Libertyville, Illinois

To paraphrase Paul Simon (sing along with me, now): “In my little town, I live here for eating, and God keeps great food for us all…"
 
My little town is Libertyville, IL and it’s full of restaurants that are Roadfood worthy.
 
I haven’t been traveling much lately, so I decided to write about the restaurants in my town that you might enjoy trying.  Libertyville is in the heart of Lake County, IL and it’s only about a 10 minute drive from the I-94 Expressway, so travelers could easily make a side trip here that would be worthwhile.
 
I’ve just included a brief sentence about each, because the websites can tell you so much more.  Trust me when I say that you’ll get an excellent meal at any of these places.
 
Wildberry Pancake House ()
Every breakfast item is excellent.  I like the omelets and the skillets
 
Townee Square Restaurant ()
Old-fashioned booths, and right in the heart of downtown Libertyville.
 
Trattoria Pomigliano ()
Family owned and operated, best hand-made Italian food around.  I think Grandma still cooks in the kitchen, but I’m not sure.  I love the Spinach Ravioli with Tomato Cream Sauce.
 
The Liberty Restaurant ()
Traditional Greek coffee shop BUT one of the best anywhere.  Open for breakfast, lunch ‘n’ dinner.  Any of several versions of their pork chops are especially good.
 
Lovin’ Oven Cakery ()
Miles and miles of baked goods in an old-fashioned store; tables to sit and eat there.
 
Mickey Finn’s Brewery ()
Handcrafted beers and excellent burgers … awesome!
 
Bagels by the Book a.k.a. Danielle’s Bagels (870 S. Milwaukee Ave.Libertyville, IL 60048  (847)-367-7811)
People line up on Sat and Sun morning for handmade breakfast sandwiches that make the chain breakfasts look pathetic.  Bagels are huge, lots of flavor choices, and top quality muffins, too.
 
Downtown Libertyville has lots of charm, and several stores for shopping or browsing.

Oops, I haven't earned enough trust points to have the URL website addresses included, so they got stripped out of the message and all that's left are the parentheses !!  Cheerful grrrr !!
 
Y'all can just Google the name of the restaurant.

I've heard good things about Burt's Deli (no relation to Burt's Place for pizza in Morton Grove).  Any experience there?
 
Buddy

Here are the URLs:
Wildberry Pancake House: http://wildberrycafe.com/
 
Townee Square Restaurant: http://www.towneesquarerestaurant.com/
 
Trattoria Pomigliano: http://www.trattoriapomigliano.com/
 
The Liberty Restaurant: http://www.thelibertyrestaurant.com/
 
Lovin' Oven Cakery: http://lovinovencakery.com/
 
Mickey Finn 's Brewery: http://www.mickeyfinnsbrewery.com/
 
Bagels by the Book: http://chicago.metromix.com/restaurants/restaurant/bagels-by-the-book-libertyville/137399/content (They don't seem to have a website of their own.)
 

Thanks for the suggestions, Mom (and welcome to RF!).
 
I'd love to work a few of your ideas into my upcoming trip--coming or going...

I grew up in Libertyville and always considerded it somewhat of a culinary wasteland. With that said things have gotten better over the years. Some of my current favs are:
 
Wildberry Pancake House - Bit pricey but very good. Depending on the time of the day and week you may run into a Chicago Bear or two.
 
Egg Harbor - Very good breakfast and brunch items. I really enjoy their oatmeal and their salads.
 
Linos - Known for the pizza but their homemade Italian dishes are the real gem
 
Firkin - Upscale pub grub. Nice beer list
 
Bert's Deli - Haven't been in a number of years but they did have terrific corned beef sandwiches. Bert (himself) is long gone but it is still run by his family
 
Henry Yees - Gotta throw some love their way. They have been around forever. Not the best Chinese food but great in an Americanized sort of way.
 
Bill's Pub (Mundelein) - Great double-decker pizza in a Northwoods atmosphere. Been going her for over 20 years.
 
Irish Mill (Mundelein/Diamnond Lake) - not known for their food but they pour an authentic black and tan.

I was speaking at Great Lakes Naval Station earlier this year, and stopped to have lunch at Lamb's Farm as I was driving up from O'Hare.
 
I've ordered Christmas cookies from there in the past (old-fashioned full-butter butter cookies), but never ate at the restaurant.
 
It wasn't fabulous, but it wasn't bad.  I had fried chicken.
 
The place benefits (and is staffed primarily by) the developmentally-disabled.
 
http://www.lambsfarm.org/
 
 
 

Yes, but I see that you have been here almost seven years! Thanks for the post. I have wanted to try Mickey Finns for a long time.

Burt's Deli - I gave that place a couple of chances when I moved here years ago, and my conclusion was: yuck! over-rated! gives the impression of being dirty although maybe it's not.  Deli meats always seemed as ordinary as Jewel or Dominick's, not special like deli corned beef or deli turkey should be.  Therefore, I haven't been there for years.  Does anyone else want to concur or disagree based on a more recent visit to Burt's?