The Best Places to Eat in Central Illinois
"Lexington is a small town of around 2,000 people just outside of Bloomington — so small in fact that many people who grew up in Central Illinois have not heard of it, and everyone else just drives right past it on I-55 on their way to Chicago. For those who do venture off the highway, a breathtaking sight, unusual around these parts, awaits them: cornfields give way to rolling hills dotted with majestic trees, churches, and cemeteries. Lexington, in this regard, could easily be a stand-in for Grover’s Corners, Stars Hollow, or Brigadoon. Keep driving, though, to Lexington’s Main Street, and be rewarded for the journey by two locations inextricably linked that are the very heart and soul of the town. Kemp’s Upper Tap is a standout bar that anywhere else would be called a “gastro pub;” it not only reinforces the notion that Lexington, in its anonymity, is in its space-time, somehow immune from modern marketing annoyances. An endless list of beers on tap, many of which are brewed in Illinois, offers something for everyone, and guests particularly fond of food and beverage pairings will be sure to go through each one to find the perfect match for bar food that is elevated without being pretentious — try the crisp pork tenderloin sandwich with a peach-perfumed lager. Across the street, Lexington Social occupies a restored train depot, so it literally is a destination, but then a kitchen staffed with cooks aiming for the stars turns it into a gastronomic one, as well, with exceptional dishes such as cauliflower seasoned with pistachio butter and marinated raisins and a flounder grenobloise that would make even Julia Child blush." - Timothy DePeugh
