By my count, there are 421 restaurants in the greater Springfield, IL area, though a few of them may have closed while I was counting.  Here are four of my favorites.

Little Saigon

Just about every town has some kind of Chinese restaurant, either a buffet or a hole in the wall carryout place.  Some are better than others, but they all pretty much taste the same.

I have found that Thai and Vietnamese food is much more interesting.  One of the best places to get it around here is Little Saigon on Wabash.  It’s not fancy, but oh is it delicious!

One of my favorite drinks to cool off with in the summer is a Thai Iced Tea ($4.95).  Imagine a sweet tea with condensed milk added and you’re getting the idea.  They also have 20 different flavors of freezes (also $4.95), which you can get with black pearl tapioca at no extra charge.

Their menu has a wide variety of Thai and Vietnamese dishes, plus a few Chinese standards for the somewhat less adventurous.  The Crab Rangoon appetizer is some of the best around.

Little Saigon has 11 different soups, including variations Hu Tieu (a clear bean noodle), Mi (egg noodle) and Pho (rice noodle).  If you really want an authentic pho experience, try the Pho Saigon ($9.95).  The roast beef, meatballs, onions and cilantro are recognizable enough, but there are other cow parts involved that I could not quite identify.  Definitely an Andrew Zimmern moment for a Midwestern white guy such as myself.

via GIPHY

Let me pause for a moment and address the word “authentic.”  I’ve never been to Vietnam.  Or Thailand.  Or India (more on that in a minute).  I really have no way of knowing if the pho I’m eating in Springfield, IL tastes the same as what you would find the locals eating in Southeast Asia.  So when I say “authentic,” I am judging by how many people eating in the restaurant look like the people working in the restaurant.  Or if they are speaking a language native to the ethnicity of the food being served.  If it’s home cooking to them, then as far as I am concerned, it’s authentic.

Now back to this menu.  As is common in East Asian restaurants, some of the entrees have a picture of a chile next to them, indicating that these are spicy dishes.  Some Thai and Vietnamese restaurants are known for really cranking up the heat.  Little Saigon is not one of those.  Depending on who’s in the kitchen, you might get a little more curry on some days than others, but there’s nothing really outlandish.  You can always ask them to dial it down too.  They will make any dish just the way you want it.

Gateway to India

I have been a fan of Indian food for quite some time.  I like to try things that are different, and from my point of view, Indian is about as different as it gets.  The colors, fragrances and spice combinations are unlike anything else I have ever encountered.

I have yet to meet an Indian restaurant that I haven’t liked (St. Louis has some REALLY good ones), but the one that started it all for me is Gateway to India on Chatham Road just south of Wabash.

I must confess; I have never actually ordered off the menu here.  The first time I came was for the Sunday lunch buffet, so I could try a little bit of everything.  And that’s all I’ve ever done since.  I guess I just don’t want to limit myself to one thing.

Before I even get to the food, I want to mention the service.  My wife and I eat out a lot (probably more than we should).  As a result, there are several places in the area where we definitely qualify as regulars.  There’s just something about being known in a place when you walk in.  It makes a restaurant feel like an extension of your home, or at least the home of a family member you enjoy visiting.  I love that.  My wife is sick of hearing me say how much I love that.

So how cool is it then, when you can walk into a place where the people look nothing like you, have a different primary language, cook food that’s like nothing anyone in your family tree would have ever made, and you STILL feel like you’re at your sister’s place?  Where they know your drink order, and your favorite table?  Where they notice if one of your family members didn’t come this time, and ask how they’re doing?  Where they know what your favorite menu item is, and make it special for you if it’s not on the buffet that day—before you even ask—even if it’s been two months since you were there last?

That’s what we get at Gateway to India.  Every single time.  The Patel’s absolutely spoil us.  It’s the best!

So what’s good at Gateway?  Honestly, I recommend you go for a lunch buffet and just try everything.  This cuisine, as I said, is so different from anything else you’ll eat, that you probably ought to sample until you find something you like.

Some of this food can get really spicy though (again, it depends on who’s in the kitchen that day).  So if hot is not your thing, here are some relatively safe bets:

• Naan—a buttery, fried bread, kind of like a pita. This goes with everything.  In fact, I have seen several Indian customers use it as a utensil.  It’s certainly good for mopping up sauces.
• Tandoori Chicken—smoky leg quarters cooked with onions and peppers and gosh knows what else. Very craveable.
• Vegetable Korma—a vegetarian dish in a bright yellow sauce. I think coconut milk is involved.  Quite mild.
• Chicken Makhani—this one can scooch up to medium heat some days, but it’s a good entry-level Indian dish. The red sauce has a creamy, nutty flavor.  People I have taken to Gateway that weren’t fans overall usually still like this.

Pie’s the Limit

Pie’s the Limit has an absolutely genius concept.  They take the build-your-own system used by sandwich shops and fast-casual Mexican restaurants like Chipotle and Qdoba and apply it to pizza.  For $8.99, you can custom design your own 11-inch pizza with ANY combination of seven sauces, eight cheeses, nine meats and/or 16 veggies.  Anything you want, and as much of it as you want for the same price.  The Pie’s the Limit!  (See what they did there?)

Our go-to used to be the one on Freedom Drive off of Lindbergh because it was the closest to us.  However, this location has unfortunately become a COVID casualty.  There is another location closer to downtown on MacArthur, and now there’s even one in Champaign!

With a 750-degree revolving deck oven, your pizza is usually ready in about five minutes.  They stay busy, but they also move things along.  There’s usually a fairly steady stream of people coming in, but I’ve never had to wait for a table.

It’s hard to make specific recommendations in a place like this, since you are essentially designing your meal yourself.  I’m not even about to try to do the math to figure out how many potential combinations of ingredients there are.  Suffice it to say you’ll never run out of options.  Here are a few we’ve tried:

Bella Milano

A lot of people think that because I’m Italian on my mother’s side that I would be an Italian food snob.  That’s actually not the case.  I’ll eat at Olive Garden.  Or the Spaghetti Shop.  Or a Lean Cuisine chicken Alfredo fresh out the microwave.  I don’t care.  With my family background, Italian food isn’t ethnic to me.  It’s just food.

That having been said though, I really do appreciate places that do it well.  Around these parts, the legendary place to go for Italian food is The Hill in St. Louis, a small neighborhood that was settled by northern Italians in the late 19th century and stayed that way.  Lots of family-owned restaurants on The Hill, from casual to fine dining, but they all have a certain distinct flavor that is immediately recognizable to anyone who has ever been there.

One of the best tastes reminiscent of The Hill in Springfield is Bella Milano on far West Wabash.  They started about 15 years ago in Edwardsville, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi.  From the toasted ravioli to the Milano salad with provel cheese and crispy prosciutto, Bella Milano definitely brings the St. Louis vibe to Springfield.

At Bella Milano, you can go family style starting at $35 with a salad for four and two pizzas or entrees to share.  Or you can order off the menu.  There’s always a special or three as well, so make sure to ask about that.

LRF Pro tip—the dinner prices are significantly higher than the lunch prices.  HOWEVER, if you go to lunch on Sunday, you get the lunch price, not the dinner price as is common in most establishments.  Needless to say, we go on Sunday a lot.  Going tomorrow in fact.

Lots to enjoy on this menu.  I recommend just about anything labeled as Bella Signature, particularly the Tortellini, the Spaghetti Carbonara and the Pasta Three Way (pictured below).

Hungry yet?  My work here is done.  Now go GETCHA SOME!