Content Produced in Partnership with Enjoy Illinois
Don’t expect to be introduced to convoys of chain restaurants as you cruise along our stretch of Route 66. We believe in celebrating our own unique places to drink and dine…and in many cases they have been a part of our colourful roadside scene for decades!
If you are a fried chicken lover, then check out Willowbrook’s one-off Del Rhea’s Chicken Basket, a Route 66 landmark restaurant encouraging motorists to “Get Your Chicks On Route 66,” and Romeoville’s White Fence Farm. It not only offers such extras as Homemade relishes and corn fritters, but also a display of antique cars and, to children’s delight—some alpacas and miniature goats!
Then comes downtown Joliet’s Route 66 Diner and two breweries of note: McGrain, housed inside the city’s former Union Station that offers delicious food, and just a few blocks away, Elder Brewing Co., encompassing a tap room, music venue and spacious back patio.
You won’t be able to miss The Launching Pad Drive-In Restaurant in Wilmington – it’s set right next to the massive Gemini Giant (for more see our Surprising Selfie Stops feature) and nearby is Nelly’s, offering pulled pork, burgers, onion rings and the like beneath a ceiling hung with visitors’ national flags; next door is Rt 66 Old School Brewing.
Braidwood is home to one of the entire Mother Road’s most iconic – and photogenic – dining spots, the Polk-A-Dot Drive-In. Outside you are greeted by figures of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, James Dean and Betty Boop. Inside, enhanced by wall-to-wall 1950s memorabilia, you can sit in a booth enjoying your burgers and chips while indulging in musical nostalgia via your own personal jukebox.
In Pontiac, you’ll find the popular Old Log Cabin restaurant, dating back to 1926 and promising “old school American comfort food” and the PK UnKorked Wine Bar and Springfield has a wealth of offerings. The Cozy Dog Drive In was not only the birthplace of the
Corn Dog, a hot dog encased in tasty corn-based batter served on a stick, but also more recently the Horseshoe Sandwich, served on toast, topped with your choice of meat and then covered with a pile of crispy French Fries (chips) drenched in a homemade cheese sauce (if you find that a bit daunting you can always order the smaller Pony Shoe).
Springfield’s Maid Rite is the first drive-through restaurant you will encounter on your way south. It serves up yummy burgers, fries and shakes while Motorheads Bar, Grill and Entertainment Complex is full of Route 66 memorabilia and famous for its delicious pretzels, which they claim are as large as pizza boxes. (It’s also fronted by the ‘World’s Largest Route 66 Sign’).
As you continue southwards, why not drop by Girard’s Doc’s Just Off 66, once a small-town pharmacy, now a restaurant serving hand-pulled sodas from its vintage soda fountain. Then, you come to Litchfield, home of the Ariston Cafe, founded in 1924, moved to its current Route 66 location in 1935, and thus considered one of the oldest continuously operating cafes on the entire Route 66. Enhanced by vintage exterior neon lighting and inside memorabilia, it offers up a menu including mainstream and southern American, Italian and Greek options.
Edwardsville, home to Dewey’s, which is particularly popular with families for its hand-tossed pizzas, the Peel and Recess brewing companies and, for something completely different, Collinsville’s Old Herald Brewery & Distillery, located in a former newspaper print shop and offering not only craft beer but also such special spirits as vodka blended with locally grown horseradish.
For more information, visit EnjoyIllinois.com/Route66
