Champaign Days.

I spent the last two days selling wine in Champaign, Illinois. Last time that I was in Champaign was way back in 1976. We were living in St. Charles, Illinois at the time, and my father was thinking of relocating his business (and his family) to either Champaign or Atlanta, Georgia.

While the decision finally went in favor of moving to Atlanta, these last few days had me thinking that I would have easily been at home had we moved to Champaign/Urbana instead. It's located in the heart of the Illinois farmland, which means that it's flatter than a pancake out there. The town is surrounded by chock-a-block fields of soybean and corn. The folks living in Champaign are great, laid-back and a whole lot of fun.

Here are just some of the things I learned while in Champaign:

#1.) That I now have to modify my long-held belief that any restaurant which utilizes an exclamation point in the name of their establishment is bound to suck. While for the most part it's true, there's at least one restaurant to counter my claim: Hickory River! Smokehouse.
Their ribs are incredibly good, and their mac and cheese is still haunting me. In a good way.

#2.) That should you long to return to those days of your misspent college youth, drinking a cold bottle of Stag Beer could very well serve as your liquid time machine.

A beer crafted to drink when you're in the mood more than 20 bottles, Stag is/was a college student's best friend: cold, alcoholic, and cheaper than water. Of course, it tastes like water.

Stag is similar to many of those $12 for a 24-pack brews that were oh-so-plentiful in my college days: Drewery's, Grain Belt, Meister Brau (excuse me...Meister Bräu), Old Style, et al. One swig of this beer took me back to college...and made me realize how good I've got it these days.


#3.) That the people who sell wine and other libations in Champaign are super cool.

Take, for instance, Christine, the dominatrix of distillates over at The Corkscrew. She knows a lot about the products she'll sell you...and she also is addicted to bright and funky purses.


And, should you get a bit peckish during a visit to Champaign, there's some incredibly good eating establishments to satisfy your hunger. I'd suggest (in no particular order) Bacaro, Ferrin's, or Radio Maria. Any of these places would be equally at home in any major 'foodie' city. I'm glad that they're in Champaign, though. It makes me long to return back soon.

And would you do me the favor of checking in often at humor-blogs.com? I'd really appreciate it.