Kitchen Witch

When you think of takeout, the options that usually come to mind are cartons of Chinese food, a pizza, or a bucket of fried chicken. Homemade eggplant Parmesan and stuffed artichokes probably aren’t the kind of dishes you usually pick up for dinner on the way home from work — but they should be. A […]

Cecil’s Bar and Grill is, as its name suggests, a neighborhood bar that serves basic food: burgers, appetizers, pizza. Like many similar establishments that serve a dual purpose, it offers customers a place to down a cold brew after work and also serves up lunch and late-night food — and does it well. The restaurant […]

Indigo Grill is a spinoff of the city’s popular west-siderestaurant Indigo, but it has a face all its own. There are signs that the two restaurants are related — extensive wine lists, creative menus, and large paintings of blue dogs dotting the walls of both establishments — but several differences are evident as well. The […]

Does your typical noontime meal consist of a burger grabbed from a drive-thru window or a boring sandwich eaten at your desk? If so, it’s time to try one of the many great places around town. Here are three of my favorites: Bentoh’s is at the top of my list for lunch, for several reasons: […]

The place is small, the menu simple. (You’ve got your burritos, nachos, soup, and salad). But that’s OK, because at El Presidente Burritos, it’s all good. The downtown corner eatery, which has been open since January, brings a bit of California cuisine to its brand of burrito. Co-owner/cook Tim Von De Bur has created six […]

Describing Augie’s Front Burner is no simple task. It’s not a high-concept restaurant offering tiny helpings of obscure foods: Augie’s serves generous portions of lamb, chicken, grouper, and filet mignon. This is not a basic “American food” place, either: The chicken breast is flavored with Dijon mustard and served with sweet-potato ravioli. The filet mignon […]

To me, “All you can eat” usually means “You won’t want to eat this stuff.” With the exception of elegant Sunday brunches, the places that promote overindulgence in trip after trip to the buffet offer food that just isn’t worth the effort. Buffet City proves that every rule has an exception. Located at 1774 Wabash […]

Having lunch at Incredibly Delicious is a test of willpower. You try to focus on the menu posted on the wall near the counter, telling you about the soup, salad and sandwich specials of the day. It shouldn’t be that difficult to order — there are just a few choices. How hard could it be? […]

Frankly, it’s hard to differentiate one Mexican restaurant from another. The basics — tortilla chips, tacos, and beans and rice — usually taste the same. Springfield boasts at least one notable exception, but it’s what La Mex doesn’t have that makes it special. First of all, there are no piñatas at La Mex. That’s right, […]

Lonzerotti’s Italia Restaurant is best known for two signature items: salad dressing and breadsticks. OK, you may be asking, just how special can a simple salad and stick of bread be? Very special, if the two items in question are the sweet Italian dressing and lighter-than-air rolls served in this renovated circa-1910 train station near […]

St. Patrick’s Day can be celebrated by donning a “Kiss me, I’m Irish” pin, watching the downtown parade and eating some cooked cabbage washed down with green beer. That may be fun for some, but others know March 17 is the day when slow-roasted corned beef, colcannon (mashed potatoes and cabbage), and homemade Irish soda […]

A few years ago, Springfield chef Stephane Perrin considered moving back to his native Normandy, France. Lucky for us, he decided to stay. After moving to the United States, Perrin worked in restaurants in Champaign and Galena before arriving in Springfield 10 years ago. After stints at the Illinois Country Club, the Sangamo Club and […]