This is a great little neighborhood coffee shop. It's located in what I"d guess was a gas station…read morein its earlier life. The ambiance is minimalist with a rustic twist and it truly is right on the corner, so you can't miss it. They offer a good variety of teas, coffee and morning pastries. If you're there at lunchtime, they've got that covered, too. They offer several sandwiches and for the health conscious, there is a variety of salads, too. The staff was friendly and brewed me a great cup of coffee. I love small town coffee shops. Their personalized service out shines that chain that most people love.

I found this delightful little cafe in downtown Wood River a pleasant surprise. While it has been…read moreopen for about two years now (yes, I asked), I had not heard of Russell's Corner Cafe until a few days ago when I took an alternative route and happened to drive by the cafe. It's an ideal place to grab your morning caffeine or a quick lunch, while supporting a small business. My Order: Mango Passionfruit Iced Tea & The Italian Sandwich Food/Drinks: The coffee menu is extensive, and they have a decent tea menu (my tea was Stash). There's a small bakery/pastry case, plus a few sandwiches and salads on the menu. After eating there, I checked out their social media; it looks like they have occasional specials that they post. I enjoyed my tea, and the Italian Sandwich was delicious. My sandwich came with a little cup of oil with herbs, which was so good! Atmosphere: The inside is simple, yet inviting. There's a counter where you order, and two small rooms with a few tables in each room. There's also a few tables outside, which I would have sat at had it been a little bit warmer. The woman working the counter was friendly and helpful. Logistics: It's 3 hour street parking, but I had no trouble finding a spot. The building is sort of on the corner/side road. Once inside, head up to the counter to order.

This is truly a local gem on the River Road. We were staying at Green Tree Inn (also a gem), and…read morecame here for dinner on Saturday night. Melanie took excellent care of us. My dirty Martini was outstanding. Our entrees were excellent. They were also good for dinner the next evening when we had the left overs. It was a very warm evening in Elsah and the restaurant was also a bit warm...but so totally worth it! We will be back soon!

State Street is easily one of my favorite restaurants in the Riverbend area. They were a shining…read morestar in downtown Alton until their lease was not renewed. At first I thought it was a bad call by the landlord. Now that they are located in Elsah, I realize he did them a favor. Beau and Terri rallied and took on the challenge of relocating their restaurant. They searched hight and low and found the perfect location in Elsah, just 8 miles north of the old location. Elsah welcomed them with open arms and issued them the first liquor license in the history of the township. Since the relocation I have been multiple times for lunch. You cannot go wrong with their famous Mushroom Asparagus Soup or one of the popular Paninis. I've also been to a wine dinner that impressed me and my cousin who is a wine connoisseur. The wine and food were paired beautifully. Experiencing a regular dinner in the boutique dinning room is also a delight. Their menu changes regularly, but I must say when you see Terri's Lasagna being offered, that is a sign to order it. You will not be disappointed. All the servers and staff are spectacular. It blows my mind how many of them can remember the names of all their regulars. It makes for a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Next time you're traveling the River Road, take a detour into Elsah and visit State Street on LaSalle.

Met up with some friends at Goshen Coffee for a pastry and to catch up, and it was a great spot for…read moreit. I'll admit, I'm not much of a coffee guy, no matter how many times I've tried, but I'm always in for a good pastry and conversation. My wife and our friends, on the other hand, are big coffee people and had nothing but great things to say about what they ordered. The place was definitely busy, but it never felt overwhelming. The seating is set up really well, it still felt comfortable and somewhat private, even with a lot of people there meeting and chatting. I went with a blueberry scone and it was honestly excellent. Definitely worth it. Parking is a bit limited at this location, but it seems to flow just fine. There are plenty of options on the menu, and I'm looking forward to coming back and trying more. Always nice to have a great local spot like this, support local!

First time coming here. Just on the whim. Wanted to check them out since I was I the area. I was…read morehappy to see this location you can go inside. I was under the impression it was drive thru only. Building looks like it was an old bank. Which is cool! They have some parking the wraps around. There's drive thru as well. Once you walk inside it's very clean and calm like theme. The guy that took my order was kind and asked if I had any questions about anything. They have bar stool style seating or if you have a bigger group there's tables and chairs. The banana nut bread was good and fresh. I went with a drink item off their winter menu. It's their blood orange expresso. The vibes are very mod to retro like. Prices range from $3.50-7 on drinks. They offer hot foods as well. It was nice little pop in for a nasty weather day we had this morning. With the rain and cold.

Came for Monte Cristo but menu has changed, so tried Viva La Crepe which is just as good for me…read more Satisfying but not too heavy, just the way I like it. Paired with mocha beautifully done. My companions had lake bake and French toast. Service and ambience were both great as usual. Fast and pleasant. No loud music which is sweet to my soul.

I was a little surprised by how this experience stacked up against the 4.6 rating…read more I ordered the turkey and brie sandwich, and it didn't really land. The bread was more like a basic sub roll than something you'd expect from a café like this, and the balance was off. It was very heavy on the turkey and pretty light on the brie, which kind of defeats the point of ordering that combo in the first place. That said, service was solid and the space itself is a nice, quiet spot if you're looking to get some work done over lunch. Overall, not terrible, but not something I'd go out of my way to come back for.

This coffee shop was such a fun and unique experience! The coffee drinks had creative names and…read moredistinctive flavors that made them stand out from the usual menu options. The staff were incredibly friendly, welcoming, and helpful throughout my visit. When I'm back in town, I'll definitely be stopping by again!

People clearly love this place. At 8 AM on a Sunday morning, there was already a pretty good crowd…read more I've been doing meetups at local coffee shops for the past several weeks, and sometimes it's kind of a ghost town, even if the food and coffee is good. I'd suggest that people were there to visit downtown St. Charles, or whatever it's called, which has a certain old-timey charm to it, but everything else was closed--presumably until later in the day, but who knows. That fentanyl is a menace. Parking could be a pain, if it's not the wee hours of the morning on a weekend, and you're not ambulatory enough to walk from a block or two over, and yet you're going to get essentially the equivalent of a milkshake and a donut. Inside is rustic, inviting and larger than you'd think, with an upstairs area that I didn't bother to explore, due to lack of curiosity. We had a larger group and ended up pushing a few smaller tables together, plus a few chairs we borrowed from other tables. No one seemed to mind. The key is not to ask first. That mentality will take you far in both the world of finance and dating. I'm kind of over ordering food from coffee shops, where they're obviously just throwing something in the microwave and charging you $10 for it, but I needed something to eat. I'd just gone for a run. Their burrito looked like the textbook definition of cultural appropriation, but it also looked like it might not be half bad. I had their equivalent of an Egg McMuffin, called Ron's Breakfast Sandwich, or something to that effect. When I hear the name Ron, I of course think of Sasso from Carlito's Way, but that probably says more about me than anything else. I'm assuming he didn't have anything to do with this. Essentially, this was a store-bought English muffin, a surprisingly generous and delicious helping of cheddar cheese, a few slices of seemingly prepackaged black forest ham and a fried egg. It was fine for what it was. Could the egg have been salted, could the muffin have been buttered and could the ham been an actual slice of Canadian bacon, or even better, American bacon? Sure, but I went into this with low expectations. The cheddar was melty and delicious, and weirdly abundant, but processed American cheese would have been more fitting for this kind of sandwich. You'd think a guy named Ron wouldn't object to processed foods. The caramel frappe I had was amazing. I got it with whole milk and whipped cream. I didn't bother to check and see if they charge you extra for whipped cream, which is the kind of crap some of these places have been known to pull. I got the 16 oz instead of the 20 oz, but it was probably still enough to take a day off the end of my life (when I don't need it as much anyway fwiw). Sometimes, when a food item tastes good enough, you can just tell it's not good for you, and that was the case with this drink. It was decidedly rich. I'm never in this part of town, and if I were, it would be at night, natch, but if things ever get to the point where they're clearly trending in that direction, I might start stopping by on the reg and getting that caramel frappe just to speed along the process of my demise.

Well, I hate to be the first to review and have it be subpar but I have to be honest in case fellow…read moreYelpers check out my rating to help decide whether to try this place... As John H. mentioned in his review of Books a Million, Joe Muggs Cafe is a coffee shop in the back of the book store. There are plenty of seats and tables and I see lots of people using this place as a "library." My personal convictions won't allow me to sit in a cafe without buying something so I ordered 2 hot chocolates. With tax, almost $7 so I was a bit surprised and commented "Whoa - it must be good hot chocolate!" It was not. Obviously instant added to hot water and not very good instant, either. My companion remarked, "What did you expect, that they were going to melt some real chocolate into some hot milk for you?" No, but I was expecting good drinks... On the plus side - the server was very polite and cheerful. Even though I mentioned previously that I'm against being a "user" (sitting and reading a book without buying it or even a hot drink), some people may view this as a plus. I'll try not to judge.

It's a very nice place to just sit and read a book, get a drink, a snack, and relax. I like to sit…read moreand do homework. I'm secretary of a club and it's one of few places we can sit and have a meeting. The food and drinks are a bit expensive, but a few of their drinks are great! Also, if you ask for a list of syrups they have one behind the counter.

Loved the coffee and the food was great also. We liked the coffee enough we bought a few punks of…read morebeans to take home.

One word: DELICIOUS!…read more First time trying this place and I chose the Caesar wrap and the sweet potatoes. The food was so fresh and you can tell it was made to order. Nothing tasted prepackaged or warmed up in a microwave, which I appreciated. My favorite aspect of my meal was the unique take on the Caesar wrap. I've never had croutons in my wrap before but all the ingredients and flavors made so much sense! Well done Ukraft. I hope to try more things on your amazing menu.

First time coming to this location (but I've tried Goshen before). The matcha lemonade on their…read morespring menu was super refreshing, well-balanced, and not overly sweet. It's one of those drinks that feels perfect on a warm day. I also tried the avocado toast which was decent but didn't quite stand out. It was fresh and nicely presented but not too memorable. The space itself has a great vibe, nice place to sit and hang out for a bit. The cafe hours are also good, it's hard to find one that doesn't close at 2PM. The drinks really deliver and while the food could be a bit stronger, it's still a spot I'd come back to.

I was altogether unfamiliar with this place, but apparently they make their own coffee and they…read morehave a few locations, mostly in Illinois. Do they have school-age children harvesting their beans down in Colombia, chewing coca leaves for the emotional fortitude, or are they just purchasing beans wholesale from Costco and slapping their own label on it, like most of the products at the nearby Soulard Farmers Market? I wouldn't judge them for either of those things, because that's not what I'm about. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. It occurred to me, standing in line, that ordering a Bananas Foster Latte was maybe not the best way to judge or experience this place's coffee, but how was I supposed to pass up such an item, which was available as part of their seasonal menu? I'd order a colonic, if it came in Bananas Foster. Also, who are we kidding? I couldn't tell one brand of coffee from another just based on taste. I can only tell if it's Starbucks if it's burnt-tasting, but even then it could just be Folgers that's been sitting around for a while, waiting to heat up so it can be thrown in Craig Mack's face. I toyed around with the idea of getting a pastry, of which there were several intriguing options on the seasonal menu, but I opted for the burrito instead, due to the novelty and the fact that you could smell them while you stood there in line. I had to have one. I could have gotten both, but then I wouldn't have been able to make rent and I would have had to go live under an overpass along the River Des Peres Greenway near Carondelet Park--and I don't trust some of the people I see over there. For some reason, they were out of the Goshen Burrito but they still had the Founders Burrito, which has all the same ingredients. I took this to mean that they're pre-assembled and possibly defrosted, as is the case with the tacos at Jack in the Box. Regardless, like the tacos at Jack in the Box, the Founders Burrito is damn tasty. Because it's grilled, and it's filled with melted cheese, it's more along the lines of a quesadilla. It's not very big, for the price, but it does come with sour cream, Cholula and salsa verde on the side. which was mighty generous of them. I'm sure the Cholula alone will run you. If I worked there, I'd pilfer a few daily to keep in my pantry. In retrospect, it may not have been the best idea in the world to pair my burrito with a banana-flavored iced latte, made with whole milk. But otherwise it was an excellent selection. The banana flavor really hits you, on your first sip, but then after that there's a real subtlety to it. It's not overly sweet, nor is there an especially strong coffee flavor. I drank the whole thing down in a few gulps, as if I were Andre the Giant pounding beers on the set of the Princess Bride. In part this was because I'd just gone on a run, but also it was that good. If only I could afford to toss these back on the reg.