Road Tips

Farren's Pub & Eatery - Champaign, IL

Years ago, I was in a subterranean restaurant/pub in Champaign and I remember having a pretty good burger there.  Of course, this was 15 years ago when I first started Road Tips and that was the first and last time I was in there.  I was interested in getting a good burger while I was in Champaign recently and I went past the subterranean place set back along an alley from N. Randolph St. - whose name I couldn't remember - but there was no sign on the front of the place.  Still hankering for a burger, I then ended up looking up "Best Burgers in Champaign" on my smart phone and topping the list was a place called Farren's Pub & Eatery.  Once I sat down to write this entry showcasing my recent visit to Farren's Pub & Eatery, I realized that it was one and the same place I had originally written about in June of 2006.  (Click here to see that post.)  It turned out they had moved to a new street-level location in the summer of 2019 and I didn't realize at the time I was there a few weeks ago that it was one and the same place. 

When I first started out writing this blog in 2005, I didn't have a voice or a formula for my entries for the first handful of years.  I also didn't have a worthy camera on my phone to take pictures to include in my blog until about 2008 or 2009.  I found that including the history of an establishment is usually a key component that can tell stories upon stories of a restaurant and how it came to be.  I didn't do that with my original post on Farren's Pub and I wanted to include that in this post.  

Carolyn Morton grew up in the Chicago area and ended up going to the University of Illinois to study biochemistry.  During her time in college, Carolyn worked various positions in bars and restaurants in the Champaign/Urbana area.  After school, she worked as a wine consultant, then became general manager of Silvercreek, an upscale restaurant in downtown Urbana.  The restaurant business was about as far away from biochemistry that one can get.

While at Illinois, she met Brian Farren and the couple eventually got married.  Looking to do something different with their lives just before the turn of the 21st century, they found out that a small subterranean bar in downtown Champaign - a place called Creamy's - was up for sale.  The couple took over the place in 1999 and renovated the place while adding a kitchen and turned it into a restaurant/pub.  Farren's Pub opened their doors for business in February of 2000.  

From the start, Carolyn Farren had a menu that was a little upscale including seafood and pasta dishes.  But she also had a burger on the menu that made from ground beef that was locally-sourced from a butcher/meat shop in Champaign.  Farren's Pub quickly gained a reputation for their burgers and in 2007 they garnered their first recognition by being named as one of the 3 best burgers in Champaign/Urbana by a local publication.  

When people started to come in to Farren's Pub to try the burgers, Carolyn Farren decided to go to a more burger-centric menu and do away with some of the nightly specials and more upscale items they had served.  Within a couple years, the burgers at Farren's Pub topped a number of local "people's-choice" lists, then started to gain national attention from publications such as Trip Advisor.  For not wanting to have a burger-centric restaurant when they first opened up, Carolyn Farren was more than happy for the recognition she was getting.  

Toward the end of 2018, a popular Spanish-style bistro by the name of Radio Maria closed their doors on the corner of N. Walnut and Taylor St. in downtown Champaign.  In February of 2019, Carolyn Farren announced that Farren's Pub would be moving to the former Radio Maria spot giving them a larger bar and more seating than the original location.  The Farren's re-opened in July of 2019.  

After finding the location for Farren's Pub, I found a parking space just down the street on N. Walnut from the restaurant.  (see map)  It had been raining hard off and on for about and hour, but by the time I parked my car and walked a block or so to the restaurant, the rain had eased into a drizzle.  

As I got into Farren's, I was greeted at the hostess stand by a lady with a British accent by the name of Michelle.  She was bubbly, overly friendly and outgoing, and she made me feel quite welcome as a single diner.  The dining room was full and Michelle told me that it would be a 5 to 10 minute wait.  I asked if I could sit in the bar and she said, "That would be a great thing most any other night, but unfortunately we're holding a private event in there this evening."  

She asked if I'd like to sit on a chair at the entry way between the dining area and the bar to wait for a table to open up.  She gave me a menu to check out while I waited and said, "I can even get you something to drink while you wait."  I saw on their beer menu that they had the Triptych Brewing Dank Meme available on tap.  I had been out to the Triptych Brewing facility earlier in the evening and had a couple of the very good hazy IPA beer at its source.  I signed up for one of those.  

From what I understand, the dining room didn't change much from the days of Radio Maria.  It still had the hardwood floors, the support poles in the center of the room and and exposed brick wall along one side.  Large windows that looked out on the north and east side of the dining room gave it a bit of natural light.  Plants and vines were placed along top of the wall on one end, while potted plants dotted the floor which had plexiglass partitions between tables.  I sort of liked the partitions as it gave each table in the dining area a bit of intimacy.  

The bar area is also somewhat of a holdover from the old Radio Maria.  The bar features a semi-circle at one end with blue-light accents under the bar top.  They added some paint to the exposed brick walls opposite the bar and kept the unique lighting accessories hanging from the ceiling.  It was too bad the bar was closed off for a private event that evening.  I would have loved to have had a chance to eat in the bar area.  It was pretty cool in there.

About 15 minutes after Michelle told me it would be a 5 to 10 minute wait, she came to me and said, "I have a table right here for you."  She showed me to a table right by the entrance to the bar area.  I had mowed through my pint of the Triptych Brewing Dank Meme and she got me another one going after I sat down.  

I was definitely in the mood for a burger that evening, but some of the other things on the menu caught my attention while I was checking it out waiting for a table to open.  They had tacos on the menu, including a blackened tuna taco.  Chicken, ground beef and steak tacos were also available, as well as a black bean taco for the vegans in the crowd.  

Farren's Pub also featured a number of sandwiches and they've also won local awards for some of their sandwiches, as well.  The grilled chicken breast with sautéed mushrooms topped with Swiss cheese was intriguing to me, as was the "Mother Clucker" which was basically the same sandwich only with a bleu cheese sauce added to it.  But in the end, the burger won out.  

Michelle had turned me over to Michael, a nice guy who was soft-spoken, after I was seated.  Michael was giving me some pointers on their burgers and he said that the Russell burger was their award-winning burger. "It's named after a guy named Russell who used to order it every day over at our old place," he explained to me.  They also had a sautéed mushroom burger with your choice of cheese, and the green chile burger topped with pepper jack cheese sounded like a winner.  But Michael basically talked me into getting the Russell burger.  I asked could get some of the green chiles on the side, as well.  He said it would be no problem.  

Someone from the kitchen brought my burger to me and I was sort of confused with the chiles on the side.  I was expecting green chiles, but they were more like a roasted red chile.  That was fine with me as it helped enhance the overall flavor of the burger.  

The Russell burger features a half-pound flat-grilled whole beef patty topped with sautéed mushrooms, bacon and pepper jack cheese.  The bleu cheese sauce is also supposed to go on the burger, but I asked Michael to put that on the side, as well.  Onions and pickles came on the side as did a side of skinny fries.  

While I didn't realize it until much later, I had ordered a Russell burger on my initial visit to Farren's Pub & Eatery over 15 years ago at their old location.  Except that I think they gave me the Motherlode instead that featured Swiss cheese instead of pepper jack cheese, and the bleu cheese sauce with sautéed mushrooms.  Nonetheless, I was getting a true Russell burger on this visit.  

The burger was, well, a spot-hitter.  It was just excellent with all the flavors going on.  But the quality beef in the burger shined through all the toppings and condiments that I put on the burger.  It as juicy, flavorful and savory.  The lightly toasted bun held together very well with all the juices, peppers and cheese on the burger patty.  The fries were actually pretty good, too.  They had a crisp outer shell with a flaky core.  The burger was a lot of food and I was able to finish all that and had just a few of the fries by the time I threw in the towel.

As I was waiting on my check from Michael, Michelle walked by the table and I flagged her down, asking her where the restrooms where.  "Down that hallway and first door on the left," she said as she pointed to the far corner of the dining room from where I was seated.  So, I got up, made the trek to the restroom.  I walked down the hall and took the first door on the left - just as Michelle said.  But what she did was direct me to the WOMEN'S restroom!  Sure, for Michelle, the first door on the left down the hall would be the restroom she would use.  She meant the second door on the left for the men's restroom.  

And, of course, there were two ladies in the restroom when I walked in.  They were just standing there and understandably startled when I walked in.  I stopped, said, "Oh, shit!"  Then I quickly exited heading to the next door down the hall.  It was sort of embarrassing.  

After I went to Farren's Pub & Eatery, I didn't realize that I had gone to their original subterranean location over 15 years ago.  I did remember how good their burger was and I went back to the old location - not remembering the name of the place - but it was closed down.  However, I did find the "new" Farren's Pub location not realizing until starting my research for this blog entry that it was the same place as the one I was looking for earlier on.  And the burger I had on this visit was just as good as I remember from the visit years ago.  The staff at Farren's Pub were friendly and accommodating, I was made to feel comfortable as a single diner, and the atmosphere was laid-back and relaxed.  I'm hoping it won't be another 15 years before I make it back to Farren's for one of their burgers.  

Triptych Brewing - Savoy, IL

My wife and I have friends who, when we get together, we usually laugh too much and drink too much.  They like to drink craft beers and we'll meet up with them from time to time for an afternoon or evening of laughing and drinking.  On one Sunday afternoon a couple of years ago, we met up at Radicle Effects Brewerks (formerly Against the Grain Brewery) in Rock Island, a place that brews their own beers, has great bloody Mary's, and also offers a handful of beers from other craft breweries.  (They even have Old Style and Pabst Blue Ribbon available!)  My friend and I were at the bar and he was looking at the beer menu.  He said to me, "Hey, have you ever tried the Triptych Dank Meme?"  I said that I had never heard of the brewery.  He explained to me that it's located in the small town of Savoy, IL, just south of Champaign.  "Oh, yeah," he said excitedly.  "I was down there a couple years ago and had one of these at their brewpub.  It's great."  

He talked me into getting one and I had to say that it was very good for a hazy IPA.  I later found out that a Hy-Vee store over in Rock Island sells 4-packs of Dank Meme in 16-ounce cans and I've headed over there a few times over the last couple years to pick some up for my beer fridge at home.   

Well, I recently spent the evening in Champaign and it turned out that Savoy was just a couple three miles down the road from the hotel I was staying at.  I decided to head down to Triptych Brewing and get a Dank Meme from its source.  

Anthony Benjamin was looking for a hobby to start right when his wife entered law school at the University of Illinois in 2005.  It just so happened that he saw a program on television that showed the basics of home-brewing and he was immediately hooked.  Starting out in his garage - like any number of owners of micro and craft breweries over the years - Benjamin got to be pretty good at it.  In fact, he won a handful of awards and medals in brewery competitions while he was also working in the engineering department at the University of Illinois.  In 2009, Benjamin was named the Midwest Home-brewer of the Year based on the number of awards he won in contests across a 12 state region.

Pictured right - Triptych Brewing majority owner Anthony Benjamin

Through home-brewing, Benjamin struck up a relationship with computer engineer Joshi Fullop.  Along with a third friend, local Champaign lawyer Jason Bartell, the trio decided to look into doing their own brewery at some point.  Funding was a bit of a concern, so the three started a Kickstarter fund to raise the $20,000 needed to get their brewery in motion.  It wasn't long that the money was raised - actually over $5,000 more than they had hoped for - and things were kicking into gear.  

The trio found a space in a building in Savoy in 2012 and with the construction help and know-how of another fellow home-brewing enthusiast, Lyle Amacher, they were able to turn the space into an 500-square foot brewery with a small adjoining taproom.  By the end of 2012, Benjamin was starting to brew beers in the 1.5 barrel system and in February of 2013 Triptych Brewing opened for in-house serving of their beers.  The brewing system eventually grew to a cobbled-together 3-barrel system and then they acquired more vessels to make it a 5-barrel system.  Initially, they only sold beer-to-go in 32-ounce growlers, but they eventually put in a canning line so they could sell their beers in 16-ounce sizes. 

The name Triptych is a sort of interesting story.  Wanting to stay away from a name with a regional connotation, Benjamin looked at the three basic ingredients to make beer -  water, barley and hops.  There were also three initial owners of the new brewery.  He had learned years before that a triptych is a set of three associated artistic works blended into one work of art.  And, voila!  He had come up with a name!  The Triptych Brewing logo features a blending of water, hops and barley in three entwining circles.  

The Triptych Brewery was a hit right off the bat and as their business grew the trio of owners knew that A) they would need more space, and B) more time would have to be devoted to the business.  Fullop couldn't do that with the demands of his job, nor could Bartell with the demands of his law firm.  But this was Anthony Benjamin's full-time job since he quit his position at the University of Illinois just before the brewery opened.  Fullop and Bartell ended up selling their interests to Benjamin, who, in turn, sold shares of Triptych to Lyle Amacher - who had just retired early from his job with AT&T - and another home-brewer friend by the name of Greg Altstetter.  It wasn't long after that that a fourth partner - local realtor and property manager, James Voigtlander - became a minority investor in the brewery.

With Triptych Brewing signing distribution contracts around the state of Illinois, Benjamin and his minority partners had to find a larger space in which to brew their beers.  It turned out the owner of a flooring company just across the street from Triptych Brewing in Savoy was looking to move to a larger location.  Triptych moved into the building in the spring of 2018 and put in a much larger brewing operation going from nano-brewery status to micro-brewery status with three 15-barrel brewing systems in an 8,000 square-foot space.  

I had finished up with one of my accounts in Champaign in the late afternoon and had checked into my hotel on the south side of Champaign.  A storm front was brewing in the western skies when I made the short trek down Neil Street into Savoy.  A quick turn to the right and another quick turn to the right, I found myself pulling into Triptych Brewing on Woodfield Drive.  (see map)  I got what was the last parking space in the lot next to the taproom.  (Additional parking is available across the street at the brewing facility after 5 p.m. and along Woodfield Drive.)  

I would have to say the decor at Triptych would be classified as modern industrial.  The open space had a lacquered concrete floor with a number of metal/wood-topped tables with mismatched chairs at both the high-tops and regular tables.  A flow chart of how they make the beer is depicted in a mural on the wall in the space, and an authentic shuffleboard table was being used by two guests next to the mural.

I ended up taking a seat at the bar and took a look at the beer menu on the wall behind the bar.  Triptych Brewing had nearly 20 beers, ales and ciders on tap that day including a guest cider from the Brick River Cider Company out of St. Louis.  They had a handful of fruit-based beers including the tart ale called "Hawaiian Shirts" that featured mango and passion fruit.  I'm usually a sucker for anything with passion fruit (a.k.a. lillikoi in Hawai'i), but that sounded too fruity for my taste.  They also had a low-alcohol Belgian-style beer, as well as a mild-English ale with a 3.5 ABV.  And they had a smoked lager on tap that they made in collaboration with Narrow Gauge Brewing Company, a craft brewery located in the the St. Louis suburb of Florissant, MO 

I was intrigued by a couple beers they had that day - the Wake Up, Nero; and the Indistinguishable from Magic.  Both were hazy double India Pale Ales and had similar alcohol content (7.9 and 8.0, respectively).  I liked the smoothness of the Wake Up, Nero a little better than the Indistinguishable from Magic, but both were very good.

But I was there to get a Dank Meme on tap.  One of the bartenders by the name of Joe introduced himself to me when I first sat down and he poured me a pint glass with a nice head of foam.  It had the wonderful hazy gold color that I've come accustomed to.  And it was just as smooth and had a nice citrus back-end that I really enjoy with the Dank Meme.  It's an easy drinking beer and I was able to easily polish off a pint before ordering a second one.  

I walked around the tap room as I enjoyed my second beer and noticed that there was a food truck setting up in front of the building along Woodfield Drive.  Triptych Brewing has La Paloma, a Mexican food truck specializing in street tacos, on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8 p.m.  But guessing by the gathering storm that looked like it could just start dumping rain at any minute, I figured they wouldn't be open much longer that evening.  I hurried up and finished my beer, then took off back to my hotel getting there just moments before it started blowing and raining heavily.  

I sent my friend a picture of the front Triptych Brewing after getting back to the hotel and he texted me back, "Jealous!" moments later.  Triptych Brewing is a great little brewery and I really enjoy their Dank Meme hazy IPA.  They have a number of interesting beers and their distribution reaches nearly all corners of Illinois.  If you find yourself in the Champaign area and are on the look-out for some very good craft beers, you need to take the short trek down to Savoy and give Triptych Brewing a try.  

 

 

Smoky's House BBQ - Savoy, IL

I was calling on a dealer in the Champaign area recently and afterward I decided to head to the Friar Tuck liquor store in nearby Savoy and do a little "beer hunting".  When I pulled up in front of the Friar Tuck located in the Savoy Plaza shopping center (see map), I noticed that there was a barbecue place next door - Smoky's House BBQ. After making my purchases in Friar Tuck, I took the beer out to my car to put it in the trunk.  I thought for a moment, "Hmmm... I AM kind of hungry and it IS close to dinner time..."  I decided to give Smoky's House a try that evening.  

Joe Evans is the owner of Smoky's House BBQ in Savoy.   He has a long resume in the restaurant industry in that part of Illinois - he was the General Manager for Hickory River Smokehouse in nearby Urbana for a number of years, then he became the G.M. of the Buffalo Wild Wings location in Savoy that just happens to be on the other side of Friar Tuck.  Evans and his wife opened the first Smoky's House BBQ in Charleston, IL, about 50 miles south of Champaign in April of 2011.  Feeling a need for a full menu barbecue place on the south side of Champaign/Urbana, the Evans' opened their second Smoky's House BBQ in July of 2013 in a spot that used to house a Thai restaurant.  (UPDATE - I got a message from Joe Evans who told me that he sold the Savoy location in 2014.  He still owns the location in Charleston, IL.)

I entered Smoky's House BBQ around 7 p.m. and there was a moderate crowd of people in the place.  The sign at the hostess stand said to take a seat anywhere and I found a booth toward the front corner of the restaurant.  Not long after I sat down, my server for the evening - Staci - came over with a menu.  I ordered up a beer and took a look through the menu.

All of Smoky's House BBQ's meats are smoked in-house and many of the side dishes are made from scratch.  The menu is very extensive with a number of appetizers (the "Cow Pattie" caught my eye - it consisted of jalapeños, cheese, black beans and sweet corn), salads, and smoked meat sandwiches including specialty sandwiches as a smoked turkey reuben and a pulled pork sandwich topped with Swiss cheese, grilled onions and a spicy ranch dressing and served on marble rye bread.  They also had burgers, smoked meat wraps, wings, and their variations on the Horseshoe sandwich - a staple of Central Illinois cuisine only made with smoked meats.   

For smoked meats, Smoky's House offers everything from baby back ribs, pulled pork, and brisket to smoked turkey, chicken and sausage.  Burnt ends are also available from time to time at the barbecue joint.  Smoky's also offers full catering for big and small events.  

I'm glad the menu was so large because it took me a long time to get through it.  But once I figured out what I was going to get, I noticed that Staci still hadn't brought my beer to me.  It turned out that she was the only waitress in the place that evening.  They needed - at least - one more server to work the crowd that was in there.  When she finally did get to me to give me my beer, she apologized.  "I'm the only one here tonight," she said.  "The other girl called in sick."  It was a minor inconvenience.  

I ordered up the sampler platter with sliced beef brisket and pulled pork.  For an extra $5 bucks I could get a sample of the pork ribs, so I ordered that, as well.  For sides, I had a number of choices and I ordered the pit beans and I started to order the vinegar and oil cole slaw.  But then I saw the au gratin potatoes.  Then I saw the steak fries.  For some reason I went with the steak fries.  

About 15 minutes after I ordered my food, a young man from the kitchen brought out my food.  Now, for just two meats and two sides for the sampler platter Smoky's charges $15.00.  To add some ribs to the sampler platter is an additional $5 bucks.  I looked at the plate and said to myself, "That's it? For $20 bucks?"  There were three small end bones from a rack of ribs, four small slices of brisket and probably 3 ounces of pulled pork on the plate.  I've had more food on sampler platters at other barbecue joints for a lot less money in my travels.  This was not a good value.  

And the ribs were pretty basic.  They were small, somewhat dry and short of meat off the bone.  They were far from the best ribs I've ever had.  The brisket tasted like basic roast beef.  There was no pizazz to the taste of the brisket.  The pulled pork was the best of the bunch.  It was moist and tender, and had a bit of a smoky taste to the meat.

To help things along, Smoky's House BBQ offered six made-in-house barbecue sauces to put onto the meat.  The first sauce I tried was the Memphis Sweet sauce.  It had a hint of a sweet smoky taste and was thick and rich.  It was pretty good.  

They had three sauces that had some kick to them - the Little Heat, Chipotle Mango and the Perfectly Hot.  The Chipotle Mango had a subtle chipotle taste that was tamped down by a nice fruit aftertaste.  But I think they got the Little Heat and the Perfectly Hot mixed up.  I thought the Little Heat had more of a spicy taste - especially on the back end - than the Perfectly Hot.  I mixed some of the Memphis Sweet with both the Perfectly Hot and Little Heat to try with my brisket and pulled pork.  All three were above average sauces.  

They also had two other sauces that I didn't care for.  One was a root beer-based barbecue sauce that was sweet and a little runny.  The other was a vinegar based sauce called the Hogwash that I put on some of the pulled pork to give it a try.  It was all right, but I don't care much for vinegar barbecue sauces.  

The steak fries came in handy to try some of the combinations of sauces that I came up with.  They had a crisp outer shell with sort of a spicy seasoning and a moist and flaky inside.  The beans had a heavy mustard base that I didn't care for at all.  Even adding some of the Little Heat and the Memphis Sweet sauce with the beans didn't help them.  

Other than being disappointed in the overall value of the meal, the barbecued meats I had at Smoky's House were average to just above average, at best.  Some of the sauces were good and Staci's service - even though she was overwhelmed at times since she was the only one working the dining area - was acceptable.  I'm sure some people like the barbecue at Smoky's House, but it's my opinion there are better places to get barbecue in the Champaign/Urbana area.  

Black Dog Smoke and Ale House - Urbana, IL

A place that has been on my culinary radar for a couple years has been Black Dog Smoke and Ale House, a barbecue joint located near the University of Illinois campus in downtown Urbana, IL.  I had a morning meeting with one of my dealers in twin city Champaign and decided to head over to Black Dog for an early lunch before I hit the road. 

Mike Cochran had been a bartender at the Esquire Lounge in Champaign since 1993.  One of the co-owners was a guy by the name of Pedro Heller.  Cochran got into smoking meats about three years later when he bought a small backyard water smoker.  He started to work some shifts in the kitchen at the Esquire, and once a week he made ribs to sell at the bar.  The ribs were an immediate hit.  

Cochran began to dream about one day owning his own barbecue place.  But for an area like Champaign/Urbana, there was no dearth of barbecue places.  The people in Chambana really like their barbecue.  Cochran knew that his barbecue joint would have to be different and he partnered with Heller with his plan to have his own style of barbecue in a restaurant that would serve craft beers from all over the Midwest.  In February 2009, Cochran and Heller opened Black Dog Smoke and Ale House in what was the former Tod and John's, a tavern that was popular with the locals.  The barbecue joint was named after Cochran's two black dogs, Lola and Oscar.  

Cochran was influenced by many different styles of barbecue - Memphis-style with the seasoned rubs, Carolina-style with pork and vinegar-based sauces, and the sweet and smoky Kansas City-style barbecue featuring burnt ends.  Cochran wasn't very big on adding sauces to his smoked meats, saying that the meat should stand on its own.  But they offer seven different types of barbecue sauce that can be served with the meats.  

Black Dog Smoke and Ale House is located on the corner of Walker and Broadway in downtown Urbana. (see map)  They share the parking lot on the north side of their building with Bunny's, another popular and long-time eatery in Urbana.  I could smell the wood smoke when I got out of my car.

It was just after 11:30 and they had been open since 11.  When I walked in, the place was already packed and there was a wait at the door.  A guy was manning the stand up front and he asked me how many there was in my party.  When I told him, "Just one," he looked toward the bar and asked me if I wanted to have a seat at the bar.  I had no problem with that whatsoever.

Black Dog is not a large place.  There are some tall tables up front and a row of booths along the wall opposite the bar.  The bar, itself, is an old ornate structure that looked like it had been made back in the 30's or 40's.

After I sat down, a personable bartender came up to greet me.  He said, "Welcome to Black Dogs.  We're out of burnt ends, catfish and ribs today.  I hope you didn't come for those."  

I said, "Already?  You guys are out of the ribs already?"

"We got some smoking right now," he explained. "We had a catering job that came up that left us short."  

But they still had pulled pork, brisket, smoked Polish sausage and smoked chicken available.  They also have smoked salmon available at times, as well as smoked duck on occasion.  Black Dog also features locally-raised grass-fed beef for their burgers, brisket burritos, Cuban sandwiches, vegetarian food items, as well as a slew of appetizers.  For a cold beer, I ordered up a Bell's Two Hearted Ale.  

They had a two meat platter on the menu that I ended up ordering.  I got a couple sides with it and I ordered the pit baked beans, but was sort of torn between a couple of other things.  The bartender said, "You can't go wrong with the spicy potato salad."  OK, I'll sign up for that. 

He asked me, "What kind of barbecue sauce do you want?"  I asked what he had and he started to rattle them off - Georgia Peach, Hot Georgia Peach, Milo's Mustard, Carolina Red...  I stopped him and asked if I could have a little bit of everything.  He said, "For a two buck upcharge, we have a sauce flight that we serve."  Sure!  You bet!

The pulled pork, brisket and sides were served on a deep metal tray with wax paper covering the bottom of the pan.  There was a healthy sized glob of pulled pork and about four or five slices of thick cut brisket.  The sides were good sized and looked interesting.  

 
The sauces were also served in a similar pan inside small plastic tubs.  In addition to the ones I named before, there was a Carolina vinegar sauce, a Texas barbecue sauce, and a chipotle sauce.  More on the sauces in a bit.

The pulled pork was moist and tender, and had a great smoky flavor.  The brisket was not quite as tender as I like, but it was still very good.  The rub on the bark of the brisket had a nice tangy appeal.  Both the pulled pork and the brisket were well above average.  

The pit beans, on their own, were good.  But I mixed some of the Hot Georgia Peach and the Texas BBQ sauces in with the beans and they got zipped up in taste pretty well.  But the highlight was the spicy potato salad.  The bartender didn't steer me wrong - it had a zippy and tangy taste.  There appeared to be hot peppers mixed in with the potato salad and it was some of the finest potato salad I've had.  I really wanted to get the recipe for it.  

The sauces were, well, interesting.  If you're a regular reader of Road Tips, you'll know that I'm big into the different barbecue sauces, going more toward the sweet and spicy sauces (sometimes having to mix both together to get the desired taste), and not too particularly fond of the mustard or vinegar based sauces.  Both the hot Georgia Peach and the regular Georgia Peach sauces were very good.  The hot Georgia Peach had the nice mixture of sweet and hot that I like.  It was just excellent.  

I thought the Texas BBQ sauce was a little bland, but I did like the chipotle sauce.  Mixed together, the combination was very good.  The Carolina red was a vinegar-tomato mix that was all right, but not my favorite.  And although I'm not fond of the mustard or near pure vinegar-style of sauces, I did try the Milo's Mustard (found it tangy, but a little sour to my taste buds), and the Carolina vinegar that was all right, but not my style of sauce.  It's definitely an acquired taste.  

For $12.95 for the two meat platter (a three meat platter is $17.95), plus $2.00 for the sauce flight, it was a lot of food for lunch.  And good food.  In 2013, Maxim magazine named Black Dog one of the top five hottest BBQ places in the United States.  It's not that they needed more accolades - they were doing fine well before getting the national recognition.  But in the fall of 2013, Cochran and Heller announced they would open a second - and larger - Black Dog Smoke and Ale House in an old railroad freight building in Champaign.  

I liked everything about Black Dog, save for the fact that they were out of ribs on my visit.  But the brisket and pulled pork were both very good, the sauces were, as I said, interesting, and they had a wonderful selection of craft beers from all around the Midwest.  Getting in early doesn't always guarantee a seat and they may be out of some meat.  But I'd go back to Black Dog Smoke and Ale House in a moment's notice.

Boneyard Barbecue - Champaign, IL

I had finished my morning meetings in Champaign on a recent visit there and I had contemplated stopping at The Burger Barge outside of Peoria for a burger on the way home.  The only problem is that by the time I would have gotten there it would have been close to 3 p.m., too late to enjoy a great burger if I was planning on eating with my wife later that evening.  I decided to go find a barbecue restaurant that I'd driven past on my way into Champaign the previous evening - Boneyard Barbecue.  I pulled in there around 1:30 and had missed the lunch rush. 

Boneyard Barbecue is located at 25 E. Springfield St. in what was the old Fireside restaurant.  (See map)  After a place called Rocks closed up in the summer of 2009, Anthony Donato teamed up with Eddie Geovanti's - owner of Geovanti's in Champaign - to open the Fireside, a contemporary bar and grill known for their wings, burgers and - for Springfield, IL natives - their own variation of the horseshoe sandwich.  

Donato eventually bought Eddie Geovanti out of both the Fireside and Geovanti's, but found that running both businesses was troublesome, considering he also ran a property and business management company on the side.  Enter George Dries.

Dries was the owner of BoBo's BBQ, which was basically a mobile food service that parked in lots around Champaign selling his Southern-style barbecue out of his food truck since 2008.  Bobo's was a popular destination for people in and around Champaign and he soon found that he needed a permanent place to sell his barbecue.  Donato was looking for a partner for the Fireside location and the two got together to change the bar and grill into Boneyard Barbecue in the fall of 2011.  

Dries and Donato updated the inside of the restaurant to make it more of a sports bar atmosphere that also sold burgers and sandwiches along with BoBo's barbecue specialties.  There is an outdoor patio (albeit along busy Springfield Ave.) and a large party room for private events.  The owners are also huge University of Illinois sports fans and the outside of the building is painted in the school colors of navy blue and orange.  Large "I's" for Illinois adorn the outside of the building.  For an Iowa Hawkeyes fan like me, it was a little galling to walk into the place.  

I took a seat along the north side of the rectangular bar with the windows looking out onto the patio behind me.  I was greeted by a bartender, Hannah, who was outgoing and chatty.  Rather chatty.  Actually, I noticed that with all the help at Boneyard Barbecue were chatty with their customers.  Not that there were a lot of customers in the place at that time of the day, but Hannah sure liked to talk.  

She gave me a menu to look through and, as always, when I go to a barbecue place that I'm not familiar with I like to go for a combination platter just to try a little bit of everything.  They had a handful of combinations - brisket and pulled pork, ribs and brisket, ribs and chicken, ribs and pulled pork.  Actually, what I really wanted was ribs, pulled pork and brisket.  I just decided to go with the brisket and pulled pork.  What was sort of interesting and rather peculiar was that you had to order your choice of barbecue sauce to go on the meat.  They didn't have sauce bottles or containers anywhere in the restaurant.  You had your choice of mild or hot, or a combination of the two.  I got mine with the combination.

Two sides came with the barbecue platter - I got baked beans and mac & cheese.  I had to pick between those two and fries, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet corn, cole slaw, sweet potato fries, cottage cheese or green beans.  

After about 10 minutes, Hannah came out with my barbecue combination.  The mac & cheese, I could tell, was going to be pedestrian, at best.  And it was.  And the baked beans weren't much better.  I should have asked her for some sauce on the side to help zip up the beans because they were pretty weak on taste.  And that was another minor quibble on my part - there was no extra sauce available in bottles or containers. 

The brisket was more of a pulled beef variety rather than sliced.  However, it was moist, tender and tasted good with the smoky and very sweet barbecue sauce that Boneyard Barbecue had to offer. I forked some of the excess sauce on the plate in with a bite of the baked beans and it helped the taste tremendously.  

The ribs featured four bones slathered in the barbecue sauce.  I really wish I would have gotten the sauce on the side when I got to the ribs because I could tell that they had a unique rub on the outside.  The ribs were very meaty, also moist and tender.  The sauce was a little overpowering for the taste of the rib meat.  It was also so sweet it was sticky.  One thing that Boneyard Barbecue needs to offer is wet naps or at least a warm wet towel to use while eating the ribs.  I had to go into the restroom and "squeegee" my face and hands off after I finished the meal.  

Hannah came over to me and asked, "How was it?"  I told her the truth - it was good.  I can't say it was outstanding barbecue, but it was good.  I've gotten spoiled on good barbecue in Kansas City and in Des Moines, two places that, I feel, has the best barbecue in the Midwest.  But Boneyard Barbecue acquitted themselves very well and would have stacked up against many barbecue places I've eaten at in the past.  If I do get a chance to go back I'll try the ribs dry or with sauce on the side.  I want to taste the meat on the ribs without the interference of the sauce.  Not that there is anything wrong with the sauce, but it did overpower the taste of the meat.  And I've found that if barbecue joints do that with their meat, they're trying to hide something.  

(Update - In a growing eclectic barbecue market in Champaign/Urbana, it appeared that Boneyard Barbecue couldn't keep up.  They are now closed.) 

El Toro Restaurante - Champaign, IL

I spent the night in Champaign, IL recently, in town for a morning meeting the next day.  It was one of those evenings where I really didn't know what I wanted for dinner.  Being on the road so much, I sometimes get burned out on restaurants and don't know exactly what I would like to eat on a given night.  I had thought about Indian or barbecue.  There was a steakhouse just down the street from my hotel.  I decided to get in the car and head north on Neil Street toward the downtown area.  I passed William St. and I noticed a restaurant with a lighted and festive looking outdoor patio.  It piqued my interest, so I went back around the block to see what it was.  It turned out it was a Mexican restaurant - El Toro Restaurante. (See map) I debated with myself for a few seconds trying to determine whether or not I wanted Mexican food or not.  Then I thought, "You know, a margarita would taste pretty good."  So I pulled into the parking lot on the west side of the building and went inside.

El Toro is a 10 restaurant family-owned regional chain with three locations in Champaign/Urbana, and five more Illinois locations in Rantoul, Bloomington, Monticello, Danville and St. Joseph.  They also have El Toro Bravo restaurants in Cincinnati, OH, and Walton, KY on the southern edge of the Cincinnati metro area.  The original restaurant is on W. Springfield Ave. in Champaign.  In 1998, Victor Fuentes and his uncle, Manuel, opened their first restaurant, originally called El Torero.  It was a small place, seating only about 100 people, tops.  The Fuentes were joined by Victor's brothers and sisters, his wife and other family members in the business.  

The Fuentes family opened their second location - called El Toro I - in Urbana in 2002.  A third location on S. Neil Street opened in 2004.  Their growth continued with the purchase of a Mexican restaurant in Springfield, IL (since closed) and opening the St. Joseph location in 2007.  They moved from the original location to a space that was two and a half times larger on W. Springfield early in 2007.  Victor and his brother, Sammy, are the main partners in the El Toro chain today.  

Business at the S. Neil St. location had also grown tremendously over the years.  They ended up moving in February of 2011 to a new location at the corner of William St. and S. Neil, closer to downtown.  Even though the restaurant faces William St. and the main entrance is from the parking lot behind the building, the restaurant location maintains a Neil St. address.   

It was around 7:30 when I got into the place.  I was met at the hostess stand by a pleasant young lady who asked me if I wanted to eat in the bar or in the dining room.  I took a look in the bar area, a very nice bar area that had high tables, high backed chairs, a nice bar with a couple televisions on the back wall.  

There are two dining rooms in this particular El Toro - the middle room off the bar area that is well-lit, and the front dining room that features a fireplace, wooden beams across the ceiling and full-size windows looking out onto the patio on the south side of the building.  Since it was still winter, the patio was closed, but strings of lights illuminated the outside of the place.  

The hostess sat me at a table in the middle room off the bar area and dropped off a menu with a small menu listing their specials they had that night.  My server for the evening, Alfredo - a pleasant 40-something man - came over to ask me what I wanted to drink.  I told him that I wanted a margarita on the rocks, no salt.  

As I waited for the margarita, I took a quick look through the menu at El Toro.  Now, I've said for a number of years that there has to be some sort of a Mexican restaurant godfather who comes up with the menu items for Mexican restaurants.  A number of them - like Azteca in the Quad Cities and El Maguey in the St. Louis area - all seemed to have the same combinations and under the same number.  El Toro was another cookie-cutter Mexican restaurant when it came to their menu.  Combination number 23 on the El Toro menu is a taco, chile relleno and a tostaguac - which, I believe - is the number 22 on the Azteca menu.  The number 1 on the El Toro menu - a taco, two enchiladas with rice and beans - is, I believe, number 1 on the El Maguey menu.  Nevertheless, it's all good in my book.  It's like going into a McDonald's and knowing that the number 4 value meal is the same everywhere.  

Alfredo came out with my margarita.  Chips and salsa had been placed on the table by another server moments earlier.  He wanted to know if I was ready to order.  Since the menu was similar to many other Mexican restaurants like El Toro, you'd think I'd have an idea as to what I wanted.  But I really didn't.  They had a lot of seafood specialties on the menu - I was leaning heavily toward the shrimp tacos.  But I was thinking of getting a chimichanga or maybe some fajitas.  I told Alfredo that I needed a little more time.  

The chips were fresh and warm and the salsa was pretty average.  It was very similar to the other cookie-cutter Mexican restaurants where I've eaten. The salsa wasn't bad at all, just similar to others.  

The margarita, I have to say, was outstanding.  The mix was not overly sweet or syrupy.  It had an adequate amount of tequila in the mix - at least enough where I could taste the booze.  I made short work of the margarita.  

I had picked up the specials list for the night and saw something on there call the "Fajita burrito" - a large burrito filled with fajita meat (your choice - chorizo, chicken or steak) with grilled onions and bell peppers, then guacamole is added.  It's folded and then topped with a melted Mexican cheese.  When Alfredo came back I ended up ordering the steak fajita burrito.  Even though the margarita was excellent, I decided for my next drink to get a bottle of Dos Equis Amber beer. 

My meal took a little longer to get out to me than normal for Mexican restaurants of El Toro's type.  I'm sure they were cooking everything up from scratch on the grill and then placing it inside the burrito.  It was a huge burrito that covered the majority of the large plate that it came on.  There were some herbs - probably cilantro - that were mixed in with the Mexican cheese sauce on top of the burrito. 

The burrito was packed with a lot of meat and veggies.  The steak fajita meat was good and flavorful.  It wasn't outstanding or it didn't knock my socks off.  But it was typical of this type of Mexican restaurant.  Good and serviceable.  That's all I'm looking for in a Mexican restaurant like this.  

I couldn't eat the whole thing, so I ended up picking most of the steak out of the center of the burrito.  I dipped the steak in the salsa a couple times to help zip up the taste and that was good.  I ate what I could and left a good portion of the large burrito on my plate.  Alfredo wanted to know if I wanted a box, but I declined.  It was all I needed.

The fajita burrito special at El Toro was a great value - $7.95 for that big thing.  My bar tab for the margarita and the Dos Equis Amber was higher than my food tab (like that's a surprise).  As I said, the burrito was good - not outstanding - but good Mexican-style comfort food.  The margarita was well above average.  At a place like El Toro you know you're going to get a pretty good meal at a pretty fair price.  I'm sure there are other options for Mexican food in Champaign, but considering I sort of came across El Toro as I was driving down the street I was happy that I found it.  The margarita, alone, is worth the trip to one of their locations.  That is, if they make them all the same - and I'm guessing they do. 

Big Mouth's - Champaign, IL

I stopped off to see a dealer in Champaign, IL on my way to Indianapolis recently.  It was late in the day and I offered to take one of the guys out for dinner.  He declined, saying that he had to go look at furniture with his wife.  He said, "Believe me, I'd rather go out with you."

Then he said, "Hey!  You're a big burger nut.  There's this place here in town that opened up last year called Big Mouth's.  You really ought to go check it out." 

Big Mouth's is a small Chicago-style hot dog place that happens to serve burgers, as well.  It began in November of 2006 in Normal, IL by two former Illinois State University students, Nick Lavorato (right) and Matt Martin.  They wanted to bring the taste of Chicago-style hot dogs and char-grilled burgers to Chicago area students going to college in downstate Illinois and across the Midwest.  They're looking to expand into Madison, WI and West Lafayette, IN in the coming months. 

The concept is pretty simple - they came up with a fun little place that caters to the daytime lunch crowd and to the late night partiers coming out of the bars.  Big Mouth's is open until 3 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings to accommodate the hungry bar patrons at closing time. 

They opened their second location in Champaign in the heart of the University of Illinois' Campustown area (see map).  They stuck with the same decor theme as the original location in Normal - orange walls, some picnic tables and regular chair and tables.  Big Mouth's doesn't serve beer, which is OK.  They also serve their Chicago-style dogs either char-grilled or steamed.  If I had to choose between the two, I'd still take a steamed Chicago dog over a grilled one. 

I got into the Big Mouth's in Champaign around 7:00 p.m.  It was a rainy evening and I was able to find some parking on the street around the block from the location.  The front door of the place was literally torn off and I didn't know it.  I grabbed for the handle and it fell into my shoulder.  OK, not a pleasant beginning for my first visit.  I asked one of the guys at the counter what was up with the door and he said, "Oh, man!  Is it broken again?  Well, we'll have to try to fix it." 

The menu is affixed to the wall and you order at the counter.  They call out your name for pick up when the order comes up.  But the names they've given their signature "Big Mouth Menu" items show that Lavorato and Martin have watched a lot of the same movies and television programs that I have over the years.

Their "Big Mouth Menu" includes the "Sonny Corleone" (James Caan's character from "The Godfather") which is two char-grilled Chicago dogs.  The "Al Czervic" (Rodney Dangerfield's character in "Caddyshack") which consists of two grilled Polish sausages.  The "Fred Sanford" (Redd Foxx's character from "Sanford and Son") that is a double cheeseburger.  The "Johnny Drama" (named after Kevin Dillon's character on HBO's "Entourage") which is a double chicken sandwich.  And there's the "Jackie Burkhart" (named after Mila Kunis' character on "That 70's Show") that's a double veggie burger.   Each Big Mouth Meal comes with an order of french fries, a 32 oz. pop and a fried Twinkie.  Now, I've never had a fried Twinkie, but I understand at 2:15 in the morning they're pretty tasty.

Big Mouth's in Champaign also had "The Farley", an homage to the late comedian Chris Farley that consists of two one-pound char-grilled hamburger patties topped with french fries, mayo, ketchup, mustard, pickles and onions.  Now, that would be interesting to see.

Even though the "Fred Sanford" was tempting, I just got the regular char-grilled cheeseburger and a pop.  I got grilled onions on it and passed on the mayo. 

Since I was the only one in the place at the time, I took a look around at some of the artwork on the walls.  I understand Lavorato and a friend of his went to great lengths to find some of the kitschy items they hung on the walls.

After about 15 minutes, I got my cheeseburger.  I have to say it was very good.  Very messy, but very good.  Unlike some cheddar cheese burgers I've gotten in the recent past, the cheese didn't overpower or detract from the taste of the burger.  The grilled onions also were very good.  I normally don't get grilled onions as they seem to give me heartburn, but these were a very tasty compliment to the burger.  And my stomach wasn't upset. 

While Big Mouth's may not be the best burger I've ever tried, it's a good one.  I may have to try a burger and a Chicago dog sometime when I'm really hungry in Normal or Champaign.  Their motto says it all "Big Meals for Big Mouths".  Unless you really try, you'll never leave Big Mouth's hungry.    

(Update - Big Mouth's closed in the summer of 2011.  I have no story as to what happened to the place, other than it closed.)

Farren's Pub and Eatery - Champaign, IL

I was in the mood for a beer and a burger while in Champaign, IL recently and I found a place called Farren's Pub and Eatery in downtown Champaign. 

Farren's is on Randolph Ave., a main street in Champaign (see map).  But it's sort of hard to find.  It's located back off the street and the only way you can find it is the small sign next to an alley way. 

 

Walk in and down a ramp, you find a small dining area and a nice little bar.  The kitchen area is just to the right behind the bar.  There weren't a lot of people in the place - it was 8 p.m. on a weeknight - and I cozied up to the bar. 

The menu is basic - they have sandwiches, appetizers and salads.  But their signature is their burgers.  They have just regular burgers and they have specialty burgers, such as the Green Chile burger (burger with jalapeno cheese and green chile sauce), the Motherload (mushrooms, blue cheese sauce, bacon) and the Russell (mushrooms, blue cheese sauce, jalapeno cheese - named after a guy named Russell who ordered it every day). 

I went with the Russell, but realized that I probably got the Motherload as it had bacon on it, but no cheese.  The burger meat is cut from a tube of ground beef they have shipped in to the restaurant each day.  The bartender told me that sometimes they cut the burgers a little too thick ("We lose some money on those") but mine was about 3/4" of an inch thick. 

It was a tad overcooked, but the bun made up for it.  Light and tasty, the bun was very good.  I'm a firm believer that a good bun makes or breaks a burger more often than not.

Farren's had a good beer selection of both domestic and export beers.  They had a number of good micro and regional brews listed, as well.  I went with a semi-warm Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  I know Sierra Nevada beer should be served a little warmer than most beers (about 45 to 50 degrees), but it was definitely warmer than that. 

The burger with some crispy handcut fries (they were OK, not the best I've ever had) was a little expensive - $8.95.  Add in three Sierra Nevada's and the bill with tip came to about $23.00.  A little on the high side for a burger with some beer, but it was good, nonetheless.

The burger at Farren's Pub and Eatery was very good and a spot hitter for me.  It's a place I'd recommend for a good burger in the Champaign area.   

Timpone's - Urbana, IL

Actually, Timpone's is not your usual pizza joint. It happens to be a very good Italian restaurant - so good that people from Chicago regularly drive down to eat there.

Timpone's is located right next to the University of Illinois campus in Urbana. If you didn't know it was there, you'd go right past it.

I've eaten at Timpone's three times. The first time I went, I took the guys from Glenn Poor's in Champaign there. One of the guys got a pizza. It looked great and smelled great. Stupid me, I went with the pasta. I don't quite remember what I had, but I do remember it was outstanding.

The second time I went there, I was tempted to get the pizza. But they had a seafood pasta special that evening and I'm a sucker for seafood pasta.

The third time, I met a rep buddy, Mark Petty, for dinner when I was traveling thru Champaign-Urbana on my way to Indianapolis. He said, "Have you ever tried the pizza here? It's outstanding!" I told him I'd been tempted in the past, but didn't pull the trigger. So we ordered a small one as an appetizer.

The pizza was - as Mark said - outstanding. The crust was light and crispy. The sauce was tangy, but not overpowering. The sausage chunks were perfect sized and lightly spicy. It was a great appetizer for two big guys who love food. In fact, it was so good, we ordered a second pizza for dinner.

Timpone's is kind of a dress up place, although I was in there in jeans one evening and they didn't seem to care. The pizza is just as good as their main entrees. If you want pasta, they've got great pasta. If you want pizza, it is outstanding.