Forum member Kland01s recommended Ron’s to me for a recent trip through Illinois but I had the bad luck to arrive right after a very large group had been seated, and since I was on a bit of a schedule I decided to get back on the road instead.  However, since Ron’s is very near Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks I’m thinking that might be a good reason to return to the area.

Brad

For best chances….get there right around 5:15…seems to work well! 

Buddy, check lthforum.com, I know you post there. There is a multi page thread called “surviving Ottawa” I believe that covers a lot of the LaSalle-Peru-Utica-Ottawa area.

Nice….!!!

Here is the full URL:
http://www.ronscajunconnection.com http://www.ronscajunconnection.com/

Buddy, might I recommend Duffy’s Tavern located in downtown Utica. They have the best fried cauliflower…read whole…that I ever ate. Super crispy & delicious and it goes quite well w/ the excellent drinkies they make.
# http://www.duffystavernandgrill.com/

About 4 weeks ago I finally got my chance to eat at http://ronscajunconnection.com The Cajun Connection.

11:55am on Sunday and people are hungry.

I was tucked away in  corner of the front room; the archway is the passage to the rest of the building.

Gumbo?  Yes, please.  Not at all spicy and not as thick as I expected, but great flavor.

Red beans and rice on the left, shrimp etouffee on the right, and probably jambalaya in between.  Clean Plate Club membership renewed.

Primo’s has possibilities–hop on I-39 north to Mendota, then, when finished with dinner, get back on I-39 continuing north to I-88 back to Chicago.  Still, I’m wondering what’s available and good in LaSalle or Peru, which are right there near the parks.
 
Buddy

Reviews sound promising (I know nothing about it or its hours.) for:
Primo’s Supper Club
801 6th Street,
Mendota, IL (I 39, Exit 72)
Phone: (815) 538-2700 () ‎
(Mendota is about 15 miles north & a total of about 8 miles west of Starved Rock.)
http://maps.google.com/maps/place?rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS309US309&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Mendota+IL+restaurants&fb=1&gl=us&hq=restaurants&hnear=Mendota,+IL&cid=17401672171957920372 http://maps.google.com/maps/place?rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS309US309&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Mendota+IL+restaurants&fb=1&gl=us&hq=restaurants&hnear=Mendota,+IL&cid=17401672171957920372

Hi west of utica about 15 miles i believe is a town called Wyanet off of I80 & rt6 there is a awesome bbq place called Main Street BBQ ������the pulled pork &ribs are to die for.

Wyanet is 8 miles west of Princeton; or 13 miles west of I 180; or about 36 miles west of Starved Rock.

No pre-cut, frozen gator nuggets there!!

My understanding is, Ron makes a couple of buying trips down to Louisiana every year.  He orders his Crawfish, Gator, etc. directly from local purveyors and has them shipped back to Utica.

Buddy

About 4 weeks ago I finally got my chance to eat at http://ronscajunconnection.com The Cajun Connection.

I looked at the link you provided, and there are some interesting pix. The ones that looked to be of Cryovac(tm)ed, ‘gator were especially interesting. No pre-cut, frozen gator nuggets there!!

Thanks for the post! 
 

The Raven’s Grin Inn was featured on Wild Chicago, a locally (Chicago) produced PBS program that visited all kinds of oddities.  Everything from old time haberdashers to kinky S&M shops that didn’t have an actual address.  The RGI was featured on one of their Halloween shows.
 
I’d like to visit sometime, but as you say, the owner can be prone to three hour tours and we just weren’t up for that after a long day at the Palisades.
 
Thanks for reminding me though, for future reference.
 
Buddy

If you were going over to Mississippi Palisades, you could have stopped in Mount Carroll (just about 10 miles east of Mississippi Palisades on IL 64) to see the Raven’s Grin Inn (if you haven’t already seen it).  It is not an Inn for eating, but it is a one-of-a-kind place.  It is a year-round haunted/fun house in a turn-of-the-century building (with its own real lady-in-white ghost which you may or may not see).  The owner (who lives there and has built most of the fun house part) gives tours that can last as much as 3 hours.  Everyone that I know of that has visited it wants to go back and take their friends to see it.  It’s website is at http://www.hauntedravensgrin.com http://www.hauntedravensgrin.com/ 

As it turned out, we ended up going much further west for our day trip, to Mississippi Palisades State Park.  We had a glorious day with cool, dry temps, and plenty of sunshine.
 
We grabbed a snack at a place called Manny’s Pizza in Savanna, Illinois; a plate of very unauthentic tacos and enchiladas (really, American cheese on top?).  Still, after several hours of hiking the trails (and our last meal was breakfast, nearly seven hours earlier) it tasted pretty good.
 
We drove north along the river a bit longer and then headed over to Galena for a real meal.  We looked up and down Main Street for a good half hour before deciding on Cannova’s, a slightly upscale Italian joint with some decent pizza.  Galena is a tourist town anyway, so finding anyplace that isn’t overpriced or overrated is a miracle.
 
House salad was actually pretty darned good.  The pizzas were generous in size, but, in my opinion a bit on the bland side.  Particulary the Pesto Pizza with Shrimp and Artichokes.  The shrimp and artichokes were fine, but the pesto was wanting.  All of the intense flavors you expect from a good pesto; the basil, olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts were seriously subdued.  Kind of like they were playing to an audience that can’t handle that kind of flavor (which may very well  be the case).
 
We also got the Cannova’s Classic, which was better.  Diced tomatoes, fresh garlic, spinach, black olives, sweet basil,
house cheese, mozzarella were well balanced and flavorful.  Service was pretty good and prices were reasonable.
 
Even though we didn’t get to Starved Rock or Matthiessen I still appreciate the Utica area suggestions.  We’ll get back there eventually and head over to one of these places.
 
Buddy
 
Manny’s Pizza (and Mexican food)
211 Main Street
Savanna, IL 61074-1627
(815) 273-4259
 
Cannova’s
247 N. Main Street
Galena, IL 61036
815-777-3735
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