Munching Down the Mother Road

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Published on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 12:36

Written by Maria R. Traska

Tracking down public art on Route 66 can be a hungry business. Luckily, it can also be a treat for the taste buds. Here are several places to nibble – or eat something more substantial – along the way. Note the seasonal hours in some places.

Where to Eat on Route 66 in Chicago

Lou Mitchell’s is the traditional way to start a Route 66 road trip. It’s famous for breakfast, classic diner food, perfected. The tender little donut holes are exactly what cake donuts should be. Together with the excellent coffee, they’re just enough until your main dish arrives. Lou Mitchell’s serves such cute little double-yolk eggs here. Make sure you get the free Milk Duds on your way out. 565 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL

The Tri-Taylor neighborhood offers up Italian two ways: Conte di Savoia deli and Ferrara Original Bakery, both on Taylor St. just west of Ogden. Conte di Savoia has the best Italian subs in the city plus excellent soups, cappuccino and espresso; you can eat in or take out, but this location is only open on weekdays, and only until about 4pm. In addition to cakes, cookies and pastries, Ferrara Original Bakery has a small café that offers hot and cold lunch items. It’s famous for cannoli cake, available by the slice. Don’t miss it. Open seven days a week. Conte di Savoia, 2227 W. Taylor St., and Ferrara Original Bakery, 2210 W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL

Where to Eat on Route 66 Outside Chicago

Henry’s Drive-in makes typical hamburgers and tasty Chicago-style dogs, but you still have to ask for the celery salt and tomatoes on your dog … and the well-made fries go right on top (eeeek!). But you can knock them off and eat normally. Henry’s has been a fixture of Route 66 since the 1950s and has the photos and road signs inside to prove it. 6031 W. Ogden Ave. (just west of Austin Blvd.), Cicero, IL

The oldest White Castle on all of the former U.S. Route 66 is at Harlem and Ogden. It’s also where the young Ray Kroc, who used to come to dances in the neighborhood, first encountered the fast-food hamburger as a system. The burger industry wouldn’t be what it is today without White Castle, which led the way in standardizing the process and creating a supply chain. But you still have to like steamed burgers (ehhh). Tip: save yourself for better stuff down the road. 7155 W. Ogden Avenue, Berwyn, IL

Kirsten’s Danish Bakery is a little hard to find but easy to love: it’s Danish pastry heaven. Add feather-light cream puffs, éclairs, and fine-textured Kugelhopf to the pastry-wrapped hot dogs at lunch plus bacon croissants and ham and cheese croissants at breakfast, and you have more delights than your waist can afford. So take some home. It’s in a shopping center just south of I-55; exit at County Line Rd. and go south to Burr Ridge Parkway (at the traffic light), then turn left into the strip mall area – it’ll be on the right side just a few doors in. 94 Burr Ridge Pkwy., Burr Ridge, IL

Between Willowbrook and Romeoville are two of the greatest fried chicken purveyors on all of Route 66. They’re your best bet for a real sit-down dinner with the kids once your tour is over. Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket started off as a lunch counter in a gas station in 1926, but it’s a ‘50s-era roadhouse now. Juicy-hot fried chicken is made fresh to order and really does take 30 minutes, but you can try the Route 66 soda and the jukebox while you wait (worth it). White Fence Farm makes its fried chicken with an excellent crunchy crust. Jack Peabody started the restaurant in the early 1920s, but the third generation of Hasterts owns it now, and the secret recipe is theirs. Whose is better? Hard to say; they’re both great. However, the farm’s got a slight edge on the hot corn fritters, whereas Dell Rhea’s biscuits are just a bit lighter. Compare them yourselves, but eat in: the leftovers are great, but it’s just not the same as eating it fresh. Note: WFF is only open after 5pm weekdays – no lunch – and both restaurants are closed on Mondays. Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket, 645 Joliet Road (north frontage road, NE of the intersection of I-55 and Route 83), Willowbrook, IL; White Fence Farm, 1376 Joliet Road, Romeoville, IL

Where to Eat on Route 66 in Joliet

What Joliet calls a poorboy sandwich is like nothing the rest of us would recognize, but it’s the local dish: an oval-shaped cubed steak patty served on garlic bread made with garlic ‘butterine’ spread. Merichka’s is reportedly the best place to try a Joliet poorboy. Is it tasty? Sure – but at $7.50 a la carte, it’s pricey, too. Well, you can always try it once, just to say you have. Or not. 604 Theodore St. (a few blocks W of Route 66/IL 53), Crest Hill, IL

During "The Blues Brothers" movice, ‘Joliet’ Jake and Elwood Blues dance on the roof of Rich and Creamy Ice Cream, a Route 66 mainstay. It’s learn while you lick: tasty ice cream treats with informational displays next door in the parking lot. Open from late spring through mid- to late autumn, depending on the weather. A must. 920 N. Broadway St. (at Moran St. in Route 66 Park), Joliet, IL

If you’re making the art tour in reverse, Home Cut Donuts would be the place to start in Joliet. There’s nothing like freshly made donuts with a hot cup of coffee or ice-cold milk to start a special day. Home Cut’s donuts are a few notches above the chain variety, especially if they’re the tender angel-cream filled ones. Heavenly! As are the Bavarian cream and apricot filled. The cake donuts are mighty great, too. Heck, they all are. Don’t eat them all at once, but do make this stop, even if it is nearly a mile west of Route 66/IL 53. 815 W. Jefferson St., Joliet, IL  

Photos copyright 2012 by M.R. Traska