Illinois game...
- Thread starter charcat
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Of course not, but it doesn't figure to be any worse than last week's game. At least I didn't see any sleet in the forecast. That's good enough for me; I'll be heading down to Champaign. Anybody have any suggestions re: an iconic U of I lunch-type hangout where I might grab a bite before the game? Something akin to Nick's at Indiana, Stub & Herb's at Minnesota or Zingerman's at Michigan? I know of Kam's, but I think that's more of a bar than a place to eat. Especially interested in the type of place that's been there for generations, a place with Illini history dripping off the walls. Love those types of campus joints.
I actually wasn't trolling, I was thinking it might be a good atmosphere. I always think the "neutral court" atmosphere when the Illini play at WRA makes for a really intense atmosphere when it's a good game. That 2009 comeback of ours was insanely loud there.
Anyway, Champaign was (as I suspect most fans here are remembering) a rather unimpressive university town until circa 2012 when downtown and Campustown kind of transformed themselves. There is a reason it never ranked highly as a college town in the past but now almost always cracks the top 20 on any list put together. However, one "con" of that is that a lot of the old "classic" places (with the exception of Kams) that you seem to be looking for have gone away. Campustown has a lot of fun bars, and all of them will have Illini stuff on the walls, but no classic place.
I would maybe suggest Legends on Green Street:
It's the one on the right with the orange and blue aunings next to the new Marriott.
If it were an early season game, I would definitely suggest going to the new, first-come-first-serve tailgating area called Grange Grove:
However, given that we are terrible, the students are gone and the weather will be "meh," it will probably be unimpressive. Personally, I would make sure you get to downtown Champaign, which has gone from a ghost town to a really fun area to go out in since about 2010:
If you do, Nando Milano is a great Italian place (originally from Wicker Park), Black Dog has great BBQ, DESTIL brews some great beer and I think the Blind Pig Brewery is an absolute must for anyone visiting, but that's just me:
Might be a tad cold for that beer garden, but it's still my favorite place.
Hope you have fun!!Love the Blind Pig photo. I'm the architect that did the expansion a few years ago. Very fun project.I actually wasn't trolling, I was thinking it might be a good atmosphere. I always think the "neutral court" atmosphere when the Illini play at WRA makes for a really intense atmosphere when it's a good game. That 2009 comeback of ours was insanely loud there.
Anyway, Champaign was (as I suspect most fans here are remembering) a rather unimpressive university town until circa 2012 when downtown and Campustown kind of transformed themselves. There is a reason it never ranked highly as a college town in the past but now almost always cracks the top 20 on any list put together. However, one "con" of that is that a lot of the old "classic" places (with the exception of Kams) that you seem to be looking for have gone away. Campustown has a lot of fun bars, and all of them will have Illini stuff on the walls, but no classic place.
It's the one on the right with the orange and blue aunings next to the new Marriott.
If it were an early season game, I would definitely suggest going to the new, first-come-first-serve tailgating area called Grange Grove:
However, given that we are terrible, the students are gone and the weather will be "meh," it will probably be unimpressive. Personally, I would make sure you get to downtown Champaign, which has gone from a ghost town to a really fun area to go out in since about 2010:
If you do, Nando Milano is a great Italian place (originally from Wicker Park), Black Dog has great BBQ, DESTIL brews some great beer and I think the Blind Pig Brewery is an absolute must for anyone visiting, but that's just me:
Might be a tad cold for that beer garden, but it's still my favorite place.
Nice job on that. I'm sure it was fun and the area is better off for it having been built.
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