{"id":8,"date":"2010-08-04T23:17:22","date_gmt":"2010-08-05T04:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thebeerreport.com\/mainblog\/?p=8"},"modified":"2012-05-02T11:53:12","modified_gmt":"2012-05-02T16:53:12","slug":"the-harvest-cafe-craft-beer-and-gourmet-food-in-delavan-il","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thebeerreport.com\/mainblog\/?p=8","title":{"rendered":"The Harvest Cafe. Craft Beer and Gourmet food in Delavan IL?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0A few years ago I had a brilliant trip abroad to the Eastern countryside of England…\u00a0 The Cotswolds.\u00a0 Every preconceived notion I had about England and food were shattered on that trip…\u00a0 We walked between villages during the day and stopped at local pubs to grab a great beer and a bite.\u00a0 \u00a0At night…\u00a0 These same pubs would turn their menu into\u00a0a fine dining experience.\u00a0 Great local beers and awesome local meat and produce all worked together to\u00a0provide\u00a0some of the best meals of my life!<\/p>\n

I left the English countryside content that this type of establishment will never be reproduced in Central Illinois.\u00a0 If its not all you can eat walleye or fried chicken… What chance could it have?<\/p>\n

\"Bar\"5 years ago… \u00a0If you would have recommended a small Central Illinois town as a great place to have near gourmet food and craft beer… I would have laughed off this blog!<\/p>\n

Then someone recommends this new restaurant in Delavan… The Harvest Cafe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Delavan is a small town tucked away off some country roads between Peoria and Springfield IL. Its one of the countless towns that dot the Central Illinois landscape with populations of under 2000 people. Communities this small usually pride themselves on whether they have a Casey’s General Store or not!<\/p>\n

So, you can imagine my trepidation when I started hearing rumors of a great dining restaurant in Delavan.\u00a0 No slam on the town… But, I was really expecting to hear about awesome fried chicken or\u00a0some deep fried appetizer!<\/p>\n

The Harvest Cafe is the latest addition to downtown\u00a0Delavan.\u00a0 \u00a0A downtown, that like many small rural towns is struggling to keep\u00a0vital and alive.<\/p>\n

\"BestWe snuck in for breakfast a few weeks ago…\u00a0 Just to get an idea of what was going on.\u00a0 To my pleasant surprise…\u00a0 We were greeted by a beautifully restored exterior.\u00a0 It would have made 1910 Delavan as proud as the 2010 population.\u00a0 The interior is more modern, but had some classic touches to remind you that you are in an old building.<\/p>\n

Breakfast turned out great.\u00a0 I had some Cajun grits with shrimp.\u00a0 Ang had some biscuits and gravy.\u00a0 Summer was overloaded with 2 of the biggest pancakes she has ever seen in her life!\u00a0\u00a0They were served with a side of amazingly flavorful\u00a0sausage.<\/p>\n

We asked for a dinner menu, just to get an idea of what might be in store if we came by later.\u00a0\u00a0After\u00a0checking\u00a0the menu over… It was decided that a future dinner was probably in order.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Breakfast for the family and grandmother was a healthy 40 bucks.\u00a0 I was a little put off by the price for a breakfast.\u00a0\u00a0 But, if it were Bob Evans in Pekin… Would it have been any less?\u00a0 Probably not.<\/p>\n

Return Dinner Visit:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Ribs!\"Ang found it very ironic that we would be heading to Delavan for our anniversary dinner…\u00a0 After all… We have made a habit of driving to more upscale establishments in Peoria and Bloomington over the years for that one\u00a0evening a\u00a0year without the kids.\u00a0\u00a0 Jonahs, The Fish House, Alexanders, Kobe etc are the normal haunts.<\/p>\n

It was a Thursday night… So, I was not surprised to see that they had plenty of places to sit.\u00a0 We grabbed a table off to the side and quickly ordered some beer and a Blue Moon mussel appetizer.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Holy smokes!\u00a0 The mussels were a bargain for the portion, and had some kind of amazing lemon cream sauce.\u00a0 I mean amazing!\u00a0 Very nice.<\/p>\n

\"Matilda\"The beer on draft was Goose Island Matlida.\u00a0 Yes, Matilda!\u00a0 That’s something special when you see it on Kelleher’s\u00a0epic tap list in Peoria.\u00a0\u00a0 The Matilda was served in a pint glass that was frosted.\u00a0 I was half tempted to say something to the waitress… But she looked really young and I thought it might be more hassle to explain about the glassware than it was worth.\u00a0 (Frosted glasses should be saved for the Bud and Miller drinkers.\u00a0 Reducing the temp of a good craft beer actually takes away from the flavors and esters that make craft beer great)<\/p>\n

\"Pizza\"For dinner, the wife and I split a rack of ribs and one of the Italian themed pizza’s.\u00a0 The ribs were already cut, so we didn’t get all messy eating them.\u00a0 You could tell the ribs were slow cooked in some fashion, the menu was kinda vague on those details.\u00a0 They were served with a splash of a spicy mustard and some homemade slaw.\u00a0 Overall they were delicious.<\/p>\n

The pizza was good.\u00a0 The slices of prosciutto were generous and gave the “za” a little more flare.<\/p>\n

I ordered the other Goose Island beer they had on draft, Pierre Jacques.\u00a0 This time asking the waitress to hold the frosted mug.\u00a0 Ahhhhh… That was much better.<\/p>\n

Desert would have been overkill.\u00a0 They had an offering of cobblers and pies that sounded great.\u00a0 But we were already going to be taking food home as it was!<\/p>\n

As we sat and picked at this mass of food…\u00a0 We became more and more convinced on how needed this place was in a small town like Delavan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When the check arrived…\u00a0 I had to do a double take.\u00a0 We ate like royalty…\u00a0 Ordered tremendous food and drinks… And were left with a very reasonable bill\u00a0of 40 bucks.\u00a0 Far less than our average on Anniversaries past.\u00a0 You know, if we had gone to Peoria for this same dinner… It would have been 80.00 to 100.00 for the 2 of us.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At this point… I am sold on going Delavan for some great food and drink.\u00a0 Will we ever get to that point where every town has a “pub” like this?\u00a0 I can only hope!\u00a0 You see all these trends for folks eating more local and fresh food… It seems odd that areas like ours that are surrounded by it are the last ones to catch on!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cheers to The Harvest Cafe!\u00a0 Its worth the trip!\u00a0 Get down to Delavan!<\/p>\n

Link:\u00a0 http:\/\/harvestcafedelavan.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Side notes:\u00a0 First, let me just say that I am NOT a food critic by any stretch.\u00a0 But I really felt that this is a place that should be shared and celebrated.\u00a0\u00a0 After seeing great places come and go over the years… You have to try and support the ones that are truly special.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plus:\u00a0<\/p>\n