Feed the parents

By: Dustin Looney
Features Editor

I suspect that nearly every student at Monmouth College entertains a guest, usually a parent or other family member, at least once a year. Whether it’s a personal friend from home or a sibling, at some point the guest will ask, “What is there to do around this place?”

When I have a guest visit MC, I am often stressed out for this reason ... I have no clue how to entertain my visitor off campus.

Sure, we could go to the “Burg” and find a smorgasbord of establishments that are of decent quality, such as the all-too-familiar chain restaurants like Perkins, Applebees and Steak ‘n’ Shake. But I find it unnecessary and a bit of a hassle to make the 30 mile round-trip just to dine at the same kind of place you could find at home or in any decent-sized town or suburb across the country.

Many students seem to share my frustration, including junior Dan Walker from Springfield.

“Usually I take my guests to Galesburg to go catch a movie, and we may grab a bite to eat beforehand at Applebees,” Walker said. “Monmouth is seemingly lacking in the commercialized restaurants that we’re all so familiar with, so it would be nice if I could find a place to eat that’s unique to Monmouth.”

Walker has a point. I mean seriously, let’s face it, Monmouth is a college town, and all self-respecting college towns should have decent places to get a bite to eat and experience a little local atmosphere.

With that said, most students are only familiar with Shopko, County Market and Econo Foods--and maybe the Bijou or Tootie’s if you’re 21 or if you have a really good fake ID--but my point remains that this town is relatively unexplored.

A lot of people probably assume Monmouth, being such a small town, doesn’t have any decent food. This could be true, but I am not willing to accept that proposition without giving it the “old college try.”

So, my goal over this semester is to go to several restaurants in the Monmouth area, from pizza places to dine-in restaurants, and identify at least some nice spots (other than the MC Caf, of course) to sit down with your guest and enjoy a meal. With a little luck, I may learn about some other off-campus sources of entertainment.

I plan on visiting one Monmouth-area restaurant each week, and since no one likes to eat alone I may just invite some of you, my loyal readers and fans, to join me. I will try to focus on places unique to Monmouth, but I may stray over to Galesburg on occasion. My pledge is to avoid the typical chain restaurants in Galesburg at all costs, but if I come across an especially good spot that is worth the trip (and the gas money), I will let you know.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated and should be e-mailed to me at:

dlooney@monm.edu.