5 Illinois Restaurant Meals Worth Every Mile of the Drive to Eat

A survey found that we would drive many miles just to eat our favorite food. We found 5 Illinois restaurant meals worth every mile of that drive.

This morning on The Steve Shannon Show, we shared a survey that says, on average, most people would be willing to travel over 250 miles to eat their favorite food.

5 Illinois Restaurant Meals Worth Every Mile of the Drive to Eat

#1 The Barn Steakhouse

A meat-centric dining experience hidden away down an alley in the heart of Downtown Evanston. I look at photos of the theory food on Facebook and it takes everything I've got to not jump in the car and drive.

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Holy Meat! Illinois is Home to One of America’s Best Cheesesteaks

#2 Baked Pizzas

I found this place by searching Yelp, you're missing an opportunity to find those joints that don't spend a bunch of money on advertising if you don't use Yelp (or something like it).

These places are typically locally owned by people with a great passion for what they do. if it's food, these are my favorite places to visit. When it comes to food, passion delivers far better flavors than the corporate paycheck and that's why so many say Baked Pizza in Galesburg serves Illinois' best pizza.

RELATED: These Are the 5 Best Chicago Deep Dish Pizzas, Food Experts Say

#3 Margie's Candies

While dessert is considered part of a meal, this place can turn it into an ENTIRE meal. This legendary Chicago sweet shop is home to the World's Largest Ice Cream Sundae. It takes 25 scoops of ice cream to make this giant sundae.

Locals tell stories of Chicago mobster Al Capone being a big fan and that he was a regular customer.

In 1965, The Beatles had just finished a concert at Comiskey Park, and in walks John, Paul, George, and Ringo, with 5 girls to sit down and eat the ice cream they had been hearing about all day. The ice cream parlor has a lot of Beatles memorabilia on the walls commemorating that night.

RELATED: One of America’s Most Loved Desserts was Invented in Illinois

#4 Shaw's Crabhouse

The seafood version of a steakhouse, that's Shaw's Crabhouse in Chicago. For a seafood restaurant in the Midwest to be named one of the best seafood restaurants in the US is huge. It's also not a surprise to anyone who has ever eaten at Shaw's.

#5 6th Street Cafe

The city of Springfield, IL is home to a pretty unique sandwich called the Horseshoe. It's a sandwich usually with 2 slices of toast at the bottom, then 2 hamburger patties topped with fries and covered with chees sauce. Of course, you can switch out the meat for something else. You can also get one half the size, called a Ponyshoe.

I've never seen one turned into a breakfast meal. Emily, producer of The Steve Shannon Show would drive to Illinois' capital city to eat this Breakfast Pony at 6th Street Cafe.

The Breakfast Pony is a biscuit on the bottom, topped with bacon, tater tots cheese sauce, and two eggs.

One caller said she'd drive over 250 miles for her favorite beer. It turns out that the best place she should travel to is also in Springfield, the city recently named, Illinois' Best City for Beer Lovers.