmeal boat filled with scrambled eggs, peppers, onions, cheese, and choriza sausage and topped with salsa. It came with black beans, potatoes, and tortillas. I stayed more traditional and had a steak tip omelet with cheese and tomatoes. Mine also came with potatoes. I thought the potatoes were delicious. Nicely salted and spiced. My omelet was quite good, but it’s hard to mess up an omelet. Still, the steak was lean and tender and plentiful. Very tasty. Sarah really liked her Masa Boat, although it wasn’t as spicy as she’d expected. She brought half of it home. All in all, a very enjoyable meal, and at $23.50, about the cost of one buffet brunch elsewhere.

Today we drove around looking for a place to eat where we didn’t have to wait 30 or 40 minutes for lunch. It was crowded everywhere due to Valentine’s Day. We ended up over at Village Green Plaza over on Windsor and Duncan looking for Pasha. To our surprise, Pasha was gone and in its place was Istanbul Mediterranean Cuisine.

The restaurant is apparently under new management and the menu is definitely changed. There are more choices, yet still some familiar ones. There is now a large seafood menu and some Italian dishes. The menu was basically Greek, Turkish, and Italian. They also have Efes Turkish Pilsner beer available, which is one of my favorites. They had lunch specials showing on the sign out front, but only Mon-Fri. Today we got the full dinner menu.

Sarah thought the Crepe Pie looked interesting. It was beef or chicken (Sarah went with chicken) sauteed with peppers, onions, tomatoes,  and pine nuts and served in a “pie”, which was more like pita with melted cheese over the top, and a salad. I went with the Great Alexander Kabob, which was gyro meat and diced pita with a tomato-based sauce and a yogurt sauce on the side. Dinner came with very tasty bread with olive oil and parmesan cheese for dipping. I had an Efes Pilsner with my meal.

Sarah’s Crepe Pie was nicely presented, but it lacked pizzazz. A spicier presence would have made the dish. The salad served with it was excellent, though. My gyro meat was quite good, but it would have been better with some onions and tzatziki instead of the rather bland yogurt sauce. Still, the meals showed promise and there were several other items on the menu which looked like winners. We’ll definitely return for more.

Today we stopped in for the buffet lunch at Bombay Grill’s First St. location in Champaign, IL. It was quite busy, which surprised me with this being Thanksgiving Week. We still had no wait for a table, though. The buffet was a nice combination of Indian favorites, including chicken tikka masala, saag, lamb curry, zucchini aloo, veggie pakoras, a couple of other dishes and, of course, rice. There was also a nice spread of condiments and desserts. The buffet comes with a naan and some Tandoori chicken. I also ordered a Kingfisher.

I had chicken tikka masala over rice and and a few pakoras. Sarah had the saag, some chicken tikka masala, and some zucchini aloo. The chicken tikka masala was pretty spicy, but not overwhelming. The food in general was fresh and well prepared. The naan and Tandoori chicken are served very warm and are a nice addition to the meal. All in all, an excellent lunch. A little pricier than most choices on Green St., but well worth it and easily doable in an hour.

This afternoon we stopped in for an early dinner at Houlihan’s at the new iHotel (hate that name) and conference center on the U of I campus in Champaign, IL. Last night I went by about 7PM and the parking lot was packed. The waitress told us you could barely move inside the restaurant. Today it was quite empty when we got there around 5PM and starting to fill when we left 40 minutes later. Still, there were plenty of tables available. Not the usual “packed-all-the-time” honeymoon most new restaurants enjoy for a few weeks. The decor was modern and comfortable and there were plenty of waitstaff milling around at that early hour.

The menu is typical clone restaurant, like Chili’s, Cheddar’s, TGIF, etc. Nothing special here, except for maybe the lethally sharp metal folders the menu is contained within. One salad choice which caught our attention was the Tuscan Salad. It’s tomatoes, greens, white beans, and goat cheese formed in the shape of a tuna can (or cat food can, but let’s not go there). We both ordered that with our meal. It was good, but a bit “wet” and somewhat bland. It could have used more of the vinegar which was sparsely dripped around the edge of the plate.

I ordered a Margarita to start with. Let’s face it, if your bar can’t get a ‘Rita right, there’s no hope. Houlihan’s ‘Ritas are pretty good, although small for the price. For entrees Sarah ordered the Chicken Enchilada and I went with a NY Strip Steak. I also had a glass of merlot with dinner. It was a fair pour for the money.

Sarah’s meal was so-so. The enchiladas were good, but the rice was very plain. Sarah called it Uncle Ben’s. And the beans and slaw were pedestrian, at best.  My steak came with fries and green beans. The steak, which I ordered medium rare, was just that on one half and rare on the other. It must have been partially over the flames of the grill. Still, it was quite tasty. The fries and green beans were also good. My steak was a decent sized piece of meat for the money. Not a bad meal for $50 before the tip, but nothing special that would entice us to go back anytime soon.

Today we made our annual trek down to the Moonshine Store in Martinsville, IL. The immediate area around the store is actually called Moonshine, but the easiest way to locate it on a map is to look for the intersection of 300Rd and 600St in Martinsville, IL. As always, the burgers at Moonshine were very good. And the hard-to-find soda flavors, like birch beer, just add to the enjoyment. Pick a good day and leave early. The Moonshine Store stops selling burgers right at 12:30, although from our experience, I’d say the best time to get there is just after 12. The crowd thins considerably as 12:30 approaches. Check out some pics from our trip over on Randomography. 

Tonight we headed east on Rte-16 to Ashmore just outside of Charleston to try the Stovepipe Grill & Smokehouse at the Lincoln Springs Resort. Friends of ours had told us the food there was pretty good, and they were right. Charleston was lacking a good BBQ place, but no longer. Stovepipe Grill has a decent variety of BBQ dishes along with all the usual sides. Tonight Sarah ordered a Brisket plate and I ordered Riblets (rib tips). We both got baked potatoes and baked beans for sides. Let me say first that the sides were excellent. Very tasty baked beans and a perfectly cooked baked potato, which was surprisingly well seasoned. Nice touch there. Sarah’s brisket was moist and tender. The BBQ sauce is served on the side, so you can add as much or as little as you wish. My riblets were tasty, but as with all riblets, they tend to be more work than they’re worth. Too many small bones. I’d rather see a rack of ribs than riblets. And this is a minor point, but the food was served on a large piece of lettuce-like garnish which only served to get in the way. Save the money and skip the garnish. It’s out of place in a BBQ anyway.

The special tonight was prime rib. I was really tempted to try it, but I thought first I’d test the BBQ. Now that I know that’s good, I may try the prime rib when it’s offered again. I can see Stovepipe being packed this summer with folks heading out for a meal and a night of mini-golf. We’ll be there for sure.

UPDATE: We went back for their Sunday Brunch Buffet this weekend. It was the same good food plus some breakfast stuff and desserts. It ends up being a little pricier than dinner, but if you’re hungry and want some variety, it’s worth it. And as a side note, I was pleasantly surprised with their coffee. It was quite good.

I got home somewhat late this afternoon and trying to find a restaurant with no waiting line can be tough on Friday night. We tried Spanky’s in Mattoon, but we couldn’t even find a place to park. It appears that Taste of Italy is closed, too. So we ended up at D & W’s Restaurant on DeWitt Avenue in Mattoon. Sarah has had lunch there once, but I’d never been there. D & W’s is basic family-style comfort food. The menu is huge and there are daily specials. Prices range between Cheap Eats and Family, depending on what you order. 

Tonight we both ordered the special, which was Goulash. Now goulash is one of those dishes that could vary widely by restaurant. At D & W’s, it’s pretty much what I’ve always known goulash to be, which is ground beef, tomatoes, pepper, and tomato sauce over elbow macaroni. We both opted for a salad as one of our sides. Sarah also had some sweet potato fries while I went with corn for my other side. The salads were a decent size and quite good. The goulash was tasty and the sides were well prepared. Sarah’s sweet potato fries were delicious, but could have used a dipping sauce. We left quite full and our meal came to a whopping $13 before the tip. Not bad at all.