- Trendspotting in C-U: Asian restaurants opening next to, or very close to, Asian grocery stores. It appears (and this is speculation) that the folks at Lee’s Oriental Foods, which is right next to Jerry’s IGA on Kirby, are about to open an establishment called “Yellowfin Restaurant.” B-Won, the new Korean restaurant on Neil, is two doors down from Korean grocery Green Onion …
- Say goodbye to Persimmon Grocery. It appears Thad Morrow’s experiment just couldn’t make it in downtown Champaign. (I wonder if that has something to do with his Web site being MIA for several weeks.) To all the gelato fans: don’t worry, you can find some at Tout Sweet in Campustown. Also on its way out: Verde Gallery. The going away party is November 30.
- Blog friend Kelly Searsmith has informed me about a new cafe that opened recently in Mahomet, right off of Illinois 150 near the Carle branch called Villa Caffe. She reports that the food is tasty, the place is cozy, wi-fi is coming, there is a drive-thru (always a plus in lbotp’s book) and it is kid-friendly. Impressive on paper. Might be worth the drive out there to check it out.
- It’s time for the annual pet fair at Prairieland Feeds this weekend. Stock up on your pet food at the best prices of the year. KC eats organic, just like Peanut. Insert joke here.
A pinch of this, a little bit of that
October 10, 2006 · 16 Comments
Categories: Babies and Kids · Champaign · Dogs · Eating In · Eating Out · Mahomet · The Business Section
16 responses so far ↓
C. // October 11, 2006 at 10:35 am
Mike Kulas was an investor in both The Hub and Verde. Wonder if there is any meaning behind the fact that they both closing shop.
lynsalyns // October 11, 2006 at 1:36 pm
I was hoping to try that grocery for good paremesan cheese. Poop.
Can anyone recommend a place to get good parmesan? I’m not a fan of the mass produced stuff from Kraft.
Cynthia // October 11, 2006 at 2:06 pm
World Harvest is a good place to get all sorts of cheese (and lots of other good things too) lynsalyns. Although I sometimes pick up parmigiano reggiano at Schnucks too…
Lisa B. // October 11, 2006 at 2:10 pm
I expect that you could get some good cheese at Sun Singer on Windsor near Prospect. (And a nice bottle of wine to go with that cheese.)
Mate'man // October 11, 2006 at 2:28 pm
Yup … Sun Singer is the place!
Ask Laurant to tell you his heavily accented story about the ‘Cigarre’ wine on the rack vis-a-vis the cash register. This rack has a group of wackily named wines — pure genius!
Maladjusted // October 11, 2006 at 3:17 pm
I get cheese at either Euromart on Springfield or at Art Mart at Lincoln Square Mall.
lbotp // October 11, 2006 at 9:09 pm
Ditto on the Sun Singer, Euromart or Art Mart suggestions. I don’t know, that World Harvest place gives me the willies.
lynsalyns // October 11, 2006 at 9:49 pm
thanks, all! As soon as I get back from NY I’ll try these places.
francofou // October 12, 2006 at 5:18 pm
Pity about Persimmon. You can’t revitalize a downtown with just a good shop or two. Where is imagination, initiative?
francofou // October 12, 2006 at 5:21 pm
World Harvest is *the* best place in C-U for out-of -the-ordinary fare. *Much* better than Sunsinger or Artmart (except for pâté for the latter).
kfan // October 13, 2006 at 12:39 pm
Why does World Harvest give you the willies? The people there are so nice. The cheese selection is good and I like their dolmatas. And the beverage selection is top notch.
lynsalyns // October 15, 2006 at 11:22 am
Is World Harvest by Le Peep? My husband stumbled on that plaza while we were gone. We got a lovely loaf of Almond Vanilla bread and some yummy chocolates from the chocolatier there.
Cynthia // October 15, 2006 at 3:54 pm
No, World Harvest is on University—I’m guessing somewhere between Fifth and Sixth Streets, on the south side of the street. The people are incredibly kind and they have all sorts of different ethnic foods and a great selection of cheeses and olives.
Lisa // October 15, 2006 at 6:59 pm
Ms. lbotp: Scooped again! I had stopped into Lee’s a few months ago and they said they were opening a restaurant, but that it was slow going. I hadn’t seen much progress on the building — I see I’ll have to check again!
Lynsalyns, you are thinking of Great Harvest Bread Co. — that’s the place by Le Peep.
I can’t agree that the demise of Persimmon is a pity. They had hardly anything, in my view. Some cheese, a lot of balsamic vinegar, some wine, a few packages of pasta — OK, the gelato, but you can get that elsewhere. And I thought the prepared foods were awful. But hey, that’s just me. I agree that it would be fantastic to have a real gourmet food shop in downtown Champaign.
Cynthia // October 16, 2006 at 12:08 pm
I liked the idea of Persimmon a lot but when I went in there was little I wanted to buy—it seemed to be searching for an identity. My boys will miss getting ring pops there however…
lbotp // October 16, 2006 at 3:11 pm
Cynthia/Lisa — I agree about Persimmon. It was a good idea, poorly executed. For those of you worried that bacaro was going to follow suit, Thad Morrow said in Sunday’s N-G that bacaro is not in danger.
kfan — I had a bad experience in World Harvest several years ago and never went back. Maybe I should give it another chance.
Lynsalyns — Actually, I think you were in the Natural Gourmet food store, which has the hidden Thai “restaurant” in the back. Yum. And another yum to ice cream at Ruben’s, the chocolate store. The chocolate topping is TO DIE FOR.
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