Burgers & Sammies: Where to Get Your Fix for Champaign-Urbana Restaurant Week
If your tastes run less “white tablecloths and tiny tasting spoons” and more “handhelds to absolutely demolish,” this one’s for you!
We’re talking patties, croissants, baguettes, and sliders piled with big, bold flavors, plus a few extras you’ll definitely want to add on. No controversies here (we’re avoiding the “Are tacos and hot dogs sandwiches?” debate)—just some incredible spots serving standout burgers and sammies for Champaign-Urbana Area Restaurant Week.
Baldarotta's, downtown Urbana
Want a sandwich experience that truly blows your mind? Baldarotta’s delivers the goods. This Sicilian/Italian American sandwich shop, deli, and gelateria takes things way beyond your standard deli fare. Sandwich specials include the pampanella (artichoke spread, Chianti-braised spicy pork shoulder, Calabrian slaw, and Calabrian honey sauce) and the beef braciole (prosciutto and flank steak roulade, Sunday sauce, sharp provolone, rapini, and salsa verde). And if you’re going in, go all in: add some garlic fig butter wings and a key lime cannoli.
Café Sababa, Campustown
If you’ve never lunched at Café Sababa (inside The Cohen Center on campus), now’s the perfect opportunity. All fresh, all kosher, their Restaurant Week special is a nostalgic, comfort-food dream: the “summer camp combo”—margherita grilled cheese, a cup of tomato soup, fries, pickle, cookie, and a drink. Delicious simplicity at its best!
Martinelli’s Market, downtown Champaign
With artisan loaves from Central Illinois Bakehouse as the foundation, Martinelli’s Market doesn’t mess around when it comes to sandwiches. For Restaurant Week, they’re rolling out a pastrami-stuffed croissant and prosciutto & burrata on a fresh baguette, both pretty tough to resist. Add a winter orchard salad featuring nearly all local ingredients—from the greens and radishes to the goat cheese and apples—and you’re set. (Dessert, of course, is non-negotiable: a lemon white-chocolate cannoli topped with your choice of pistachios or mini white-chocolate chips.)
Farren’s at the Inman, downtown Champaign
Farren’s is famous for their burgers—and for good reason. Take their Restaurant Week specials: a 100% Wagyu beef burger with cheddar cheese and a bison burger with pepper jack cheese, cumin ketchup, and Cajun remoulade. Both are served with homemade truffled potato chips and coleslaw. And if you somehow have room, their additional Restaurant Week specials—think fried oysters, chowder, salad, pasta and meatballs, and an apple tart—are absolutely worth the extra fork or two.
Seven Saints, downtown Champaign
Vegans, this is your moment. Seven Saints is serving up a vegan portobello slider topped with tomato bruschetta and avocado. If your tastes run more animal-based, the rest of the Restaurant Week lineup is just as tempting: Ropp Poutine with Jersey white cheddar cheese curds from Ropp Farms in McLean County, plus ground beef tacos. (We’ll let you decide whether those tacos count as “sandwiches.”)
Burgers dripping with melted cheese, sandwiches layered with house-smoked meats and local produce, cozy combos that taste like nostalgia…if you’ve been looking for an excuse to try a new spot—or revisit an old favorite—let this be it.
Start Planning Your Feast!
Mark your calendar for Champaign-Urbana Area Restaurant Week, January 30–February 7! Grab your people, pick your spots, and try something new together.
Check out all the Restaurant Week menus and participating restaurants here:
experiencecu.org/events/restaurant-week
Sponsors
Our 10th Annual Champaign-Urbana Area Restaurant Week is generously supported by:
Chef's Table
Entrée SPONSORS
Appetizer SPONSORS
