As an essential component of all meetings and events, food has the potential to be more than just fuel.
On the surface, organizing F&B at an event is nothing more than a basic requirement to keep attendees fed, but when planners understand how food can be used as a tool for encouraging conversations, fostering relationships and creating memorable experiences, they can transform meals into moments of interaction and collaboration.
The right shared dining experience can leave a lasting impression and cultivate lasting connections, and the versatility of dining scenes in destinations big and small gives planners the freedom and flexibility they need to find their group’s perfect F&B fit.
In Illinois, for example, Chicago offers a dining scene that’s world-renowned and guaranteed to please every palate, which makes finding the right fit for even the pickiest of groups easy. And when groups venture south to smaller destinations in the state, like Springfield and Peoria, they may be surprised to discover the dining scenes are just as versatile.
Following are restaurant recommendations and offsite venues in these two Central Illinois cities for memorable group dining experiences where food fuels friendships.
[Related: Central Illinois Cities Along Route 66 With Historical Meetings Opportunities]
Springfield
Illinois’ state capital holds a lot of history, from Abraham Lincoln to Route 66 and a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, but it may come as a surprise to learn Springfield delivers in dining options, too.
“Springfield is home to more than 200 locally owned eateries,” said Amy Beadle, marketing manager at the Springfield CVB. “This makes for a wide variety of cuisine choices all across the city.”
Maldaner’s, for example, is a farm-to-table American eatery that’s been serving fresh food made with local ingredients since 1884. Located along the storied Route 66, this fine-dining establishment offers private dining as well as catering, a lengthy group appetizer list and lunch and dinner buffets for groups of 20 or more.
“In season, their chicken-salad-stuffed heirloom tomato is a must,” Beadle said.
A second historic restaurant, Dew Chilli Parlor, has been serving Springfield’s finest Tavern Style Chilli—“with two L’s; one extra for the love it is made with”—since 1909. The restaurant’s Dew Party Room features a full bar, weekend entertainment and space for groups of up to 50.
Engrained Brewery & Restaurant is a locally owned microbrewery and farm-to-table restaurant offering an artisanal, award-winning beer lineup that’s brewed onsite. Its seasonal menu is curated using fresh food from local family farms and features the “best cheese curds in town,” according to Beadle. Groups can gather in the restaurant’s private event space overlooking the brewery.
“The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum offers an award-winning experience like no other for group special dinner events,” Beadle said. Groups can dine in the museum’s open rotunda and explore its exhibits and theaters after dessert.
For groups too big for private dining rooms or those without time for an elaborate sit-down meal, Springfield’s F&B offerings can be experienced quickly and on foot, too.
A fast, must-try bite in the city, Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop on historic Route 66 opened in 1924 as the first drive-thru restaurant in the nation, according to Visit Springfield, and is famous for its loose-meat sandwiches and homemade root beer.
And for dessert, Aunt Lou’s Soul Food serves a delicious warm peach cobbler (to follow its famous shrimp and grits). Mel-O-Cream Donuts has been serving donuts since 1932 and Incredibly Delicious, nestled in the historic Weber House, dates back to 1845 and offers French-style baked goods.
[Related: The Meeting Planner’s Guide to Hotels and Event Venues in Springfield, Illinois]
Springfield’s Horseshoe Sandwich Trail
It’s “the most delicious trail in town,” and the only thing on the menu is Springfield’s signature sandwich.
The Horseshoe sandwich was created in 1928 at the Old Leland Hotel by chef Joe Schweska with the help of his wife Elizabeth. The chef needed a new lunch item for the Leland Hotel Restaurant, and it came in the form of an open-faced sandwich on two thick slices of toasted Texas Toast with ham and French fries drizzled in cheese sauce.
Chef Schweska revealed the secret recipe for the Horseshoe more than a decade later in the 1939 Christmas edition of The State Journal-Register, and it’s been a Springfield staple ever since.
According to the Springfield CVB, the name “horseshoe” was derived from the shape of the cut of ham used in the original sandwich, the French fries represent the nails of the shoe and the sizzle platter represents the hot anvil.
Attendees in town for a meeting can try Springfield’s signature sandwich at multiple restaurants in the city. The Springfield CVB made them easy to find with the Springfield Horseshoe Sandwich Trail.
Visitors get a pass by scanning the QR code on the Springfield CVB’s website. At various locations on the trail, they will receive a text, and at each stop they can check in via GPS and earn points for their dining.
[Related: 6 Group-Friendly Restaurants to Try in Chicago’s Suburbs]
Peoria
“When you’re visiting downtown Peoria, and really throughout the region, you’ll see a diverse array of cuisine,” said J.D. Dalfonso, president and CEO of Discover Peoria. “We have plenty of Lebanese, Mexican, American, Irish fare and more, and it’s all in the heart of downtown, making a lot of these restaurants great for groups.”
Many of the city’s restaurants have been recognized by Enjoy Illinois as Illinois Made Makers, a program celebrating the small businesses “whose uniquely Illinoisan style and creativity set our locally made goods apart.”
Obed & Isaac’s Microbrewery and Eatery is one such restaurant. This local favorite is housed within a beautifully preserved church built in 1889 and offers an ever-changing list of brews and a menu featuring family recipes.
“It’s a great spot with a great vibe,” Dalfonso said. “You sit in a restored church with stained glass windows, high vaulted ceilings, and depending on the season, you have a great beer garden with plenty of games for after you meet. It’s a great place for happy hours and some fresh air.”
Another Illinois Made Makers-recognized restaurant is Ardor Breads & Provisions, “founded on vegetable preservation and fermentation in a naturally leavened bakery.”
With a menu inspired by old-fashioned cooking techniques, Ardor Breads & Provisions started with the idea that “every great meal starts with great bread” and offers private and semi-private dining options, catering and a limited number of restaurant buyouts.
“Their menu is built around the local produce and food gathered here in Springfield,” Dalfonso said. “It’s not a matter of, ‘This is what we’re going to make, let’s go get the ingredients.’ They source the ingredients first and then they create the menu around what they find.”
BLACK BAND Distillery, a third Illinois Made Maker establishment, is a certified organic, small batch craft distillery that produces award-winning spirits in the heart of Peoria’s Warehouse District. The distillery sources grain from organic farmers in the Midwest and is a perfect setting for post-meeting pints.
“They’re bringing us back to our roots, having been the whiskey capital of the world prior to prohibition,” Dalfonso said. “That’s a major part of our history in Peoria, and BLACK BAND has brought back the heart of distilling here in the River City.”
