Restaurants in Wood River

No matter the time of day or night, the kitchen staff at Gingham’s Restaurant churns out any meal—be it breakfast for dinner or lunch at 2 a.m. —that their customers crave. Famous buttermilk pancakes speckled with everything from blueberries to bits of bacon hush grumbling stomachs, as the friendly wait staff shuffles around bottomless pots of Ronnoco coffee and homemade dinner rolls. Chefs scramble farm-fresh eggs into nine different omelets, masterfully fry chicken, and drown homestyle meatloaf in rich gravy. The eatery doesn’t forget about dessert, satiating the child that nests in everyone’s molars with ice-cream sundaes and cherry crisps.

Memorialized in paint, ancient Greeks dressed in flowing togas dance beneath the arches on the walls at Momos Greek Restaurant. At adjacent tables and pillow-lined booths, dining companions share small plates of Mediterranean cuisine, such as the pan-seared bay scallops in tomato-garlic pesto. Other small plates include traditional lamb gyros with feta cheese and tzatziki sauce and grilled shish kebabs. The focal point of the main dining area is a flickering fireplace bearing a tile mosaic of a satyr peaking from behind a tree, impatiently waiting for a beautiful sunbathing woman to dive into the river so that he can steal her bowl of hummus. Nearby, bartenders serve drafts and bottles of domestic, imported, and craft brews; mix shakers filled with seven signature martinis; and decant glasses of the traditional Greek liqueur ouzo known for its herbal and anise flavors.

Stepping into De Palm Tree Restaurant is like stumbling into a portal and ending up in the Caribbean. Exposed-brick walls give way to decorative support beams that end on a vibrant crimson ceiling, recalling a beachside cabana fanned by ocean breezes. Flecks of culture spread across the walls as well, from a framed collection of Jamaican dollars and a national flag to portraits of Bob Marley and metallic replicas of tribal art. But as in Jamaica, the community at De Palm Tree Restaurant forms around the food.

Feasts of fragrant, spicy curries, flaky fish, and hearty bean stews follow frosty glasses of ginger beer and freshly squeezed fruit juices. The menu’s rum cakes, stuffed pastries, seafood, and plantains reflect the lush, tropical landscape of Jamaica, with its abundant fruit trees, teeming oceans, and waving fields of jerk-chicken plants. Well-known dishes such as tender jerk pork or curry chicken anchor the offerings, whereas exotic island delicacies such as akees and saltfish, oxtail stew, or spicy pickled escovitch fish tempt adventurous diners.

Since emigrating from Taiwan in 1978, Chinese Noodle Cafe owner, Peggy Hou, has cultivated a welcoming restaurant atmosphere brimming with Hunan-style Chinese fare that claimed Readers' Choice awards in the 2008, 2010, and 2012 Riverfront Times. A compendium of fresh ingredients and an absence of MSG keeps the focus on healthy fare throughout an array of traditional dishes such as general tso's chicken, steamed vegetables, and beaver-friendly items such as wooden chopsticks. Noodle soups outfit an already popular menu with spicy, seafood, and meaty discoveries to broaden diners' horizons.