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| - My first visit to Courier this century. While we were regulars when we lived in Urbana in the 80's and 90's, we stopped going once we moved out of town. The first thing to mention in this review is that it has not changed one bit. And that is not a bad thing. Everything except the parking was exactly as we remembered. Parking has improved! They now have free parking adjacent the building. But the antiques decorating the diner, the menu, even the wallpaper are the same.
Courier has good, diner style but high quality food. And, as I said, the menu has not changed, so don't go looking for the latest food trend here. It is pancakes, omelets, eggs, wraps, etc., for breakfast (which I think is served all day), and hamburgers, sandwiches, steaks, fish, chicken, salads, etc. for lunch and dinner. Some dinner items, such as trout, are not available until evening hours.
OK, so the food is basic, but it is excellent, and it has Courier's unique twist. When I was in my decade long vegetarian phase the "veggie dagwood" was a go-to lunch favorite. It was huge. Often we took half home. The Courier uses fresh and excellent quality fruits, vegetables, and meats. (I don't know if they are sourced locally or not.)
For dinner last night I had the grilled pork tenderloin with a baked sweet potato and a trip to the salad bar. My wife had the Trout Courier, also with a sweet potato and salad bar. Service was quick, attentive, and the waitress very helpful and cheerful. She seemed like she was happy to be there. The salad bar, as others have mentioned, is terrific. Lots of choices and everything fresh. In addition to the usual, it includes things liked chopped salami, marinated tofu, spicy black beans, pasta salads, tuna salad and chunk tuna, etc. It has mung beans, several kinds of mushrooms, several kinds of slaws, and numerous dressing choices. It also comes with a piece of bread or a roll. If it is not a part of your dinner, you pay for the salads by the pound (ounce, actually). The only complaint comes from my wife, who found the things at the top of the bar a bit hard to reach. But, there is someone there to help you if need be. The bread was a whole grain, kind of nutty tasting bread that was warm and delicious.
Our meal came just as we were finishing the salads. The pork tenderloin was grilled with prominent grill marks for those who care. There were three pieces about four inches in diameter and about 1/3 inch thick. The tenderloin had barbeque sauce squeezed onto it out of a squeeze bottle in a zig-zag pattern. The sauce was a citrusy bourbon sauce of some kind. It was plenty to eat. and more importantly, it was perfectly done. Still moist and tasty, but done through and through the way most people prefer pork. My wife's trout was a whole trout, debobed and butterflied, roasted and topped with light butter and lemon sauce. It also came with a lemon wedge or two. We've always liked the trout there!
The baked sweet potatoes were huge! Probably a pound each. They came with butter, sour cream, and brown sugar, but ours were so good that neither of us used those condiments. They were so well done and moist that you could eat them with a spoon once you cut them open. It was almost like mashed sweet potato inside a skin. If you prefer your sweet potato harder, this may not be the right choice, but we thought they were delicious.
For desert my wife had what she always had in the past, the misprint sundae ("so cheap you'll think it's a misprint"}. It is a good, and good sized sundae of vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate topping. Both the ice cream and the chocolate are high quality. And we have a sentimental attachment to it: the misprint sundae was the first ice cream our daughter ever had when she was young.
The restaurant is good for families, even families with babies. It can be noisy, so perhaps not sleeping babies. But they always were kind to our kids and, from what we saw, continue to welcome patrons bringing even young kids. There are plenty of kid friendly items on the menu. The same goes for vegetarian friendly items. But that doesn't mean the steak lover won't be happy either. And they have a large choice of burgers for that crowd as well.
All in all we were very happy to return. Between the food, the décor, and our memories, it was a great visit.
I especially recommend Courier to former students returning to town after many years as it will put to rest your disappointment at how much town has changed.
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