MBIP pal, Contributing Writer and road trip wheelman, Scott Turley had suggested we take a road trip to Babes On Plum in Havana, Illinois. Then a couple of weeks ago Babes was featured on “You Gotta Eat,” and I thought, “We gotta eat there!” And so Scott and I planned yet another MBIP chicken wing road trip. And like so many other MBIP road trips, this one begins with...
A knock on the door here at MBIP World Headquarters! I bet that’s Scott behind the door, let’s open it up and see...
Hey, that’s Kevin and Star! You guys were just here yesterday! Give someone else a chance in the spotlight!
Okay, let’s try this again!
There he is, Scott Turley! We had a quick beer and then...
It’s on the road again! It’s a little bit of a trek to Havana as you can see, the afternoon turned to night on the road and after a bit of traveling...
Here we are in Havana, Illinois!
And there’s Babes right over there! Let’s go in and start week number three of this winged journey to Havana, Illinois!
It looks nice in here! Scott’s already snared a seat down at the end of the bar, let’s go join him.
As soon as I sat down, Lisa the pretty and friendly bartender on duty is serving up the first beer of the evening! I love it when that happens!
We place our food order and there’s Lisa ringing it in to the kitchen via the cash register behind the bar. And if you look real close you can see an unplanned obligatory bar mirror shot happening there!
Here’s a shot of the back of the bar from where we’re sitting.
This is the quartet of beers that are on tap at the bar. Anybody else out there wondering what the hell ever happened to Spike, who inspired these taps shots? Come back, Spike, wherever you are!
There’s a dining area with tables behind the bar.
A variety of pictures hang on the wall back here ranging from local football players, to vintage shots of buildings and streets here in Havana.
This is the view from back in the dining area.
An upside down Christmas tree hangs from the ceiling at the end of the bar. I’ve never seen something like that before, very cool!
Wooden booths line the far wall opposite the bar.
Dana and Alli were dining at one of the booths and check out the burgers in here! They look fantastic, we may have to do a return visit to try one of those out!
Meanwhile, back at the bar, our appetizer of the fried onions have arrived! These were so good! They’re lightly battered and the deep-fried red onions have a slightly sweet flavor that mixes well with the savory and salty batter.
Ha! Check it out, here’s Kevin and Star coming in through this door! They’re bound and determined to get in this post! It’s great to see them again!
We moved from the bar and the four of us settled into a booth.
Here’s our party of four, cheers!
And like clockwork, here’s Lisa with this week’s wings!
Scott and I had already ordered and Kevin and Star placed an order when they got there too. Babes has a mulitude of wing flavors and you can mix up the flavors in every order. We got the Lemon Pepper, Caribbean Jerk, Polynesian, Sweet Chili, Chipotle BBQ and Hot wings.
Here’s four of the flavors undergoing the all-important cooling process while I drink another beer.
The wings here are really good. They’re average sized, but they’re all plump and juicy and I really love the variety of flavors you can sample in here! I loved them all, but the Caribbean Jerk and the Polynesian were definitely stand-outs!
Weekly bones and napkin shot!
After we were done eating Todd, who owns Babes with his wife, Kelly came over and said hello. Todd and his wife have been running Babes for the last five years. Todd’s mom opened Babes a block away in 1985 and they’ve been in this location on Plum since 1997.
And before we left, I was reminded of this fact: “Ho’s—they come in threes this time of year!” Ho, ho, ho and we’ll see you all tomorrow!
Chicken Wing Rating
Three and a half Wings guitar picks—The wings are plump and juicy and I love the fact that you can get so many varieties of flavors within each order. And I need to come back to try out those burgers too!
Babes On Plum
118 N. Plum Street
Havana, Illinois
309-543-9029
Related Posts: Twelve More Weeks Of Chicken Wings @ Donnelly’s Irish Pub and Schooners.