Category > Restaurant & Bar Reviews
Back on Election Day, I was able to celebrate Barack Obama’s win with some choice brews from Magic Hat Brewing Company, an eccentric brewery located in Vermont. Their beers are flavorful and creative, although I liked some more than others. In that review, I tasted their #9 Pale Ale, Circus Boy Hefeweizen, Jinx Strong Ale, and Participation Lager. My feelings were mixed, but the Jinx and #9 received good marks. Magic Hat has decided Smile Politely should have a …
When we’re in the mood for Thai, we always seem to end up at Thara Thai. Champaign-Urbana certainly has no shortage of Thai restaurants for us to choose from. Basil Thai may be cheaper, Nitaya Thai may have better atmosphere and Siam Terrace may be very popular, but we believe Thara Thai has the best food, hands down. This very friendly family-owned joint might be located a little off the beaten path on Bloomington Road, but it’s well worth …
Trust me: you can’t generally get authentic Lebanese food in any American city, let alone any Midwestern college town. So it warrants a visit or two to downtown Champaign, where on Thursday and Friday evenings it is offered up fresh at Sam’s Café. Though the menu is more limited than, say, Zorbas, the food is more flavorful and “traditional” (to a, uh, cultural tradition outside the United States) … and they even have Baklava.
A regular carry-out customer at Bombay Grill on campus, I was curious to check out Bombay’s second location, the much larger space on First St. that formerly housed Basmati Indian restaurant. While the food was good and service excellent, I never found the value very good at Basmati; I wondered if Bombay intended to raise their Green St. prices, and how they could draw in more folks than did Basmati — which was rarely full in my experience — …
During the spring and summer of this last year, I made a habit out of enjoying the dollar sushi at Ko-Fusion, inviting friends along with me, and even defending the slow service and roll variety as par for the course in dollar sushi nights. After about twenty recommendations, I decided to try somewhere else, however, eventually making my way one block west on Church Street to actual Japanese restaurant Sushi Kame. My friends’ rave reviews were justified, and I …
With my wedding just 16 days away, and a burning yet misdirected need to somehow shave off as many pounds as possible, my mind has been on one thing and one thing alone come dinner time: chicken. The fried kind. We’re fortunate to live in a community that serves up some great choices if you’re willing to get your ass on the treadmill the next day, and so I present to you my Top 3 Places to Eat a …
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 …
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, …
I admit it: I am an addict for Chinese take-out. For a while, I thought that there were three Chinese restaurants in town that were owned by the same person. After all, they had the same menu — with the red typeface — and the exact same listings. The prices varied, but not by much more than a few cents on certain items. Then, I learned these menus were something that Chinese restaurants can choose to purchase, and the …
Sometimes my friends and I try to expand our horizons beyond the usual haunts, downtown bars and fine dining options. Sometimes we’re delighted by our experimenting, and other times, regretful. Twice in the last few weeks I’ve visited Farren’s, an ever-so-slightly upscale restaurant and pub behind Nitaya Thai at Church and Hill streets. People love Farren’s for the burgers, including The Russell, which comes loaded with mushrooms, bacon, blue cheese sauce and jalapeno cheese. The Green Chili Cheeseburger, which …
Most Recent Food Comments
it’s quite choice. looking forward to seeing how it and its patronage grow and develop over the course of the year. could be a neat little ecosystem.
“It was at this point, before he started his business, that working with city employees should’ve raised red flags…” But they didn’t because: 1) The City Clerk’s office originally mis-interpreted the rules, or are indeed re-interpreting them. 2) Champaign’s brick-n-mortar merchants hadn’t yet started whining about The Crave Truck.
Looking forward to trying this place!
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
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Most Recent Comments
High-profile whining. AKA Lobbying.
it’s quite choice. looking forward to seeing how it and its patronage grow and develop over the course of the year. could be a neat little ecosystem.
“It was at this point, before he started his business, that working with city employees should’ve raised red flags…” But they didn’t because: 1) The City Clerk’s office originally mis-interpreted the rules, or are indeed re-interpreting them. 2) Champaign’s brick-n-mortar merchants hadn’t yet started whining about The Crave Truck.
Super cool! Excellent track, Excellent band.
Looking forward to trying this place!
I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.
Get yours early. The Rave’s CD will be available at Exile and at The C-U Flea on Saturday. C-U Flea details here: http://www.smilepolitely.com/news/sp_radio_podcast_c-u_flea_arrives/
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
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High-profile whining. AKA Lobbying.