<![CDATA[Illinois Times - Best of 2008]]> <![CDATA[This and That]]> Best Green-Friendly Business Food Fantasies 1512 W. Wabash Ave. www.foodfantasies.com If you've ever "fantasized" about free-range turkeys and locally harvested tomatoes, you may not be su]]> <![CDATA[Best of Food & Drink]]> Best Chips and Salsa Xochimilco 2941 W. Iles Ave., 546-3116; 3210 Northfield Dr., 544-9206; 6901 Preston Dr., 483-1006 You can tell a lot about a Mexican restaurant by its chips. If they’re]]> <![CDATA[Best of People]]> Best school crossing guard Rosemary Thomas She starts her mornings as crossing guard at St. Aloysius school, then by 8:30 she’s on the job at Ridgely elementary. She’s back again at both ]]> <![CDATA[Best place for a fast cheap lunch]]> In a hurry and pinching pennies? Our readers didn’t deliver one clear winner so we decided to feature the top five vote getters. Here’s the skinny on some of your options for fast, cheap m]]> <![CDATA[Best of Arts and Entertainment]]> Best Original Band Best Local Band Likely to Make it Big The Station Over 10 years of constant touring across the U.S. took The Station a long way from its humble beginnings in Chatham, Ill]]> <![CDATA[Best small town resturant outside of Springfield]]> Rather than name a winner in this out-of-town eatery category we thought it would be far more fun to challenge readers to eat their way around central Illinois. In alphabetical order here are nine ea]]> <![CDATA[Best of Recreation and Fitness]]> Best gym for weight training Fit Club all locations www.fitclub.net Though it’s not obvious to a casual observer, it’s true that weight training burns more calories when the muscles a]]> <![CDATA[The Making of the Best of Springfield]]> When we started working on this Best of Springfield edition many weeks ago, the world was a calmer place than it is today. Given the general craziness we’re all experiencing as Wall Street and M]]>