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Old 12-05-2011, 06:03 PM
 
Location: Wicker Park, Chicago
4,789 posts, read 14,748,398 times
Reputation: 1971

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I once drove to Detroit to pickup a Stargate arcade machine. On the way in nearby Michigan I ate a a Big Boy restaurant. Boy the food was good! Also, Rockford has Sonic, Perkins, and a great Buffet Restaurant that's also in Houston [forgot the name]. North of Rockford in Rockton and in Champaign Urbana you can go to Hardee's. If you have an itch for Waffle House the nearest one is in Indianapolis.

The first time I saw a Culver's was when I drove from Houston to Chicago in 2009. Now I love their burgers. But they have expanded a lot and they're in the suburbs of Chicago, thank God!

So what other great restaurants [not in Chicago] are there in cities nearby Chicago? Like Milwaukee is close still but St Louis is too far... What can we enjoy that's a modest drive away?
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Old 12-05-2011, 07:58 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,277,465 times
Reputation: 6426
Jesse you used to be able to buy Big Boy in South Bend. Sonic, Hardee's (Carl Jr.). Perkins. Waffle House, Denny's, Subway, Dairy Queen, Applebee's, Panda Chinese Buffet. ChucK E. Cheese, Taco Bell, Long John Silver's. KFC. Pizza Hut. Hooters, Red Lobster, Bob Evens, Olive Garden, are national chains that expanded into the Midwest. You should be able to find most if not all of them in Illinois somewhere between the WI border and Springfield.
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Old 12-08-2011, 01:24 AM
 
622 posts, read 1,197,514 times
Reputation: 470
is this a joke? sonic? perkins? hardees? waffle house??? if you had mentioned applebees i would have known you were pulling our chain.

culvers isn't bad but you can surely find something better locally. my wife watch the show "chicago's best" and have kept a list of the great places they visit. we have been able to find some truly amazing food that's way better than anything chains offer for the same price.
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Old 12-08-2011, 07:43 AM
 
Location: Old Hyde Park, Kansas City,MO
1,145 posts, read 2,465,984 times
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Try Kopps Frozen Custard in Milwaukee, it's a great place and they have awesome burgers. Springfield has this place on route 66 that has corn dogs, i think they were invented their or something
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Old 12-08-2011, 07:57 AM
 
Location: CHicago, United States
6,933 posts, read 8,497,657 times
Reputation: 3510
"great restaurants"?

No reason to leave Chicago. They're all here, compared to nearby commutes. Is there a type of food done excellently that's not available in Chicago but is in nearby Midwest, easy drive from Chicago, towns and cities? Probably not.
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Old 12-08-2011, 08:16 AM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
5,479 posts, read 12,269,902 times
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I 2nd Kopp's in Milwaukee. Makes Culver's look more ordinary, like it actually is.
Jesse, seems like it's time for you to use City-Data to ask posters for good local restaurant choices and/or see if Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives" has any spots they've been to along the way of your journeys.
If you're out this way be sure to try "grande Jakes" in Buffalo Grove on Dundee Rd 2 blocks west of Buffalo Grove Rd. Right next door to Dengeos. You can also stop in at the nearby Pita Inn or the Super Dawg location in Wheeling on Milwaukee Av. All these places are "chains" by way of having 1 or 2 more locations.
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Old 12-08-2011, 08:21 AM
 
14,798 posts, read 17,700,727 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dewthedru View Post
is this a joke?
It's Jesse
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Old 12-08-2011, 08:29 AM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
5,479 posts, read 12,269,902 times
Reputation: 2848
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vlajos View Post
It's Jesse
I can appreciate dining at chains when on the road. It is a known entity and most chains control quality very well from location to location. You also can expect to get in and out pretty quickly. I have had meals at local places that were mediocre at best and have also discovered some real gems. I typically will not try a local place unless I get a recommendation or have no other choice.
So I understand Jesse's gravitation to chain's, do not understand him "gushing" over Big Boy.
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Old 12-08-2011, 08:34 AM
 
Location: CHicago, United States
6,933 posts, read 8,497,657 times
Reputation: 3510
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubssoxfan View Post
I can appreciate dining at chains when on the road. It is a known entity and most chains control quality very well from location to location. You also can expect to get in and out pretty quickly. I have had meals at local places that were mediocre at best and have also discovered some real gems. I typically will not try a local place unless I get a recommendation or have no other choice.
So I understand Jesse's gravitation to chain's, do not understand him "gushing" over Big Boy.
We often want what we can't easily have, then tire of it when we have it. I have friends who live in places where there are no White Castle's. They obsess over the place. And that's their first choice for something to eat when in Chicago. Not the only, but the first. I like WC as well. But they're nearby and I can have one whenever I want. So I don't go often.
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Old 12-08-2011, 08:38 AM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
5,479 posts, read 12,269,902 times
Reputation: 2848
Quote:
Originally Posted by gomexico View Post
We often want what we can't easily have, then tire of it when we have it. I have friends who live in places where there are no White Castle's. They obsess over the place. And that's their first choice for something to eat when in Chicago. Not the only, but the first. I like WC as well. But they're nearby and I can have one whenever I want. So I don't go often.
Oh yeah, like Rocky Mountain Pi** Water, I mean Coors.
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