Smile Politely. Speak Directly. A Champaign-Urbana Culture Blog

Howard Lyman at the Holy Land Diner, Springfield, Ill.
Friday, April 25

At Springfield’s Holy Land Diner, the Springfield Vegetarian Association hosted a talk by the “Mad Cowboy”— reformed cattle rancher, outspoken vegan, activist and author Howard Lyman. The restaurant provided an excellent vegetarian, all-you-can-eat buffet.

Cristy: At $8.50 a person — which included the food, drinks, dessert and tips — the buffet couldn’t be beat. A capital city institution, the Holy Land Diner serves traditional Middle Eastern fare, including mouth-watering falafel, fava-bean salad, garlicky hummus and chickpea-battered cauliflower. Many of the guests also took advantage of the soft-serve ice cream, which was hilarious given the vegan message of Howard Lyman’s lecture.

Cupcakes, among life's extravagances, are now available to regularly indulge in at Cakes on Walnut, a cupcake shop at 114 N. Walnut open for business today (April 22) at 7 a.m.

Vanilla, chocolate, classic yellow, red velvet, salted caramel, green tea and strawberry balsamic are the cupcake flavors featured on the shop's opening menu, which will rotate from time to time, according to
owners (and sisters) Trisha Bates and Amanda Bates.

During winter, while the music scene pondered the decision by Nieto Enterprises to stop scale back live music at Cowboy Monkey in favor of a more "restaurant-oriented" focus, a lot of people all asked the same question: What is going to be on this new menu?

Well, look no further than Smile Politely, as per usual.

How does it stack up? You be the judge...

Click on the image to see it in full. And then, tell us your thoughts.

If you're in the mood for Mexican food, there are numerous choices around town. But do you ever wonder why the customers at these restaurants are all American and the only Mexicans you see are the ones serving you? So where do Mexicans like to eat when they go out? Apparently they like to gather at at El Charro, a little taco joint and grocery store on Green Street that makes no attempt to cater to American tastes.

There is something uniquely charming about taking a long drive to go out to eat. After all, most dining out experiences in these towns involve simply settling for second best: grab hold of what strikes you immediately, look at your array of choices in town and get a table. Sigh.

I’ll be the first to state it clearly: these towns really fail me in terms of offering up a good selection of places to eat out. I mean, not just kind of, but pretty much across the board. In fact, there are only four restaurants that honestly excite me in Champaign-Urbana. That's not saying much for towns like these and I am not even really a food snob.

So, that said, the drive to Gibson City to take in a meal at Bayern Stube, an authentic German restaurant that translates literally to "Bavarian living room," was filled with a certain anxiety. I have become accustomed to disappointing experiences when dining out ‘round these parts, so my expectations were light, to put it mildly.

Snuggled into a storefront under a newly constructed apartment complex on Race and Water streets, a new — albeit small — sign recently emerged on the doors to a previously unoccupied location proclaiming a new business moniker, The Morning Cup & More. Cup-of-what? Our guess is joe — a guess arrived at not with any help from the scientific method, but rather a clue on the sign detailing a cute little coffee cup bouncing atop a vine. "Coming soon" is the promise. The location sits just a half block from Courier Café, a locally owned full service breakfast, lunch and dinner institution. Look for more information about the new-cafe-on-the-block soon at Smile Politely.

Photo by Justine Bursoni

On a recent trip to Boston, I made the mistake of trying the clam chowder at a so-called "seafood" restaurant. The flavor was bland and the consistency milky. Maybe that's what they like, but I prefer my chowder hearty. So upon my return, I decided to do my own version.

Traditional chowder recipes call for roux, the French version of a thickener made with butter and flour. I prefer to let the potatoes do the thickening for me. By cooking some of the potatoes a little longer than others, they begin to melt and act as the thickener.

Sure, I could use fresh clams, but why?

My love for Esquire took about three years to develop, but it is a strong and enduring love.

Looking back, it seems incredible that I didn’t give Esquire a chance sooner. Centrally located in downtown Champaign, the recently expanded bar sits between some of my favorite places including Mike n' Molly’s the Brass Rail. The Blind Pig is also just down the street.

But, we all have our prejudices. Mine include crowded pool tables, people in matching bar-crawl shirts, the same REM and Tom Petty songs on the jukebox, and peanut shells on the floors, tables, and as far as the eye can see. I also tend to not eat at bars serving primarily as drinking establishments, unless I have no other options.

You've probably devoured a book before.

But, never like this.

The Champaign-Urbana Edible Book Festival commences today, inviting bibliophiles and culinarians alike to taste literary delights. Last year, the competition featured entries such as the second place winner "The Rosetta Scone" by Eleanore Stasheff and an honorable mention baked good dubbed "Twelve Angry Gingerbread Men" from Eric Harbeson. Other entries included Rebecca Griftner's turn on the popular Nick Hornby novel; her creation called "Pie Fidelity" depicts a telephone (with cord running out of a pie).