Hy-Vee is a Midwestern grocery store chain that operates some 240 stores in eight states, including here in Springfield, IL. It has become a retail anchor here, bringing 24-hour shopping into a part of town that had been going downhill fast. I’m glad they’re here. Full disclosure: although Hy-Vee appears to be an excellent grocery store, I don’t shop there, strictly because of location. I live two towns over, so it just isn’t convenient for me.
What I DO go to Hy-Vee for is the Market Grille, a restaurant attached to the store. Specifically on Sundays and Mondays.
Sunday Brunch
It is a long-standing tradition with my family that we will go out for one big meal after church. Then we won’t eat for the rest of the day. A good brunch buffet accomplishes this goal quite nicely. Hy-Vee Market Grille has a brunch buffet that will make your jaw drop. It cost $17.99 a person last I checked (add $1.99 for drink), so it’s not cheap. (Pro tip–look for coupons in the Sunday newspaper). But when you realize what you’re getting for your money, you don’t mind so much.
In the main restaurant area, you see what you would expect to see at a decent brunch buffet. Breakfast foods, a carving station, smoked salmon and cocktail shrimp, a lunch entree or two with some interesting variation on potatoes, a dessert table, and a sampling of cheese and/or sushi. Not bad. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Walk out through the sliding glass doors into the main store area and prepare to be amazed. There is a good-sized salad bar out there and a deli with several stations where shoppers frequently get meals to go. Most of that stuff is included in the buffet as well! You can get asian entrees, pizza, BBQ, all kinds of sides, even the huge desserts that you’ll need help finishing. All included. The “outside” part of the buffet is also available during the week, I believe for $14.99.
Monday Night Specials
Now on Monday night, the draw for me is trivia. I have a lint trap for a brain. What I mean is that I frequently forget important things, but the most useless information just gets stuck in my head and won’t leave. I greatly enjoy putting this otherwise impractical skill to good use in an environment of friendly competition.
Trivia Workshop, a local organization that runs various trivia events, has a traveling show called Pub Quiz, whereby they do a trivia contest on Monday through Thursday evening in a weekly rotating location. Since these are typically slower nights for these establishments, the trivia is a draw for a certain segment of the population, to which I happen to belong. Hy-Vee’s starts at 7:30 on Mondays. The place gets packed though, so you need to be there at least an hour early to get a seat. Of course, while you’re there and waiting, you’ll probably get something to eat and/or drink. That’s kind of the point.
Hy-Vee Market Grille sweetens the deal on Monday night with a burger and tap special. It is a point of some contention who has the best burgers in Springfield, but these folks are definitely near the top of the list. They switch up the menu a fair amount, but a perennial favorite is the Mac-n-Cheese Burger. Served open-faced on sourdough bread (because there’s no way you could pick this thing up without wearing it), this half-pound burger is covered in white cheddar mac and cheese, then finished with some bacon bits and toasted panko bread crumbs. It sells for $12, but on Monday night, the second one is half price!
Need something to wash it down? (That’s not really a question.) Hy-vee Market Grille has an ever-changing array of craft beers on tap. They’re half price on Monday night too.
As good as the burgers are, and as good as the deal on them is on Monday night, sometimes I’m craving something else. My favorite dish at Hy-Vee Market Grille is the BBQ Bacon Fried Rice (pictured above with an Old Bakery Porter, brewed in Alton, IL). It’s exactly what it sounds like. Although one does not normally think of either BBQ or bacon when thinking of a Thai-inspired fried rice dish, after you try this, you won’t be able to unthink it. This dish sells for $13, the beer for $6 (but only $3 on Monday night!).
Now as I said before, I don’t do my normal shopping at Hy-Vee because of the location, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t ever. Do any of you shop there? If so, what’s the main draw for you?