Rockford and Freeport IL

I have unfortunately spent the last week in the Rockford area (I won't go into it -- family emergency), and dined out way too many times in chain restaurants not worth mentioning (although I've gotten addicted to Culver's fried cheese curds and root beer), but I have hit a few places in the area worth reporting on:

A side trip to Freeport revealed the Union Dairy, aka Alber's Ice Cream:
815-232-7099
126 E Douglas St
Freeport IL 61032-4116


Charming place, art deco exterior, old-fashioned diner interior:

They've got a lot of quaint burgers such as the Lincoln Douglas (Mustard, Ketchup and Horseradish), and the Heated Debate (locally made Jalapeno cheese, sport peppers and house-made spicy sauce). Served with Mrs. Mike's Chips (nice kettle chips made in town),and along side a perfect shake made from Chestnut Farms ice cream. Whipped cream is redi-whip, so a small demerit, but otherwise wonderful:


Other decent eats:
Lino's is an Italian place on State Street in Rockford, looks like they're trying to channel Olive Garden's ambiance (faux stone work -- bonus for naked cherubs) with old-skool (sic) red-sauce Italian. I wasn't impressed with their meatballs (too pasty) but otherwise good stuff, and friendly service:
5611 E State St, Rockford, IL, 815.397.2077

Alpine View is a family dining place with an Omega-like menu and dessert case, although seems to be more Italian than Greek. Low prices, decent food. Prime Rib on weekends for $11.99 is nicely roasted and a generous portion. Fried chicken was crisp and tasty. A few points off for foil-wrapped baked spuds, and a very dull-tasting pecan pie. Nice escape from the chain restaurants.
1710 S Alpine Rd
Rockford, IL 61108
(815) 227-5400

One other note on the chains: I like Panera, especially for their internet service agreement. All they ask you to do is not take up a big table if you're alone, and limit your time during rush hours. No pages of EULA, just get to work.

Wish I would have known you were in the area. I would've invited you to my place.

JoelF wrote:Charming place, art deco exterior, old-fashioned diner interior:

Joel,

Union Dairy looks quite appealing, a must stop next time I'm in the area.

Enjoy,
Gary

Some other Rockford spots,

Vietnamese Restaurant (forget the name) has good Goi Ga –chicken salad and Banh Xeo – viet crepe
324 7th Street
Rockford, IL 61104
815.964.5353

DiTullio's Italian Imports & Specialty Foods for some good bread and meats
1402 20th St.
Rockford, IL 61104
815.399.2080

If I haven't had BBQ in awhile, there is a place on the north side of Rt 20, about 5 miles East of I-90 that serves better BBQ than most places around this part of IL.

Also on Charles Street near the high school there is a polish deli that has a decent hot lunch buffet.

==

had some time to burn in Rockford yesterday, below average breakfast @ The Machine Shed. Reminded me of a Cracker Barrel food and kitch wise. FOund it interesting all the open and shuttered chinese/wok/buffet spots on the route in(Business 20).

I found these 3 old theatres interesting:

Midway Theatre:
721 E. State
Rockford, IL.:


Times Theatre
226 N. Main Street
Rockford, IL.


Coronado Theatre
314 N. Main
Rockford, IL.


Fantastic relics of a better time.

Nice theaters! Here are a couple somewhat food-related remnants in Rockford.



That's an old Cock Robin (907 Broadway). I think even Pete's Auto Sales is out of business now.



Makes you want to stop in for a cocktail, doesn't it? Unfortunately, North Main closed about two years ago*, right around the time I took this picture. It had been in business since 1934, run by the same family all that time.

* It's possible North Main has reopened but I'm not sure. Anyone know the details? Maybe I can have my cocktail after all.

jimswside wrote:Fantastic relics of a better time.

Atmospheric theaters' heyday: the Great Depression. Good times. (At least at the movie house.)

Rene G wrote:Nice theaters! Here are a couple somewhat food-related remnants in Rockford.



That's an old Cock Robin (907 Broadway). I think even Pete's Auto Sales is out of business now.

i would have guessed that was a former Princes Castle, nice photos.

jimswside wrote:i would have guessed that was a former Princes Castle, nice photos.

Oops. Yes, you're right, I meant Prince Castle (the link in my post points to a mention of the Prince Castle in Rockford). I'd been reading about Cock Robin shortly before I posted and mixed up the names of the two old ice cream places.

HI,

Prince Castles became Cock Robins, it is the same company.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Prince Castles became Cock Robins, it is the same company.

The building at 907 Broadway in Rockford was definitely a Prince Castle but I'm not sure it ever became a Cock Robin. There are numerous internet mentions of Prince Castles, but not Cock Robins, in Rockford.

Rockford Reminisce wrote:The Rockford stores remained Prince Castle after the sale [in the 1960s] and were the last ones in the country. They would all eventually close as the fast food wars heated up.

There may have been Cock Robins in Rockford but I haven't found any evidence.

There was a Prince Castle in Elgin and Aurora up until the early 1970's but each became Mexican restaurants. The Aurora one stills stands just west of Rte. 31 near the downtown but was shuttered last I remember. I haven't been by the Elgin one in years but it was on Villa Street.

Getting back to Rockford, great theater photos Jim. The Coronado is still used as a regional center for preforming arts.

Next time in Rockford, try the Sweden House on Charles Street.

I needed to head out to Rockford to GFS Marketplace to get food for a church dinner that I am cooking on Wednesday. We decided to make a day of it.

Our first stop was the Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum, an interesting home that overlooks a creek in downtown Rockford. They have tours at 1 pm and 3 pm Tuesday - Sunday.

We had no plans to stop for dinner. However, we got lost somewhere in the west end of Rockford and stopped at a chicken and fish palce called De Catch. Even at 4 pm, this place was packed with people waiting for their large take-out orders of fried fish and chicken.

I ordered the fried catfish filet dinner. I received FOUR 8-oz filets and a large pile of french fries. The filets were hand breaded in cornmeal and were the best catfish that I have had in Illinois. The french fries were unusual - they seemed to be a cross between french fries and jo-jos.

They served a homemade hot sauce that was quite good. The tartar sauce was a MAJOR disappointment and it was served in packets - and the flavor was not very good. Also, we had hoped to have a side or two to offset all the fried food. We saw none.

What is weird about the place is that they also serve rotisserie chicken - and it looked pretty good.


Another surprise in Rockford was a stop at Valli's Produce. I have been there before but the prices were like stepping back two years or more. Extra large eggs were $0.99/doz compared to $1.59 at Aldi. In addition, there were some great deals in the deli. They had some great deals on Scottish salmon for $5.99/lb.



Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum
411 Kent Street
Rockford, IL 61102
[email protected]
P 815-964-2424
http://www.tinkercottage.com/

Da Catch
1528 Kishwaukee St (at 15th Ave)
Rockford, IL 61104
(815) 963-9460

Any good places for pie in or on the way to Rockford?

Pie Lady wrote:Any good places for pie in or on the way to Rockford?

My dad used to frequent this place and always went on and on about their pies which are made in house, at least at the time he used to be the handyman. It's in Crystal Lake off of US Rte 14.

http://www.aroundtheclockrestaurant.com/bakery.php

razbry wrote:Next time in Rockford, try the Sweden House on Charles Street.

I second your suggestion, but I think you mean the Stockholm Inn on Charles Street. They have the best Swedish Pancakes I've ever had.

The Sweden House is an older hotel located on State Street.



Stockholm Inn
2420 Charles Street
Rockford, IL
(815)397-3534

The Stockholm Inn, at least when I went, had all you an eat Swedish pancakes with plenty 'o lingonberries on the breakfast buffet. I think my better half ate more than 10. The menu says the pie is homemade--I've never had it. It's a great place, the food pretty much diner-like with some interesting daily specials that come with delicious bread and rolls. The bread, along with pastries and other items, are available to purchase on your way out. Skip the "flavor burst" soft serve machine--so not worth it (I only know 'cause it's free with the kids menu).

Stockholm Inn Menu

Dropping off/setting up a catering job in Beloit, WI today - and would love to kill a few birds....any cool places to check out on my way to/from Beloit? I assume Rockford is the most likely option for food suggestions - but any intel on other spots would be great.

upthread, I read:

f I haven't had BBQ in awhile, there is a place on the north side of Rt 20, about 5 miles East of I-90 that serves better BBQ than most places around this part of IL.

any intel on said BBQ joint?

I will be solo, and will be returning tonight - so keep that in mind with any suggestions...

I think that might be in reference to Smokin' Coop BBQ Pit between Rockford and Belvidere on Business 20.

Smokin' Coop BBQ Pit
2022 U.S. 20 Business
Belvidere, IL 61008

rubbbqco wrote:Dropping off/setting up a catering job in Beloit, WI today - and would love to kill a few birds....any cool places to check out on my way to/from Beloit? I assume Rockford is the most likely option for food suggestions - but any intel on other spots would be great.

upthread, I read:

f I haven't had BBQ in awhile, there is a place on the north side of Rt 20, about 5 miles East of I-90 that serves better BBQ than most places around this part of IL.

any intel on said BBQ joint?

I will be solo, and will be returning tonight - so keep that in mind with any suggestions...

Rub-

Too late for your recent trip, but if you make it back up to Beloit again, check out Hanson's Tavern. There is a thread that talks about Hanson's and other Beloit options. As of June of 2012, Hanson's was still open and just as good as I remembered.

Hanson's Tavern
615 East Cranston Road
608-313-8797
http://hansonsbarandrestaurant.com/

Had a wedding to attend up in Dubuque this past weekend, made 3 days of it so I could hit a couple Friday fish frys enroute as well as take the long way there and back.

From my spot down in Mars a quick run up I-39 and a shot west on 20 puts me in Freeport,IL. seems like a little more than an hour. Had my sites set on a fish fry even before getting out of Illinois. Route 20 Bar and Grill -



I heard they do a fish fry all day on Friday - choice of walleye, blue gill, or a 3rd fish(not perch). What also caught my eye is they do deep fried tacos on Thursday nights - got denied when I asked if I could get a few with my bluegill. Nice start to the trip, well prepared bluegill - choice of potato was frys or frys. decent slaw too.



Rt 20 Bar & Grill
2051 N. Ayp
Freeport, IL.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rt-20-Ba ... 0556893897

Alright, I have a problem re: deep fried tacos - love em'. thanks alot LTH and dabeef for that addiction. Mannys Pizza and Tacos - they do deep fried tacos, I mentioned them about a year ago when I went to one of their locations in Savannah, IL. Mannys looks to be a Rock River Valley chain of sorts. Havent done their pizza, but had to stop twice at the Freeport location for tacos - on the way up aftther the fish fry and on the way back after Glarner Stube.



Tacos are pretty decent,, beef could use a bit more seasoning, but I had a great one on Sat - perfect balance of cheese, beef, crunch and grease... Their hot sauce is thin but its growing on me. Tacos are like 3 for under $5. Did my best at getting a pic:



Mannys Pizza and Tacos
1726 SW Ave
Freeport, IL.

http://www.mannyspizza.net/

A nice visit to Pretzle City USA