Kurt Ritz contends that cheese is the most important part of a horseshoe, the open-face kitchen-sink pseudo-sandwich of Springfield, Illinois. Canned cheese sauce, which some Springfield shoe makers use, is easy and bright, but it cannot match the silky orange emulsion that starts with the roux Ritz makes each morning, to which he adds Old English cheese and milk to achieve a consistency that will cling to meat and potatoes but not weigh them down. Although beer is not part of most recipes, Springfield’s better sauces have hopsy verve that balances their thickness and offers contrast to the heft of potatoes above and meat below. Ritz’s is good enough that many customers pay 50 cents to get extra sauce for their shoe.
Ritz’s serves very nice shoes (as well as smaller “pony shoes”) for breakfast, starting at 5:30am as well as for lunch. Potential ingredients include burgers, turkey, fish, sausage, grilled tenderloins. You even can substitute American fries or hash browns for the more typical crinkle-cut French fries.
Sunday | CLOSED |
Monday | 6am - 2pm |
Tuesday | 6am - 2pm |
Wednesday | 6am - 2pm |
Thursday | 6am - 2pm |
Friday | 6am - 2pm |
Saturday | CLOSED |
Other Nearby Restaurants
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Cozy Dog
Southern View, IllinoisDipped in batter and deep-fried when ordered, the Cozy Dog has vivid crunch and succulence. It’s an Illinois Route 66 landmark.
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Charlie Parker’s
Springfield, IllinoisCharlie Parker’s is an out-of-the-way Quonset hut diner specializing in huge pancakes and the Springfield, Illinois, signature dish, the horseshoe.
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Joe Rogers Original Recipe Chili Parlor
Springfield, IllinoisThe hot-oil chili that is a specialty of Springfield, Illinois, comes in six degrees of heat at Joe Rogers, from MILD to FIREBRAND. The latter is ferocious.
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Shannon’s Five Star
Bloomington, IllinoisA large, friendly diner / coffee shop along old Route 66 in Illinois, Shannon’s is a place for hearty breakfast, lunch, and dinner with truck-stop ambience.
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D’Arcy’s Pint
Springfield, IllinoisD’Arcy’s Pint is a family-friendly pub specializing in the unique horseshoe sandwich — a huge kitchen-sink meal unique to downstate Illinois.
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Sunrise Cafe
Springfield, IllinoisIn this Springfield diner, burgers are crisp-edge yummy. Breakfast is served all day. Sunrise dinner specials are fried chicken Tuesday and walleye Friday.