I’ll admit that I'm a bit biased when it comes to Downtown Libertyville. This is the community that my family has called home for 100 years and somewhere I plan to stay and eventually raise a family of my own. One of the reasons I love my community is the downtown business district - the MainStreet Libertyville area. Downtown Libertyville has much to offer - old buildings featuring beautiful architecture, variety of shopping, the friendly people and most importantly - the food! Downtown Libertyville features a variety of local restaurants to appeal to just about every type appetite.
We’ll cover some of the highlights of some of the best places to eat in downtown Libertyville – first though, I wanted to highlight a couple of the many family friendly events in downtown Libertyville. I think one of the most important attributes of the area is its’ atmosphere. Just like Starbucks sells the whole “experience,” not just a cup of coffee. Downtown Libertyville (which does have a Starbucks) features such a friendly and inviting atmosphere; it’s hard to not become addicted.
First Fridays
The first Friday of every month, the downtown merchants stay open late and host an evening of music, art and a lot of fun! I had a chance to walk downtown Libertyville during the First Friday for May – May 7th. What a great way to spend a Friday night – many of the merchants featured live music inside of their shops – a few places even offered free a tasting of wine while you strolled around their store. The highlight of the evening for me, took place in front of Arden’s Fine Furniture & Design. Inside the shop, I had a chance to check out an outstanding collection of furniture and home décor, including some great paintings! 
The show outside was a lot of fun – Arden’s hired a fire dancer to perform throughout the evening. It really reminded me of something you’d find in downtown Lahaina, Hawaii. What made it even more fun, was watching the faces of people driving by in their cars as they looked up and saw some guy dancing around twirling fire.
If you’re looking for a fun evening to explore downtown Libertyville – First Friday’s are a must! The next will be the evening of Friday, June 4th.
Now, back to the food. Some of my favorite places to eat include: (Please keep in mind, this is a partial list… there are just too many good places to eat to include them all!)
Lunch or Dinner:
Mickey Finn's Microbrewery - Whatever I write here, won't do them justice. Finn's is my favorite place to grab lunch, dinner or a drink in downtown Libertyville. Their menu includes great salads, an outstanding Ahi Tuna Steak sandwich with chipotle mayo, a great BBQ pulled pork sandwich and, of course - a great selection of hand-crafted, award winning microbrew. (I like their oatmeal stout when it’s on the menu).
Trattoria Pomigliano – If you like Italian food, Trattoria is a must! My favorite dish is the stuff gnocchi (spinach or red pepper) in vodka sauce. I’ve eaten in good and bad Italian restaurants all over Italy – this place rivals the best.
Breakfast:
Downtown Libertyville features two great places for breakfast – depending on what type of atmosphere you enjoy, one may be better than the other. Personally, I really like both. The Townee Square Restaurant is a family owned and operated traditional breakfast diner with a breakfast counter and decorated with historic pictures of downtown Libertyville. The other great breakfast place is the regional favorite, Egg Harbor. Egg Harbor features a great menu – I like their Barrington Benedict eggs. Besides breakfast, they also have a good lunch menu featuring really good soup. Egg Harbor has locations all over the north and northwestern suburbs of Chicago - I believe their Libertyville restaurant is one of their busiest.
Desert / After Dinner:
One of the things I love about eating in downtown Libertyville is the fact that you can make it an all-day eating event – the after dinner scene is no different.
Whether you’re up for ice cream, chocolate or some bakery items – you’re covered along Milwaukee Avenue in downtown Libertyville. I’d suggest some chocolate from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, maybe some baked good from one of the best bakeries around the Chicago area, the Lovin’ Oven, or some ice cream and popcorn from Tropik Sun Fruit and Nut.
If you’re a sports fan, I’d compare downtown Libertyville’s restaurants to the Chicago Bulls of the 1990’s. Just about anyone on that team could have went to another city and would have been a standout – instead they all took a role on a championship team. I only mentioned a few of the many restaurants in downtown Libertyville – many of the ones I did not even have a chance to mention would be the “best restaurant in town” anywhere else, such as the Firkin, Tavern, MainStreet Smokehouse, Morgan’s, Casa Bonita, Tommy’s, etc. Instead, all of these All-Star restaurants are part of the one of the best, and most active restaurant scenes in the Chicago area.
Oh, did I mention the shopping in downtown Libertyville? I guess we’ll have to cover that another time.
When you check out downtown Libertyville, I’d love to hear what you think! You can reach me via e-mail at jimmoran77@gmail.com or just visit my blogsite at www.villageoflibertyville.com.
[+/-] click to show/hide this post
We’ll cover some of the highlights of some of the best places to eat in downtown Libertyville – first though, I wanted to highlight a couple of the many family friendly events in downtown Libertyville. I think one of the most important attributes of the area is its’ atmosphere. Just like Starbucks sells the whole “experience,” not just a cup of coffee. Downtown Libertyville (which does have a Starbucks) features such a friendly and inviting atmosphere; it’s hard to not become addicted.
First Fridays
The first Friday of every month, the downtown merchants stay open late and host an evening of music, art and a lot of fun! I had a chance to walk downtown Libertyville during the First Friday for May – May 7th. What a great way to spend a Friday night – many of the merchants featured live music inside of their shops – a few places even offered free a tasting of wine while you strolled around their store. The highlight of the evening for me, took place in front of Arden’s Fine Furniture & Design. Inside the shop, I had a chance to check out an outstanding collection of furniture and home décor, including some great paintings! 
The show outside was a lot of fun – Arden’s hired a fire dancer to perform throughout the evening. It really reminded me of something you’d find in downtown Lahaina, Hawaii. What made it even more fun, was watching the faces of people driving by in their cars as they looked up and saw some guy dancing around twirling fire.If you’re looking for a fun evening to explore downtown Libertyville – First Friday’s are a must! The next will be the evening of Friday, June 4th.
Now, back to the food. Some of my favorite places to eat include: (Please keep in mind, this is a partial list… there are just too many good places to eat to include them all!)
Lunch or Dinner:
Mickey Finn's Microbrewery - Whatever I write here, won't do them justice. Finn's is my favorite place to grab lunch, dinner or a drink in downtown Libertyville. Their menu includes great salads, an outstanding Ahi Tuna Steak sandwich with chipotle mayo, a great BBQ pulled pork sandwich and, of course - a great selection of hand-crafted, award winning microbrew. (I like their oatmeal stout when it’s on the menu). Trattoria Pomigliano – If you like Italian food, Trattoria is a must! My favorite dish is the stuff gnocchi (spinach or red pepper) in vodka sauce. I’ve eaten in good and bad Italian restaurants all over Italy – this place rivals the best.
Breakfast:
Downtown Libertyville features two great places for breakfast – depending on what type of atmosphere you enjoy, one may be better than the other. Personally, I really like both. The Townee Square Restaurant is a family owned and operated traditional breakfast diner with a breakfast counter and decorated with historic pictures of downtown Libertyville. The other great breakfast place is the regional favorite, Egg Harbor. Egg Harbor features a great menu – I like their Barrington Benedict eggs. Besides breakfast, they also have a good lunch menu featuring really good soup. Egg Harbor has locations all over the north and northwestern suburbs of Chicago - I believe their Libertyville restaurant is one of their busiest.
Desert / After Dinner:
One of the things I love about eating in downtown Libertyville is the fact that you can make it an all-day eating event – the after dinner scene is no different.
Whether you’re up for ice cream, chocolate or some bakery items – you’re covered along Milwaukee Avenue in downtown Libertyville. I’d suggest some chocolate from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, maybe some baked good from one of the best bakeries around the Chicago area, the Lovin’ Oven, or some ice cream and popcorn from Tropik Sun Fruit and Nut.If you’re a sports fan, I’d compare downtown Libertyville’s restaurants to the Chicago Bulls of the 1990’s. Just about anyone on that team could have went to another city and would have been a standout – instead they all took a role on a championship team. I only mentioned a few of the many restaurants in downtown Libertyville – many of the ones I did not even have a chance to mention would be the “best restaurant in town” anywhere else, such as the Firkin, Tavern, MainStreet Smokehouse, Morgan’s, Casa Bonita, Tommy’s, etc. Instead, all of these All-Star restaurants are part of the one of the best, and most active restaurant scenes in the Chicago area.
Oh, did I mention the shopping in downtown Libertyville? I guess we’ll have to cover that another time.
When you check out downtown Libertyville, I’d love to hear what you think! You can reach me via e-mail at jimmoran77@gmail.com or just visit my blogsite at www.villageoflibertyville.com.
[+/-] click to show/hide this post
