The Best Places to Eat in Central Illinois | Eater Chicago

"To the outside observer, Bakery & Pickle — the self-identified “farm-to-table speakeasy” in Bloomington — has two things working against it. First, “farm-to-table” hits differently in Central Illinois where corn and soybean fields stretch to infinity in all directions: chances are, at any one table, on any given day, there’s at least one person who knows the farm, and maybe even drove by it on the way to dinner. Farm-to-table around here is simply how someone journeys to the restaurant. Second, speakeasy as a concept doesn’t present the same mark of innovation it once did in the Lower East Side hot dog-restaurant phone booths of yore. Thank goodness, then, that an evening at Bakery & Pickle — part of the Epiphany Farms restaurant group, which itself is named after local Epiphany Farms, from which almost all ingredients are sourced — is anchored not by stale marketing gimmicks, but by simple joie de vivre. Guests will still need a password to enter (e.g. “Can I get some of Edgar’s fresh buns?”), but feeling silly at the moment is a worthwhile price to pay for the strong and whimsical cocktails (the Pickle Collins — a take on the classic Tom Collins, with sweet pickle brine, celery bitters lemon meringue foam — is ace) and impeccable food that await inside. Eagle-eyed guests who are fans of literature will spot what might be the ultimate Easter egg hanging from the wall above the bar: a pig’s head. It’s unmistakably Orwellian, but considering the sweet country ham charcuterie, the still quivering, robustly flavored steak coulotte, or even the goat cheese foam that seasons grilled peppers in an altogether electric starter — any of which might be part of the chef’s tasting menu on any given night — “Four legs good, two legs bad” might be the freshest spin on farm-to-table cuisine since the words “farm-to-table.”" - Timothy DePeugh