Feed the Parents: Final food for thought

By: Dustin Looney
Features Editor

I started this column about three months ago with a simple mission: to seek out, identify and evaluate restaurants in Monmouth that may or may not be suitable for the occasional visit by your parents or other special visitors. An alternative, if you will, to the MC cafeteria and food court fare, which I purposely have not addressed or attempted to evaluate in any of my columns.

Like many other MC students, I was in a familiar position when my parents or brothers or friends would visit and inevitably ask “What is there to do around this place?” or “Where can we get something decent to eat?”

I really did not have an answer to either question, and I was unwilling to accept the common hypothesis that their truly are no good places in Monmouth to take the family without putting it to the test.

When I first began, I had no clue what to expect. I had never eaten at any “regular” restaurants in Monmouth. I had no preconceptions one way or the other.

I soon found out that there actually were many restaurants in town, but most MC students had not explored them. Some students I talked to were familiar with a limited number of places in Monmouth, including all the bars, a few grocery stores and Shopko. But as for restaurants, I was pretty much on my own.

Prior to starting this column I usually found it to be necessary to stray over to Galesburg if my parents or guests wanted to get a good quality meal in a decent atmosphere. Usually this experience was limited to the all-too-familiar establishments such as Applebees or Taco Bell. My goal, then, was to see what Monmouth had to offer, other than the usual highway franchises.

Throughout the weeks, I sampled and reviewed a total of six restaurants. My results were mixed, but overall they were far better than I anticipated.

The first restaurant I reviewed was Monmouth Soda Works, located at the corner of Broadway and 1st Street. This cozy little restaurant is locally owned and offered a variety of home-style food. Service was great and the food was high-quality. Overall this was probably my second best find in Monmouth.

The next restaurant I reviewed was one of the more familiar places to MC students, Pepperoni’s Pizza Company. Although Pepperoni’s was not necessarily a place to bring the parents, it offers good food at a very reasonable price. Located off of Main Street, Pepperoni’s is not up to the caliber of Chicago style pizza I grew up with, but for the price it is a tremendous deal. The college special you gets you a pizza and breadsticks for under $9.00.

The following week I reviewed A Little Cup of Heaven. I offered the opinion that all college towns should have a little coffee place where students can relax while rejuvenating with a cup of “joe.” For that purpose, A Little Cup of Heaven is more than adequate, as their coffee is high-quality and their food looked decent, too. The atmosphere is comfortably perfect for a small college town, and the place is owned and operated by a MC alumna.

The next restaurant on my agenda was Cerar’s Barnstormer, and this turned out to be the

most impressive restaurant in Monmouth by far. Cerar’s is known for their steaks, but it also featured a variety of homemade sandwiches and a delicious homemade lunch buffet.
Prices at Cerar’s are probably a little too expensive for the typical college student, but if you are looking for a place to take your parents (or have your parents take you), look no further. Cerar’s offers tremendous quality food that would be sure to impress your visitors. With its airplane motif, the surroundings are unique and pleasant.

Next up was the Maple City Family Restaurant. This restaurant is definitely reasonably priced, even for a college student’s budget. You can order a sandwich and soup for under $4.00. As you might expect, though, the quality was not so great.

The final restaurant I reviewed was Giovanni’s Pizzeria & Ristorante.

This restaurant is new to Monmouth, and it tries to duplicate the ambiance of an Italian Trattoria, the kind of little “local” eatery with great food that you might find while walking the streets of Florence or Rome.

I have spent extended periods of time in Italy, and Giovanni’s does not measure up to most authentic Trattorias, but it does offer good quality Italian food at reasonable prices. Let’s say it bears further research on my part.

I have truly enjoyed reviewing restaurants in Monmouth during this “Feed the Parents” extravaganza. I discovered that Monmouth does have some decent restaurants, and it is always nice to support locally owned businesses instead of the usual franchises that offer the same fare you would find in your hometown…or anywhere else in America for that matter.

I hope the discoveries I made will encourage MC students to check out a restaurant in Monmouth the next time the parents are in town. I have not had enough time to review every Monmouth restaurant, and there is always the “big city” of Galesburg just over the horizon. Depending on the feedback (no pun intended) I receive, I may bring the column back next semester.If anybody has any suggestions or feedback please let me know by email at dlooney@monm.edu.