Because food is a big deal in my house, the Food Network is a favorite television channel. And the Food Network program “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” brought an unfamiliar local gem to my attention recently with a profile of Charlie Parker’s Restaurant in Springfield, Illinois. As a resident of the Springfield, Illinois area for the last 34 years, I was surprised to have never heard of Charlie Parker’s. I felt obligated to check this place out!
As it turns out, Charlie Parker’s is not an easy place to find, even if it is located inside a Quonset hut. It’s hidden off Stanford Avenue, the main traffic road through the area, at 700 North Street in Springfield. The arched metal exterior of the building is disguised inside as a small 50’s themed diner, complete with 8 bar stools and a counter, 17 tightly packed tables, 6 shiny red booths and walls full of 50’s memorabilia. Think “Happy Days” and you’ve got an instant mental image of the interior décor. I visited for breakfast on a sunny spring morning around 8:30 a.m., and the restaurant was nearly full and bustling with activity. Our waitress, as well as a poster near my table, confirmed that the restaurant was named after the famous jazz bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker.
The menu is exactly what you’d expect, Americana food with the addition of the beloved local horseshoe sandwich. I am extremely fond of pancakes and the carbohydrate high they induce, so I had my sights set on the 16 inch giant pancake that was profiled in the “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” television show. I had dreamed and talked about this pancake for a full week! The rest of my family ordered traditional breakfast fare: a horseshoe (a combo ham/sausage, cheese sauce/sausage gravy, hash browns), eggs with bacon, and an omelet. I must say my giant pancake was fantastic, everything I had anticipated and more. It was served on a pizza pan and was golden brown, crispy at the edges but soft in the middle, and buttery. AND IT WAS REALLY BIG!!!! I loved it, and my family loved it too. I shared with everyone and my kids asked for second helpings, leaving a large portion of their own meals uneaten in favor of my giant pancake. The service was excellent, the staff was extremely friendly, the food servings were very large, my coffee was never empty, and the food came promptly and hot. All in all, it was a fabulous experience and breakfast.
The Charlie Parker’s menu has an interesting slogan printed on it. . . . . EAT IT & BEAT IT . . . that can be interpreted a few different ways. It’s a small, busy diner. So eat your food and then move on, no need to linger . . . . EAT IT & BEAT IT (leave). But also there is a challenge offered up at Charlie Parker’s. It is a stack of four giant pancakes. And the menu clearly states that if one person can order and eat a stack of four giant pancakes (roughly 18 ounces each and 72 ounces total) all by themselves, then those pancakes are free. So EAT IT & BEAT IT (beat the pancake challenge)!
I felt obliged to document my first visit to Charlie Parker’s with photographs, and I noticed another family in the booth behind us taking photos too. Because the restaurant is so small, it’s easy to strike up a conversation with friendly patrons. Turns out this Chicago family had seen the “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” program too, and had made a special trip to Springfield for breakfast before heading on to St. Louis for a fun day at Six Flags. They seemed equally thrilled to be dining at Charlie Parker’s, and their son came prepared for the four giant pancake challenge! And although he did EAT IT, he could not BEAT IT, and left a large portion of the stack behind. Another family near us remarked that Charlie Parker’s was a “well kept secret in Springfield until recently”. The Food Network profile was successful in bringing new customers from near and far to Charlie Parker’s on the day of my first visit.
I left Charlie Parker’s Restaurant wondering how such a treasure could have remained buried in my hometown? I’m also wondering what other jewels are out there right under my nose that I don’t know about? It was a fun outing and important lesson for me to keep my eyes and ears open to the wonderful and new opportunities that might be lurking around the corner. It’s so easy to get stuck in the same old routine, but it’s fun to try and experience new things. My kids requested we return to Charlie Parker’s soon for lunch, but I have only one thing on my mind now, that stack of giant pancakes and the challenge!
would like to have the address saw it on the food channel, like to check it out on our travels. Thanks Clark Billig of Lynnport Pa.
The address for Charlie Parker’s is 700 North Street, Springfield, Illinois 62704. It’s fairly easy to get to from Interstate 55 using the 6th Street exit into Springfield heading north, turning west onto Stanford Avenue and then right onto North Street. Hope you get the chance to eat there sometime and enjoy the experience!
What are there Hours and a Phone Number to contact them. Thanks, MJ
Charlie Parker’s is open until 2 pm every day, and I believe they open at 6 am every day except Sunday, when they open at 7 am. No dinner at this place. Their phone number is 217-241-2104. Hope you enjoy it if you get to go, order the giant pancake!!!!
We just ate there on Sat 4/26/2008 and it was great food. I had the hamburger Horshoe as did one of my daughters and my wife. My youngest and a friend of hers has one pancake..it was huge!. My oldest daughter’s friend had the biscuits and gravy and said it was the best she had ever had. High praise indeed. A must see if you are anywhere near Springfield.
I have relatives there. Now I have another reason I can’t wait to visit them.
I must admit I saw the show and thought:
“My wife sometimes has to travel to Springfield…”
She can fly out and I’ll drive down from MSP and we’ll spend the weekend !
Thanks for the empirical evidence Kathy!
Mmmmm… Giant Pancake…
I was wondering if anyone can tell me if you can park a tractor trailer at Charlie Parkers? I’m a truck driver, and occasionally deliver to Halls Harley Davidson there in Springfield.
Thanks,
Lauri
ZooKeeper Express
As I recall, The Charlie Parker’s Diner parking lot was quite large. I don’t think you would have any problem parking a tractor trailer there. To make sure, I would call them first at 217-241-2104 to check. Hope you get the chance to visit and enjoy it!
My family and I were driving back from Iowa to Charlotte and scheduled our trip to eat at Charlie Parkers 8-19-2008. A few miles out of the way but after eating there I’d drive 100 miles or more to eat at it again. The food was awesome and the service was top-notch. Very friendly staff. I had a shoe with sausage links, scrambled eggs, cheese sauce and hashbrowns. My one daughter had french toast w/bacon and my wife and two other kids split a giant pancake. (it’s $1.00 for each extra plate but well worth it as they couldn’t finish one pancake.) My shoe was so good I still crave another each day. It had four sausage links about the size of a hotdog each and I only had 1 as everyone that tasted them had to eat off my plate. The pancake was so huge I figured it would lack in taste but I was wrong. It was great. My daughter had her french toast and bacon gone before we got to try it and was smiling the whole time. She said it was the best she’s had. My brother has now drove from Iowa to Springfield (5 1/2 hrs.) to eat there and is heading down again next week with another friend. My kids keep asking when we’re going back but it’s a long trip from Charlotte. We also took in Abraham Lincoln’s house while in Springfield and it was very enjoyable too. As Kathy said she found this on Guy’s Show after living in Springfield for years. We did the same with The Penguin in Charlotte. I’ve been here for 25 years and never knew about it until Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives. We’ve not ate at it many times. Thanks Guy and Food Network.
Thanks, Jeff, for sharing your experience at Charlie Parkers! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and hope you get to come back again some time. I’ve actually been back myself because I think about those giant pancakes often! All the staff at my office went for a giant pancake eating contest just the other day and I won! You can see video of the event here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH3U8qIzOuI
Thank you for such an informative blog! My husband and I just saw Charlie Parkers on the Food Network and we would now like to visit from St. Louis. We look forward to our visit!
SuzynRae, I hope that you have a fantastic visit at Charlie Parker’s when you make it up to Springfield. You should hit some of the Lincoln sites while you are here too, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum is top notch! I have another post from a more recent visit to Charlie Parker’s at the following link, you’ll see more photos of those giant pancakes!
http://stingfield.com/blog/2008/08/28/giant-pancake-eating-contest-charlie-parkers-springfield-illinois/
Kathy
Did anyone happen to get the recipe for that delicious looking macaroni?
I grew up about an hour away from Springfield and lived there for 5 years while going to school and a year after graduating. I never knew the place existed. Before they did all the work to the Stanford overpass, I used to drive around there to get to a photo shop in the area. I thought all those buildings were just mechanics buildings and didn’t pay one bit of attention to them.
Granted, you can probably get a horseshoe (ponyshoe is a smaller version) in any restaurant in the area; most of them would be hamburger horseshoes. However, Charlie Parker’s put’s the fries on top instead of cheese on top. Most other places also don’t have the horseshoe choices. I’ve never had a breakfast shoe. Might be worth a try sometime. Of course, now I’m down in St. Louis…I’m just far enough away that people haven’t heard of it. Good thing my family is still in the horseshoe area, and I can get my fix any time.
Hey I just started a Facebook Group called Charlie Parker’s Diner Freaks. I was wondering if I could have permission to use some of your photos? Please let me know. Thanks!!
You are welcome to use any photos you like. Please also post a link to your facebook page, I’d love to see it!
going on a road trip just called to get hours of operation wow not very friendly on the phone……. but am still gonna stop in cant wait never miss diners drive ins and dives
Mary, I am so sorry to hear about your phone call and hope it won’t detract from your trip to Charlie Parker’s while you are in Springfield. Illinois. They are generally pretty busy, so I’m guessing they didn’t have their focus on the phone when you called. Hope you enjoy!
thx ZK for askin about parking for us, and kathy for giving us the phone number. I also drive a big truck.
Stopped in today for lunch about 1:00 PM, after driving 40 miles to try Charlies. Wife and I got seated quickly (they were very busy). Waitress took our order quickly. We waited 40 minutes while others came in, seated, ordered, ate and left. We drank our tea and left too!!! They must have lost our order. Very disappointed. We both had been looking forward to eating there ever since it was on the Food Channel!!
Dan, I am so sorry to hear about your experience, what a bummer! We just went back on New Year’ss Day and had a fabulous breakfast at Charlie Parker’s Diner. Apparently there is a new owner, because he came round and introduced himself to all the patron’s that morning, saying that New Year’s Day was his first day owning the place. I hope that is not the reason for your problem and that it was an isolated mistake on their part. Wish they had a website so you could send a comment to them directly so they knew this happened and could make up for it.
Kathy,
Hi, Just thought I should clear some things up for you. Yes, I have sold the business as of 12/31/08. I want to thank all the great people that came to visit us during that time. We appreciated their patronage,support and great friendships we have made along the way. It was something that was a hard decision to do. I am now relaxing and taking better care of myself. I appologize for not letting everyone know ahead of time but I new it would have been a sad goodbye. Ihope to see everyone around. Thank you
Brenda Shirley
Brenda, thanks so much for your post and information. You did a great job with Charlie Parker’s Diner, you should be proud! I wish you great health, much happiness and success with all your future endeavors.
[...] Diner and the restaurant has been a frequent topic of discussion on this blog, including my first visit to Charlie Parker’s Diner and my victory in a giant pancake eating contest held at the restaurant. Just yesterday the SJR [...]
Kathy,
Recently visited Springfield as my mother-in-law lives in Jacksonville. Another relative from California had seen the t.v. show and wanted to try it. Took about 30 minutes to find since North
st. is not well marked. Once there it was great. The 5 of us tried a variety of items. I had the regular short stack (2 pancakes about 12 inches each). The taste was great and more than enough to let everyoner sample many bites. Even at that I left about a half of cake. Went back the next day for lunch and had the fried chicken with others having the pork tenderloin. Everythin g was great. Service good & very friendly. This trip was the middle of April, 2009/
Sam, glad you had a great experience, it’s nice to hear of another happy visit to Charlie Parker’s!
I’m a Decatur resident who, like just about everyone else here, heard of Charlie Parker’s through DDD, so I just had to check it out. Unfortunately, I am on a diet, so I can’t eat here very often, but treated myself for hitting the 40-lb mark. Got the breakfast shoe with bacon, gravy, hash browns…DIVINE…DIVINE…DIVINE! Great place, great atmosphere, WONDERFUL VALUE, and just a nice place to get some good diner grub. Awesome!!!!
Just seen this on Foodtv Network and now husband and I are planning on going when we take our vacation to Bloomington,In in August. Alittle out of the way but we are going to try to find some places of interest along the way and maybe in Springfield.Any suggestions? We figure we would just make a day of it. The food looked Delious!!!!!!!! My gosh those pancakes!!!! If Guy said it was good then it’s good
After we get back from vacation in August I will definetely repost and let everyone know how it was…..
Cherie, you should definitely see some of the Lincoln sites while you are in Springfield! Top of the list is the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, it is fabulous and you’ll need at least 3 hours if not longer to do that justice. It is located downtown near several other sites too that you can see while strolling the area, like the Old State Capitol, the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office, and Lincoln’s Home. And if you like architecture, you shouldn’t miss the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Dana-Thomas House, it is spectacular as well. It’s pretty close to the downtown area as well. If you’re looking for another meal before you leave town, D’Arcy’s Pint has the best horseshoes in town, in my opinion that is. It is located right next to Charlie Parker’s, so you could hit that at the end of the day on your way out of town. I hope whatever you do that you have a great time and great food in Springfield!
Just found out Charlie Parker’s Diner finally has their very own website, you can take a look here and see there whole menu, complete with prices, along with directions and daily specials:
http://charlieparkersdiner.net/
The best kept secret in town…. Charlie Parker’s – known for their great food. We haven’t been there in a while and stopped in today for breakfast – what a disappointment – the quality of food was very poor. Do they have a new cook?
I have a feeling they do because the parking lot is usually full and today there were very few cars.
Thanks so much for your review! I will be in Springfield for business next month & am looking forward to trying Charlie Parker’s!
Just heading down to Springfield this weekend for my sons HS cross-country meet and am looking forward to tryibng out Charlie Parker’s. Was planning on arriving about 0900 and needed to be at Lincoln park for the cross-country meet off of Sangamon and 2nd around 1030. Would that give me the time I needed? I know they are busy, just me and my husband. My son will be with the team.