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    Windy City Express

    3.3 (54 reviews)
    InexpensiveHot Dogs, Burgers
    Open 10:30 am - 10:00 pm

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    WINDY CITY EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Windy City Express

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    Italian Beef (served dipped with hot giardiniera) and Fries with a drink. Monday's lunch special.
    Stephanie H.

    Best Italian Beef in town, as far as I'm concerned. Awesome fries - they're those lightly battered crispy fries. Serve yourself soft drink refills (which is always a plus for me in a counter service place). I don't know what Skip B is talking about with regard to being dirty. I found this place exceptionally clean. Even the window sills were free from dust. As for the dining room being empty, they seem to have quite a bit of drive through traffic at lunch time. Besides my husband and myself, there were also four other tables full of guys - mainly construction/manual labor type guys. All in all, it was exactly what I was looking for - a great beef sandwich in CU. YUM!

    Daily specials menu
    Nelson M.

    Restaurant review There goes my waist... I've work at the hospital for about a year and was wondering if there was any grease joints around. I'm completely surprised that this is located one street away from the hospital as it has classic Chicago foods including hamburgers, fried fish, hot dogs, and gyros. The food is made fresh to order so you do have to wait a little bit. The owners quite friendly and proud of his food. The first time I went I got a philly cheese steak. It was cooked perfectly and use quality ingredients. There was ample amount of fries with my combo and free refills while you eat in-house. The second time I came was on the weekend and I had their fried chicken and fish special. The chicken tenders are quite heavenly with their own dipping sauce. I went with the honey mustard and left the tribe the barbecue sauce. The food coming out very hot it takes a while to cool off, but you know that the food is fresh. What is surprising about this combo is that you can pick the type of fish you want. This includes tilapia and I believe walleye. My only concern about the fried fish was that it seemed to be over seasoned with the lemon salt. This was served over a bed of fries which was a little bit too much food for me. I may have found my new favorite grease joint in Champaign. Pros: Cheap inexpensive and fresh food although not the healthiest Cons: Long wait times especially for their busy Hidden deals: Their daily meal deals please check out my photos for details Health code rating: B to C. I don't want to believe the health code rating but they seem to have issues with food temperature http://champaign.il.gegov.com/champaign/estab.cfm?facilityID=1478

    french fries in a paper bag

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    6 months ago

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    4 years ago

    We've had the beef and sausage, the gyro, the chicken tenders, hush puppies, EVERYTHING has been delicious!!

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    14 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Suprisingly good gyros and fries. Reasonable prices good service. I'll be back. Doesn't look like much but you might be surprised

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    4 years ago

    Gooder than a Mfa...would definitely go there again best thing other than fast food and everything is hot and fresh cooked to order

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    Baxters American Grille

    Baxters American Grille

    4.1(182 reviews)
    2.4 mi
    $$$

    I had a great experience at Baxter's American Grille in Champaign. I ordered the Ribeye cooked…read moremedium, along with the Brussel Sprouts and Mushrooms, and everything came out perfectly prepared and full of flavor. All of the steak options here are delicious, there's usually little to no wait time, and the food comes out fast. The service was just as impressive as the food, making the whole meal enjoyable from start to finish. The ambiance was phenomenal and great for small or large dinners!

    We visited Baxter expecting to have a finer dining experience in the Champaign area. When we…read morearrived, we were greeted and seated promptly. We ordered two of their specialty cocktails, which took a little long to be delivered but subsequently were very good. Next we ordered the stuffed mushrooms, Halibut and filet medallions. Service was a little slow so we decided to just enjoy the time together. Our appetizer arrived and was outstanding. It was a bit of a wait for our entrees to appear and when they did we were disappointed with the wait. The filet was ordered medium well and arrived seared to almost well done other than the very center was cold and red. The halibut was overcooked as well but regardless I decided to enjoy the halibut because it was still palatable. The filet, on the other hand was not. It was tough and just not very good. I fully expected to spend the money on a fine dining experience but didn't feel that experience was met. We will try Baxter again in the future with hopes of a better experience but our history there has been hit and miss!

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    Baxters American Grille
    Baxters American Grille
    Baxters American Grille - Mocktail based on blueberry kiwi cocktail

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    Mocktail based on blueberry kiwi cocktail

    The Space - the McWeird with tallow fries

    The Space

    4.1(30 reviews)
    1.8 mi

    Alright, this one is for my late, older brother, Matt, who rolled his bones in NYC for the…read morelongest and was a restauranteur out there. This place is a gastropub that exceeds the expectations of any other restaurant concept of 217. Been here countless times and you walk in to this old diner energy and then your senses go on tilt from the smells and the look and if you aren't pulled in by that, something is seriously wrong with you cuz this place screams Manhattan 2000's when the culinary scene and celebrity chefs were on ! So super chill vibe with old 50's neon and the menu tonight and specials are beyond amazing! So let us begin... Give me a Chicago handshake to start.... Malort on tap and tall boys of Old Style that tells you the owner is Chicago all the way! This place was nothing like what was popping up in Chicago of the super late 90's and early 2000's with Trotters and Tramoto, been to both, battling the culinary scene and this newer guy, Grant Achatz, of Trio, comes onto the playground and changes everything... This place is special because it's what Keith McNally was successful with on restaurant concepts of this time in NYC and soon to follow nationwide. Menu specials shown and the Chef in command, Conner, definitely showcased his abilities o the end. Start with the morels and they were little bites of spring with the spritz of lemon balancing the bitterness of the garlic that makes you wanting to grab another! The salad and duck fat fries are next... Salad has a great vinaigrette that will cleanse your palate with the pickled red onions and some fresh greens. Duck fat fries: if you never experienced these, highly recommend. They will be the best French fries you ever tasted.... Anyone knows will tell you that Duck fat is a game changer. Then Conner brings out the main course- this 25oz strip steak aged for 45 days and at this point I'm transported back to David Burke and Jose Garcias restaurants that featured dry aged steaks: my kyptonite. Service by Aliyah was superb and this place never misses! Thank you for transporting me back to a memory of my late brother who completely opened my eyes to much more in the culinary world! Great meals=lasting memories

    Gastropub with a punk rock ethos: the menu draws freely from fine cuisine and street foods, and it…read moreupsets the rules about how those categories are supposed to work. We went in on the street food parts of the menu tonight, with the burger (Smashy McSmashface), Tandoori Lamb Kofta, and Sumac Slaw Sando with the falafel patty. Charring is the technique that elevates their street offerings. The smashburger was circled with a lace of crisped beef. The lamb kofta was fully blackened around its surface. (The kitchen perhaps overdid it here and with the grilled pita. The bitter carbonization distracted from other flavors and textures in the ground lamb.) The falafel's fry was perfection, both delicate on the tongue and essential to the thick patty's structure. Conversely, the potent blends of herbs from various cuisines signals the sophistication of their menu. The parsley and other green herbs (did I detect mint?) in the tabbouleh got a bite from the pickled garlic. But even better was setting it atop the sourness of the peppers in the lutenitsa. My choices tonight leaned middle eastern, but the menu effortlessly spans French, East Asian, and American southern. The most provocative aspects of the menu though are the ones that mix high and low cuisine, or that mix elaborate and commercial preparations. I had to laugh that the curried labneh (on the falafel sando) had been thoughtfully spiced with grains of mustard and it also was spread across a generic potato bun. As if to say, "Yeah we made an elevated version of French's mustard but don't take your veggie burger so seriously." There are other routes through the menu that produce the same effect. You want Oysters? Sure, they can be your appetizer before the meatloaf. This place is playful and not afraid to break the rules. Come here for something you didn't expect!

    Photos
    The Space - The brigade!

    The brigade!

    The Space - Gochujang tuna sando

    Gochujang tuna sando

    The Space - Cocktail with Weird Meat Boyz hot sauce

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    Cocktail with Weird Meat Boyz hot sauce

    Windy City Express - hotdog - Updated May 2026

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