Today, I was asked to jot down some memories of living in Illinois. I thought about a topic and wrote:

Some of what I miss most about Illinois is the delicious, filling food. Loose meat sandwiches at the Maid-Rite in Peru, chocolate shakes at the Steak ‘n Shake in Normal, deep-dish pizza at Pequod’s in Lincoln Park, monte cristo sandwiches at the Sunrise in Macomb, horseshoes at the Field House in Springfield, pecan waffles at the Waffle Company in Mt. Vernon, gondola subs at Avanti’s in Peoria. I’ve spent a lifetime looking for Chinese as good as at the Szechwan in St. Charles. Some of the small towns have the best food; I’ve enjoyed fried catfish in Mendota, sirloin in Wasco, and pork chop sandwiches in Good Hope. And that’s not even counting the grub at county and state fairs.

It's like spelling out exactly why I'm fat. If I join OA, I'm reading this at the first meeting. But as much as my stomach hurts just thinking about this food, I miss it so much.


Two Replies to Illinois-a Will Destroy Ya

Steve West | May 4, 2010
Haha! You remind me a little of Robert Morley in Who Is Killing The Great Chefs Of Europe? If a serial killing spree starts in Illinois, I'll get a little suspicious.

Jackie Mason | May 16, 2010
[hidden by author request]


Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »

Gingerbread Office

I don't often join in Kelly's craft projects, and it's even rarer for her to join in one of mine. But that's what happened last week when my company held a gingerbread house contest, and Kelly pitched in to help the team that I signed up for. We decided to make a "north pole branch" of our Sarasota office. Go »

Signs and Wonders

Driving through Georgia now. Just passed a plain yellow billboard saying The God with Moral Fault, amazon.com. Hidden agenda? Go »

Doppelgänger

I saw myself at the grocery. Tall, fat, shaved head, black collared shirt, black slacks, black leather shoes. I caught up to myself and muttered "I like the look" with a wink, and myself smiled, then myself's girlfriend saw us together and laughed. Go »

Final Chapter

The movies that are going to be written about in Brittany Murphy's obituaries are Just Married, 8 Mile, Clueless, and maybe Sin City. But the one most sadly relevant is a movie that few people saw, The Dead Girl. Each chapter of the movie shows how a different woman is affected by the discovery of a woman's body in a field, until the last chapter doubles back and shows us her haunting final days. Go »

Hey Saoirse Ronan, What's Over There?

Go »

Moved In

We are moved in and settled, or as settled as we can be with little money and way too much stuff for a two-bedroom apartment. The final move will come in April when we transfer to a house. We have our eye on a house in Ruskin, 30 minutes from here – four bedrooms, two-car garage, cable included, never lived in, all for $50 less a month than I pay now. Go »