Sometimes when I go out for a bite to eat, I will find myself in a place that has a lot more history than I realized. Maybe it’s because I am traveling to a new place and had no way of knowing about the restaurant and its history, or maybe it’s somewhere nearby that I just never got around to going to, and then I wonder what took me so long.
Whatever the reason, here are five places I have been recently where the story behind the establishment is at least as compelling as the meal I had there.
McLintock’s Saloon and Steakhouse—Standard City, IL
UPDATE: This restaurant has closed.
Quite possibly the most intriguing thing about McLintock’s is how absolutely out in the boonies it is. It’s just outside of Standard City, which is a “suburb” of Nilwood, which is near Girard, which has a population of 2200. So we’re talking “go to the middle of nowhere and take a left.”
But those who know about it swear it’s worth the drive, and the occasional wrong turn. And a lot of people know about it, so if you’re wanting a seat is this rustic former seed barn, better call ahead.
Some highlights on the menu are the ribeye horseshoe for $12.75 and a 10-ounce bacon-wrapped filet with breaded shrimp for $22.59. For those who like chicken parts, like my dad, this is the only restaurant I can remember going to where you can get chicken hearts, gizzards, or livers as your main meal. They serve a full pound of them for $9.99.
For those who prefer the more standard chicken parts, I recommend the McLintock Cluck.
Dew Chilli Parlor—Springfield, IL
OK, let’s establish something right up front. Yes, it is tripping my linguistic OCD meter that Springfield spells “chilli” with two L’s. Why do they do that?
Well, I don’t know why it started, but I have a good idea when. Chilli (I’m going to spell it c-h-i-l-l-i for the sake of this article, then I will never mention it again) has been a big deal in Springfield for well over a century. Although many prepared chili producers were spelling it that way as early as the 1890’s, the Dew Chilli Parlor officially made it a thing when they opened in 1909.
65 years later, Illinois Governor Dan Walker made a special proclamation to 88-year-old co-founder Joe Bockelmann, declaring “Two-Ls-in-Chilli Day.”
Later in 1993, Illinois State Senator (and eventual mayor of Springfield) Karen Hasara introduced a resolution proclaiming Illinois as the Chilli Capital of the Civilized World and officially recognizing the spelling as CHILLI.
The Dew Chilli Parlor closed its doors in 1995, but was revived in 2013 when Mark Roberts, III purchased the original recipe, which is so secret that it’s said to be split in half and stored in two separate bank vaults!
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The flavor is certainly unique. It’s rich and smoky, but not spicy or harsh. The original recipe, re-established by new owners John Leskovisek and Mike Monseur, also does not contain beans, though you can request them. You can also ask for heavy or light suet (Springfield chilli is known for its grease). It’s good on tamales…
…or a hot dog.
A newer menu item is the DeWay, in which you choose a base of spaghetti, mac & cheese, green beans or a baked potato and top it with various combinations of chilli, beans, cheese, etc.
Whirl-a-Whip—Girard, IL
It’s springtime here in the 217. That means Whirl-a-Whip’s open.
One of my favorite things about the weather warming up is eating outside. And after this 5-month-plus winter we had here, I am more than ready to grab the wife and the puppadog and head down Route 66 (actually IL Route 4 now) to Girard and get some of this deliciousness.
Whirl-a-Whip dates back to 1957. It closed briefly a few years ago, but has been up and running again since 2013. As you can guess by the sign, they are known primarily as an ice cream place. They still use the vintage Whirl-a-Whip ice cream machine that whips each order individually.
They have about 50 flavors of ice cream, but these are a tad unconventional. For example, when I see the word “chip” in an ice cream flavor, I am thinking of chocolate chips, or whatever flavor of semi-sweet morsel it might happen to be. “Chip” means something different at Whirl-a-Whip though. It’s more like crushed up pieces of hard candy. It’s good if you’re expecting it, but it can make drinking a milkshake a bit of a challenge.
Now most old-timey, home-towny walk-up ice cream places like this are all about the ice cream, and they may have a few food items as well. That’s not how it is at Whirl-a-Whip. The food here is better than any fast food you will find in the area, and cheaper than any sit-down restaurant. The menu is large, and I haven’t found anything on it yet that isn’t awesome.
Regular readers of LRF know that two of my favorite things are Cajun food and horseshoes. Put those together, and you get this.
The Cajun seasoning is excellent, full of flavor, not just heat. They’ll even sell you a bottle of it! Their cheese sauce is fantastic too. Even when I’m not getting a shoe though, I almost always order a side of Cajun fries.
Side note: aside from horseshoes, a Philly Cheese Steak is my go-to for evaluating a new pub or restaurant. I have had many, but the reason I haven’t done a feature on them yet is because I’ve never been to Philadelphia to have a real one. #bucketlist.
Some other favorites of ours at Whirl-a-Whip are the Okie Chicken (with sweet sauce, American and Swiss cheese, grilled onions and bacon) and the deep fried soft tacos. Everything’s made to order and comes out hot and fresh.
The Berghoff—Chicago, IL
Family-owned restaurants are great, but when you can find one that has been in the same family for five generations since 1898? That’s a treasure.
German immigrant Herman Berghoff had great success selling his beer at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.
Five years later, he opened a bar selling beers for a nickel with a free sandwich on the side. (Man, THOSE were the days!)
In 1919, Prohibition forced many bars out of business, but Herman rolled with the punches. He produced a “near-beer,” which was legal at less than 0.5% alcohol. He also introduced a line of soda pops (Berghoff root beer is still quite popular to this day, and for good reason!) and expanded into a full-service German restaurant.
When Prohibition ended, Herman procured the first liquor license issued by the City of Chicago, and the bar was back in business. It is now a yearly tradition in Chicago that the Berghoff gets the first liquor license.
Not only the management, but some of the staff are also multi-generational, some having worked there for decades. The multi-generational tradition even extends to my own family. My mother used to eat there when she got her first job at Montgomery Ward’s downtown back in the Sixties. And I introduced my daughter, Kimberly, to it when we went to see Hamilton in Chicago last year.
You’ll want to come hungry and take your time at the Berghoff. Reservations are recommended, but we got in at 5:30 on a Wednesday night with no trouble at all.
Whatever you end up ordering, you’ll want to start with a Bavarian Pretzel. Just one you ask? Well, they’re kind of big…
Moving on to the entrees…
Do your best to save room for dessert, or else, get yourself a Berghoff Root Beer float for $5.00.
Old South BBQ—Smyrna, GA
We found this one when we were moving my middle son, Greg, down to Florida. That’s too far to drive in one hit from the cornfields of Central Illinois, so we stopped for the night in Atlanta.
Old South BBQ is another family-owned and operated establishment (are you noticing a pattern here?). Jim and Helen Llewallyn converted a single-family home into the restaurant back in 1968. Jim built the tables and booths himself, and they are still in use today. Old South is the oldest restaurant in the booming ATL suburb of Smyrna.
One thing I love about a place like this is how even if it’s your first time visiting, the employees have been around so long that there’s a certain comfort level established that makes you feel at home. And if the southern hospitality doesn’t get you, the food will!
Something I really appreciate about BBQ joints is the Combo Plate. Decision-making is not my best thing, so it helps me to be able to make one less choice. Plus, MORE FOOD! My experience with combo plates in the South though is that you want to limit it to two meats, unless you are superhuman. With the size of the portions down here, a 3-meat combo would be the death of most Yankees.
There are other meats on the menu, but if I get back down to Atlanta, I’d probably order exactly the same meal, because it was perfection. Even if I didn’t, though, I would definitely get this for dessert.
This is one of the best slices of pie I have ever eaten. Even as good as their smoked piggy is, I would go back to Old South just for this pie. I think a road trip may be in my future.
Don’t know about you, but I’ve made myself hungry with all this. So go out and GETCHA SOME! I’m sure going to.