Best of Springfield

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 surprised to learn our readers’ choice for Best Green Business, Food Fantasies, began as as a gourmet food specialty shop in 1989. The founder still works at the Wabash store. […]

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 greasy, you can bet your chile relleno will be drowning in grasa. If they’re sparse, you’ll have to tackle a waiter to get […]

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 mid-day dining around the capital city. Café Moxo 411 E. Adams St., 788-8084 This charming downtown eatery offers an inventive (and […]

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 are at rest (during a workout) than when they’re in motion. Though there are exceptions to the rule, it’s also true that while group exercises are […]

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 eateries our readers recommended: Ariston Café 413 Old Route 66 North, Litchfield, 324-2023 This is a legendary establishment that has an […]

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. Every step of the way the quartet concentrated on being an original band, from live jams to recorded releases. Even […]

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 schools in the afternoon. The children all know her as “Grandma,” a reminder that she got acquainted the Ridgely and the the importance […]

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 Main Street figure out who’s on first, it was a joy to focus our attention on the positive and uplifting “bests” […]

Untitled Document BEST POOL HALL Mowie’s Cue 1277 Toronto Rd., 217-529-7616 Mowie’s Cue isn’t your daddy’s billiard hall. Instead of being dark and cramped, Mowie’s is spacious and well-lit, with eight large-screen televisions, free wireless Internet service, and a new high-tech jukebox that lets you download whatever song you feel like hearing. In lieu of […]