Hey! We’re Jeff and Jane, expat Brits living in California. We have just finished our number one bucket-list item – driving Route 66 from Chicago back to our home town of Santa Monica. Our mission? To Eat Vegan on Route 66 and share our experiences with you.
Route 66: Leaving Chicago
The Route 66 Begin sign in Chicago is less than impressive, but the surrounding high-rise buildings and Greco-Roman Art Institute are suitably inspiring. We fueled our bodies with a Plant-based Sandwich at our Chicago hotel, Aloft Magic Mile. Then drove across the Chicago River’s historic DuSable Bridge, and turned right onto West Adams. The start of our epic 2,300 mile across the country to Santa Monica on the Pacific Coast.
The drive out through the Chicago suburbs is unremarkable, although it was interesting to pass through Douglass Park. We’d spent the previous day there at the Riot Festival rocking out to God Speed! You Black Emperor and The Black Angels.
Route 66 Highlights: Joliet and The Blues Brothers
The road is long and winding, with many short detours through rustling cornfields. But the small towns along the route are quaint and well-kept, with a surfeit of disused gas stations to explore. But the real highlight of the day is Joliet Plaza with its ornate art deco Rialto Theatre faced across the square by an ugly parking structure. Dropped in at Jitters, a local cafe, for our snack of black coffee and bananas – vegans not catered for here.
Next stop, just off-route, the infamous Old Joliet Prison noted for its seminal appearance in The Blues Brothers movie. Do NOT miss this imposing castle-like structure – but we did miss Elwood’s cop car stuck on a pole somewhere!
Oh dear – it’s Monday in September and many businesses are closed. At least the Standard Oil Gas Station in Odell (right) was open. Not so, the mock Tudor Sprague’s Super Service in Bloomington although it was in a lovely peaceful spot.
Eat Vegan on Route 66: A Challenge in Springfield
Perfect timing – as we turned into Springfield’s Capitol Avenue the sun set behind the imposing Capitol Building, glinting off its silver dome (and our filthy windscreen). Nearby, the charming Inn at 835 Boutique Hotel was our home for the night – and just in time for the evening complimentary wine 🙂 But, it’s Monday in September and many restaurants are closed, despite this being the capital of Illinois. What a sleepy place – almost a ghost town as we strolled the streets looking for eats.
We popped into Obed and Isaac’s Microbrewery for a beer or two. The friendly staff managed to come up with a vegan meal from their meat-centric menu. A trio of dips with vegetables and a big salad that Elaine would have loved. Yep, they do have a Veggie Burger on their menu but not cooked separately so that’s a no-go.
Well, breakfast at the B&B was also a no-go. We had forewarned them we were vegan but all they had was a bowl of tired-looking melon and pineapple – and some packaged ultra-processed oatmeal full of sugar. Not even toast or non-dairy milk. We decamped to the nearest Subway for a Veggie Deluxe without cheese or mayo. It is challenging to Eat Vegan on Route 66 in this town!
Tuesday morning and the streets are still empty of people and traffic? But this town is full of architectural marvels, from Abraham Lincoln’s humble wooden Colonial to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie-style Dana-Thomas house to the incongruous 1970s Springfield City Center tower.
Tip of The Day – make sure you have good maps to follow all the intricacies of Route 66. We used these online maps which open in Google Maps on your mobile device or in a browser. You can view them in Google Maps from the Saved tab, and then scroll to the bottom for Maps, one for each of the eight states you cross.
Also, use my public shared Google Map Route 66 Vegan to locate all the places mentioned on this trip.
Miles Traveled Today: 200
Total Miles Traveled: 200
Next stop – St Louis, Missouri.
