Potential move to Carbondale.. info appreciated :)

[AJohnston_STL]

Originally Posted by Traveller49

It is also the largest, with a few big city amenities (some fine dining, world-class entertainment and music, a nationally ranked university and hospital) but is still first and foremost a small city. As far as schools, Carbondale Community High School is the best school in Southern Illinois by a long shot (I graduated from there, I should know).

Well - 2 things in regards to the portion of your post that I've quoted above. 1, what is "fine dining" to you? Real "fine dining" is a $120 tab without booze and not enough food to fill you up, and typically you can only pronounce a few things on the menu. 2, going to a certain school doesn't mean it's the best in the area. I went to Benton high school, so I guess I can say its the best too (I should know, I went there).

[linicx]

Fine Dining is not the subject. The OP's son is Michelin Chef in Europe who wishes to join his family in the US. OP wanted to know about some of the restaurants that offer Fine Dining. This would be on the level of 4-Star Cuisine.

I found one Michelin Restaurant in Chicago, but none in St. Louis. I'm quite sure there is 4 star level cuisine in Springfield and Peoria and St.Louis, I don't know if you can find a $300 plate in U-C or B-N or not. The last time I was in Bloomington the answer was a resounding "No."

[alybain]

I guess the level he is at is the high price end, with what you could say is not alot on the plate! He is 21 in June and has spent the last 2 years at this level, so when we move he may want to scale down and take life a little easier for work.

Are there perhaps hotels that offer good food, perhaps what we would say rosette quality rather than michelin? any bistro's? that kind of thing I guess..

He is keen to live with us initially, so we can all get used to things together, so a big commute to St Louis might not be on the cards for him.

Thank you all so much for the replies, its so helpful to hear your opinions :-)

[linicx]

First of all, generally speaking the food preparers in Illinois do a very good job. I don't think you find a lot of bad food. What you do find is a lot of national restaurants like Applebee's which offer no room for creativity. The options are privately owned restaurants, public country clubs, private country clubs, and other private clubs where the managers and owners actively seek a high level of general knowledge and food preparation skills. I'm aquainted with chef's who know how to prepare Twin Toronado of Beef is but do not serve it. (I probably mispelled the name wrong.).

Once your son arrives and shakes off the Jet Lag, he should take the IL State Food Preparation Course to get certified - not that he needs it. But, he is walking into a confusing new world of American cooking where he will at some time need that knowledge, plus some restaurants will require it. Presumably the class and test will be in Springfield.

It would also be good to spend time in a IL restaurant wholesale store. The pans and equipment will probably look the same but may not operate the same, or it may be known by different names in Illinois. If he doesn't have them, he will probably want the tools to check internal food, refrigeration and oven temps that are generally shown in Farenheit rather than Centigrade. Your mince is our hamburger. Mince may or may not be made from the same cut(s) of beef. There willl be plenty for him to absorb before he goes back to work Il has some high health standards

PS: every state is different in requirements and often the names of common items change from state to state.

[ExRxAmy]

I have enjoyed the beauty of the area so much. The Southern Illinois Wine Trail may by a place for your older child to look for employment, one named Walker's Bluff just outside of Carbondale has a very nice restaurant.

We are planning to move out of Carbondale this summer. It's been nice, but my husband has been here for 15 years and I for 6.5 years. We feel the need to move because we have 2 children on the Autism Spectrum and the services here are not what we want for them. If we had neurotypical children we would want them to attend the schools in Carterville. Currently we homeschool though because our oldest boy, 11.5 years, has multiple neurobiological disorders and find that this is the best path for him.

[linicx]

Children aside, most nice restaurants in SoIL do not hire the classically trained, Escoffier and/or Cordon Bleu, Executive Chef to prepare an ordinary steakhouse menu. There is a couple of reasons I can think of: Most rrestaurant patrons in SoIL will not pay $350 to $400 dollars per plate for dinner. And most restaurant owners are not willing to pay a Ex Chef $100,000 plus bonus, vacation, health insurance, etc., when they can hire a Sous Chef for less than $50K and offer less benefits.

[-Focused-]

Originally Posted by linicx

Children aside, most nice restaurants in SoIL do not hire the classically trained, Escoffier and/or Cordon Bleu, Executive Chef to prepare an ordinary steakhouse menu. There is a couple of reasons I can think of: Most rrestaurant patrons in SoIL will not pay $350 to $400 dollars per plate for dinner. And most restaurant owners are not willing to pay a Ex Chef $100,000 plus bonus, vacation, health insurance, etc., when they can hire a Sous Chef for less than $50K and offer less benefits.

You've got that right. I don't know anyone who would pay that for food.

(Not to say there aren't probably 1 or 2 crazies who would )

[aragx6]

I've been to some of Chicago's most expensive restaurants and none of them were $350/plate. That's just ludicrous. The $150-225 range is more realistic -- and still higher than many restaurants run by a classically trained chef.

[linicx]

Unfortunately Chicago and its 6000 restaurants are not in Carbondale and neither is its Michelin restaurant. So, it is still back to square one for the son..

[pianist1972]

There are far more than one Michelin starred restaurants in Chicago. That's the only city in Illinois or Missouri rated by Michelin.