BEST OUTDOOR DINING • MOST ORIGINAL MENU • BEST HORSESHOE BEST PLACE FOR A WORKING LUNCH • BEST COMFORT FOOD

D’Arcy’s Pint 661 W. Stanford Ave., 217-492-8800 Once again, Best of Springfield voters are giving D’Arcy’s Pint five gold stars. They’d probably give ’em two thumbs up, but it’s hard to break those hands away from a plate piled gloriously high with all the fixings of the perfect horseshoe. Toast, fries, meat (or veggies, if that’s your style) and cheese – apparently a comfort food combination of which Springfield can’t get enough, especially if it comes from D’Arcy’s. This year voted best restaurant for outdoor dining and for a working lunch, as well as most original menu, best comfort food and best horseshoe, it’s no wonder D’Arcy’s owners, Hallie Pierceall and Glenn Merriman, are now offering franchise opportunities. Opened in 1998, D’Arcy’s has become a Springfield treasure, tucked away on Springfield’s south side on West Stanford Ave.

BEST PLACE TO EAT AFTER 10 P.M.

Steak ’n Shake 2465 N. Dirksen Parkway, 492-5925 1580 Wabash Ave., 787-0392 3186 S. Dirksen Parkway, 529-5823 4211 Conestoga Drive, 698-9439 Generally speaking, the standards for a midnight meal aren’t quite as high as those for a noon lunch. Many midnight customers are either too hungry to care about anything other than quick service, or their senses are a little sideways from a sip or two too many at the neighborhood pub or club. So it’s lucky Springfield late-nighters have an old standby in Steak ’n Shake, where quality food is key, no matter what time of day. Born in Normal, Ill., in 1934, Steak ’n Shake’s “In sight it must be right” tradition means fresh steakburgers and handdipped milkshakes fit for the most discriminating tastes.

BEST RESTAURANT DISCOVERY THIS YEAR

American Harvest Eatery 3241 W. Iles, 546-8300 Born this April of the same owners as Augie’s Front Burner, Augie Mrozowski and Sharon Ehrat, American Harvest Eatery surprises few in being named the best restaurant discovery this year. Previously a chef at Augie’s, the Eatery’s executive chef, Jordan Coffey, and his wife, Aurora, are behind the ever-changing menus focused on local, seasonal foods. “I think the name of our restaurant goes along with what we’re all about,” Coffey says. “You won’t ever see strawberries or asparagus on our menu in December.” Instead, this time of year, the menu screams “fall” with options like pork (from acorn-fed pigs), caramelized sweet potatoes, beer-braised sauerkraut and hard apple cider. Runner-up: Osaka