Arthur Cheese Festival! See my photos from last year here. Don't miss the cheese curling or the cheese eating contest.
Live music in Decatur! Floweezy, a Senor DeVivo reunion, and many more bands. A benefit for Angie Morris at the Elks Lodge on Parkway Drive. Sunday beginning at 3 pm. This is where I'll be!
Live music in Champaign! 56 Hope Rd plays the Canopy Club Sunday night with Tea Leaf Green beginning at 6 pm.
The Illinois Symphony plays in Springfield at Douglas Park on Saturday and in Bloomington at Miller Park on Sunday.
Get your Abraham Lincoln history fill at the tenth annual Prairieland Chautauqua in Jacksonville.
In west central Illinois, one of the oldest festivals is the Nauvoo Grape Festival. Lots of opportunities for wine tasting as well as more traditional fall festival activities like tractor pulls, an auto show, and midway rides. Don't delay, enter to play mud volleyball today!
Coal Creek Days Aug 29, 30, 31 at Coal Creek Pioneer Village in Pana features frontier life demonstrations.
National Sweetcorn Festival, Hoopeston, Aug 28 thru Sept 1. One of the last chances for a demolition derby this year!
Pittsfield Fall Festival, Aug 29, 30. Parade on Saturday.
Taste of Beardstown, Aug 30.
All weekend the 21st annual Popcorn festival, Casey, Fairview Park featuring a Rod Stewart tribute band.
Allerton Music Barn Festival at Allerton Park near Monticello, IL.
Millikin Decatur Symphony Orchestra plays Monday, Sept 1 at 6:00 pm in the Nelson Park Amphitheater in Decatur.
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Central Illinois Life Round-up #17
Bloomington Farmers Market vendors Monkey in the Kitchen and I purchased from this morning included:
Twin Oak Meats - for brats and pork sticks.
Grand Prairie Food - green garlic. What do you think you do with a stalk of green garlic?
Ropp Jersey Cheese - various cheddars and a cheese spread.
Mackinaw Valley Apiary - yummy honey
A. Renee - wine, wine accessories, gifts, chocolate! The chocolate covered sunflower seeds were divine!
The farmer's market was hopping this morning, with a band and lots of folks admiring and purchasing radishes, turnips, and lettuces.
Twin Oak Meats - for brats and pork sticks.
Grand Prairie Food - green garlic. What do you think you do with a stalk of green garlic?
Ropp Jersey Cheese - various cheddars and a cheese spread.
Mackinaw Valley Apiary - yummy honey
A. Renee - wine, wine accessories, gifts, chocolate! The chocolate covered sunflower seeds were divine!
The farmer's market was hopping this morning, with a band and lots of folks admiring and purchasing radishes, turnips, and lettuces.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Pastabilities Italian Grill, Decatur
Central Illinois is loaded with independent Italian restaurants, most of them inexpensive and very good. There's no reason to buy spaghetti in a bucket around here. I'm going to tell you about my favorite Italian restaurant and I want you to leave me a comment about yours.
In 2003 a new restaurant opened in downtown Decatur promising good prices and good Italian dishes. B and I were thrilled and so were most of our friends. After the first trip to Pastabilities it was added to our regular rotation. It has definitely changed since it opened, mostly for the better. The owners seem like they are constantly looking to improve the dining experience.
I love the ambiance at Pastabilities. A lot of Decatur restaurants don't seem to put much thought into the feel of the building, but Pastabilities really feels upscale and well decorated. I also like that there are several different kinds of seating. In the front you can sit at cafe tables with umbrellas. In the middle there is room for larger groups. There is a nice bar in the back as well as more romantic booths. I like to sit in the front because I always see people I know on the street or coming in the door.
It's hard to say what dish I like best at Pastabilities because I don't have a "usual" like I do when I eat at a Mexican restaurant. The Chicken Marsala is normally very good as is anything with the creamy tomato sauce. The bread sticks are always toasty and fresh. The sangria is hit or miss, but when it's on it's awesome. Pastabilities offers a few Italian beers and lots of Illinois wine. The waitstaff seems to draw heavily from Millikin and the servers are always pleasant and chatty. Most of the entrees are under $15.
In 2003 a new restaurant opened in downtown Decatur promising good prices and good Italian dishes. B and I were thrilled and so were most of our friends. After the first trip to Pastabilities it was added to our regular rotation. It has definitely changed since it opened, mostly for the better. The owners seem like they are constantly looking to improve the dining experience.
I love the ambiance at Pastabilities. A lot of Decatur restaurants don't seem to put much thought into the feel of the building, but Pastabilities really feels upscale and well decorated. I also like that there are several different kinds of seating. In the front you can sit at cafe tables with umbrellas. In the middle there is room for larger groups. There is a nice bar in the back as well as more romantic booths. I like to sit in the front because I always see people I know on the street or coming in the door.
It's hard to say what dish I like best at Pastabilities because I don't have a "usual" like I do when I eat at a Mexican restaurant. The Chicken Marsala is normally very good as is anything with the creamy tomato sauce. The bread sticks are always toasty and fresh. The sangria is hit or miss, but when it's on it's awesome. Pastabilities offers a few Italian beers and lots of Illinois wine. The waitstaff seems to draw heavily from Millikin and the servers are always pleasant and chatty. Most of the entrees are under $15.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Furrow Winery and Red Barn Pumpkin Patch, El Paso
Today I took my son to play at the Furrow Winery's Red Barn Pumpkin Patch. We had a blast! Admission is $3 per child and parents get in free. The children's play area is super fun. They have a bounce house, a swing set, slides for tots and bigger kids, a speed boat (sunk into the ground), a tractor, an old school bus cab, a hay fort, a petting zoo, and a corn maze. I would have paid $3 just for the maze. We spent half our time wandering lost through the corn.
Red Barn has a big selection of pumpkins, both picked and in the field. At 29 cents a pound they are a bargain too. We got a gorgeous 13 lb white, orange, and green striped pumpkin and two tiny pumpkins for $4.50.
There were 3 kindergarten classes there today and they were having a ball. The straw castle area was swarming with children, but I got a photo while they were eating lunch.
The tractor and the petting zoo were not a big hit with H, but I think he wanted to just be in the fray of kindergartners. And in the corn maze. He loved, loved, loved running around the corn maze.
Oh! Tractor train rides are also included in the admission price. My son got a big kick out of driving around the farm in these little train cars.
The pumpkin patch is well marked from Hwy 251 north of El Paso. We found it easily. The only negative was that the porta potties were very full today so we resorted to an emergency diaper. The staff was friendly, the play area was clean, the pumpkins were beautiful and inexpensive.
Before we left, I stopped at the winery shop for an award winning bottle of Panther Creek Red. This weekend Furrow Winery will be celebrating Oktoberfest with their special release wine (only 250 cases available) food and live music. This weekend would be excellent to take your children to the pumpkin patch and come back for Oktoberfest!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Drinkin' the day away in Champaign
It is hot and I am sapped. Sorry for the silence this week. I haven't covered very many Champaign spots, so today I'm going to cover three great places to get your drink on in Champaign.
1) Leisure Time Pet and Hobby on Mattis: this is the place for your basic beer brewing needs. We normally order beer supplies on-line but if I need a last minute ingredient I can usually find it here. And while you are there you can get a train or pet food. Brilliant!
2) The Esquire: This lovely downtown bar is an excellent place to spend a Friday afternoon watching the Cubs and catching up with friends. It serves the normal deep fried pub grub, but a notch better than usual, and the draft beers have a nice variety. If it is your first time there the toppings (onion, pickle, etc) are near the back of the bar on either side.
3) Alto Vineyards: Just outside Champaign toward Mahomet is Alto Vineyards. All summer long they have a concert series where you can relax near the grapevines to groovy local bands. Wine is by the glass and designated drivers drink for free. The wine shop is a cute little shop with local products and fancy wine trinkets. I fell in love with Alto Vineyards' Chambourcin at the state fair wine tent four years ago. This one is a crowd pleaser and is worth the trip to the winery for a hostess gift.
1) Leisure Time Pet and Hobby on Mattis: this is the place for your basic beer brewing needs. We normally order beer supplies on-line but if I need a last minute ingredient I can usually find it here. And while you are there you can get a train or pet food. Brilliant!
2) The Esquire: This lovely downtown bar is an excellent place to spend a Friday afternoon watching the Cubs and catching up with friends. It serves the normal deep fried pub grub, but a notch better than usual, and the draft beers have a nice variety. If it is your first time there the toppings (onion, pickle, etc) are near the back of the bar on either side.
3) Alto Vineyards: Just outside Champaign toward Mahomet is Alto Vineyards. All summer long they have a concert series where you can relax near the grapevines to groovy local bands. Wine is by the glass and designated drivers drink for free. The wine shop is a cute little shop with local products and fancy wine trinkets. I fell in love with Alto Vineyards' Chambourcin at the state fair wine tent four years ago. This one is a crowd pleaser and is worth the trip to the winery for a hostess gift.
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