I gotta say… Radio’s brunch has gone in waves… it started out really good… then when they lost their executive chef, the quality diminished considerably… but for the last few months a big bunch of us have been eating there somewhat frequently… and Radio’s brunch is better than it ever has been. I don’t care what anyone orders, if it doesn’t come with bacon, they need to order a side of bacon, because Radio’s new bacon is AMAZING. And the Mexican Coffee has always been my definition of a Sunday morning brunch beverage.

radio maria has been the jam for years.  i made my share of uncle justy’s beer bread.   but what about mimosas!?

Hey Seth,
Love the writing; keep it up.
I’ll tell you two restaurants worth looking into:
La Gourmandaise on Main St. in Urbana. 1st time I went there, I wasn’t all that impressed, but they really got their act together. Spicy Thai chicken soup is really tasty, and if you like brats, they’ve got the best in town. I normally don’t eat too much meat these days, but my inner Kraut got the better of me! Real friendly owner, too.
Also, look into Mas Amigos on Springfield, in Champaign. I got a vegetarian burrito, with sides of mexican rice and refried beans, for under 5 bucks, including tax. The atmosphere inside is nice, they have a nice flat screen TV they always play sports on, and the owner is super-friendly, as well. The ONLY thing I don’t like about the place is the sign outside; it’s kinda cheap looking, but don’t let that keep you away.
Finally, I don’t know if you write about chains, but The Texas Roadhouse is the most under-rated chain restaurant in town.

Forgot to mention; the Mas Amigos meal included a good-sized bag of excellent tortilla chips, with salsa and 2 hot sauces.

I also dread it when my friends suggest Radio- and not just because of the prices. The cliquish, downtown, artsy, holier-than-thou attitude that pervades the place really puts me off. Plus the food isn’t always great and the service is atrocious. We were there last week and waited 20 minutes for a table- and it wasn’t even busy. Eventually we ate at the Esquire.

Last time I ate at Radio the owner had my car towed- while I was eating in his restaurant!! I’ll never go back.

Mike… I wouldn’t exactly say “rectify”. When I went back in to complain, the owner offered me a glasss of wine on the house. Hmmm… $85 to get the car back, but - oh joy - a free glass of wine! I never went back to claim it…

In the Radio Maria parking lot, opposite.

Sounds exactly like the owner to me. I’ve had exactly the same thing happen to me there, and the response I got from David was beyond rude.

Yep- that’s the owner. I worked there for years (not anymore, thank God) and I swear the only thing that ever made him happy was having peoples cars towed. Didn’t matter if they had just spent megabucks in his restaurant.

i also worked there for a long time. after a particularly busy night, i finished cleaning/closing around 4am to find my car had been towed from the lot. i was shocked when they would not assist in getting it released.  in retrospect i am not at all surprised.

On the parking situation at Radio Maria, it depends on the time of day when and who does the towing. If you’re there before 5pm Monday - Friday it’s not David that makes the call, unless you’re parked in his rented spot (sucks when you pay for something and somebody takes it without asking…happens all the time). After those posted times Radio rents the lot, many times people have used it to park yet go elsewhere (once again you pay, somebody takes…). Almost everywhere in downtown Champaign you’re going to get your car towed after 3 am, read the signs! I don’t know everybody’s situations here but I worked at Radio, during lunch times on the days when parking wasn’t availble, the policy was to ask everybody that if they parked there to please move their car so it wouldn’t get towed by the people that own the lot.
About the service I agree the Evan is the bomb, the rest hit or miss, and I miss the quirky, artsy, downtown cliquish servers. It seems these days the servers are shipped in from the North Prospect cattle barn chain restaurants and not nearly as friendly.
Still, i’ve never been disappointed in the meals, and price seem reasonable for what you order.
 

Sucks having your car towed, dude.

Just saw this thread. I’ve just gotta say, last time I ate at Radio the service was bad, the food was worse, an I spent all night throwin up. You could not pay me enough to go back.