Best Chambana restaurants and bars

#201      

BananaShampoo

Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
Man, I sure do miss this place:
eliteExtM.jpg


Here is a great video telling the story...
http://will.illinois.edu/prairiefire/segment/pf2003-11-19-e

Before it was Elite it was the Chuckwagon on Springfield & Neil in Champaign.
 
#202      

JW

Vancouver
What about that ice cream and custard place sort of south along Neil I think.

We should start a new thread: Craziest Thing You Ever Saw in a Bar in Chambana.
 
#203      

ChiefIlliniwek

Omaha, Nebraska
What about that ice cream and custard place sort of south along Neil I think.

We should start a new thread: Craziest Thing You Ever Saw in a Bar in Chambana.

I think you are talking about Custard Cup. Funny story... When i was at WPGU we had a bunch of Custard Cup Gift Certificates to give away during the taste of Champaign one weekend. I had an appearance on the last day of the taste, and the Promotions Director told me "Give away $10 worth of Custard Cup Gift Certificates while you are out there."

So, I grabbed the stack of ten certificates that I found at the station, and brought them along to give away. It was coming down to the end of the event, and I was trying to figure out how I was going to give them away when out of the corner of my eye I see a sweet little old lady and her two grandsons (I'm assuming that was the case anyway). They came strolling by and I thought to myself about what a nice picture it would be having a grandmother buy her grandsons some Ice Cream at Custard Cup. So, I gave the ten certificates to her, which made everyone involved very happy.

On Monday, when I saw the Promotions Director I told her the story and that I had made a little old lady's day. She thought it was sweet and asked me where the rest of the certificates were... which baffled me...

"You told me to give away 10 dollars worth, so I gave them all away!" Her eyes widened and she turned bright red and informed me that EACH certificate was worth $10. SO, I gave a sweet little old lady and her grandsons $100 worth of free Ice Cream. Whoops!

Anyways, yeah! Custard Cup was great!
 
#204      
What about that ice cream and custard place sort of south along Neil I think.

We should start a new thread: Craziest Thing You Ever Saw in a Bar in Chambana.

My girlfriend 20lbs overweight her senior year wearing a skirt and tube top. Oh wow could you tell she could do 10 beer bongs. I've worked her back into shape since graduation. She's currently no bigger than 105lbs if that.
 
#209      

ijustkrushalot

Iowa Corridor
Anyone ever been to a 5 Guys? Would be a nice addition to Champaign I think.

went to the one in Madison twice a year ago last fall when I went to the UI/Wisconsin football game and visited a department up there for grad school applications.

I agree, would love to have one on Green Street... it would fit right in.
 
#213      

moe.fan

M
Guest
What about that ice cream and custard place sort of south along Neil I think.

We should start a new thread: Craziest Thing You Ever Saw in a Bar in Chambana.

So where are we on starting this thread? If I get some time, I have a great story.
 
#217      

AK Illini

Chicago
x 1,000,000

I LOVE that place. Go there at least once a week now. Hands down best BBQ in town BY FAR.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/black-dog-smoke-ale-house-urbana

thank you for the confirmation, I’ve only been 3 times, but it has quickly jumped up to the top of my must visit list when in town, in fact I plan on being there Saturday night before the game Sunday. The BBQ is hands down better than anything in town, so much so, that it’s not even close and they have a great beer selection on top of that. A real gem and I hope they stick around for a long time.
 
#218      
i had the good fortune of playing golf the last few days with an owner of several Five Guy's restaurants in the georgia/florida area(and also in montana). He actually is planning on making a trip to champaign next month to inquire about opening a few jimmy johns restaurants back in georgia. i told him about the need for a 5 Guys in champaign. he seemed genuinely interested in the idea, and said he would seriously think about buying the rights to the franchise in the chambana area, if he thought that it would be a good area. He seemed shocked one didnt already exist. so if/when a 5 guys pops up.....you can all thank me. ha.
 
#219      

danielb927

Orange Krush Class of 2013
Rochester, MN
I just ate at black dog this weekend. It was excellent. The black dog cornbread is insanely good, its cornbread with pork, beans, and chilis in it. The pit beans were also outstanding, they cook them under the meat so they get all the drippings in there with the smoky flavor. Finally I topped it off with some Tex-mex chicken soup which had a nice kick to it and a solid brisket sandwich. Not the best brisket I've ever had, but the best in champaign I think. I will have to go back again for some burnt ends, they run out fast (about 11 a.m. from what he said). Overall great stuff. They also have flights of beer if you want to try a little of many different kinds.
 
#220      

illinirazorback

I
Guest
Saturday night, my wife and I had a taste for Italian food. We were going to try that new place, Butitta's (it's always busy it seems) or Minneci's (for some weird reason we've never been there all the years we've been in C-U. Well, we opted for Minneci's since it's the old, local, traditional place. Wow. If you haven't been there, go. Food and service were excellent, and the atmosphere was very pleasant. I got the impression that they had recently remodeled, but it didn't LOOK remodeled. However, I was very sad to see that on a Saturday evening they weren't full. However, Butitta's was very full when we drove by. I fear that the new place is hurting them. Please go support Minneci's!
 
#221      

BananaShampoo

Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
Iv'e been to Minneci's. It's a good place. Not much for atmosphere (it's built out of a remodeled old service station), but I do like the food. The old Dom's is still my all-time favorite italian place in C-U, though.
 
#223      

illinirazorback

I
Guest
Iv'e been to Minneci's. It's a good place. Not much for atmosphere (it's built out of a remodeled old service station), but I do like the food. The old Dom's is still my all-time favorite italian place in C-U, though.

I thought the atmosphere was great. Again, I think they have just remodeled. The booth seats felt new. Maybe it wasn't as nice before? I thought it felt cozy.

Do they serve lunch there? I'm looking for a really good non-chain restaurant. It's mom's weekend and I want to take my daughter somewhere special for our first mom's weekend.

Looks like it.

http://www.minnecisristorante.com/