Dixie Travel Plaza - McLean

I took a road trip to St. Louis and this was my get off the toad and relax stopping point. The service was great, the food came quickly and my grilled cheese with bacon and tater tots were yum!

Review is for both the restaurant and the store. The restaurant: despite of Covid back in late September, it was open. This included the buffet and salad bar. I wasn 't really that hungry for a buffet, but I had the salad bar with my hamburger and fries. Food was really good, as was the service. Some Route 66 memorabilia and stuff here and there, but there was more in the store part. It was a typical truck stop/convenience store on the inside, with lots of stuff (food, souvenirs, etc. and there was plenty of Route 66 collectibles to get. My only complaint was they didn 't carry Route 66 hoodies but hey, at least they had lots of magnets and signs! Route 66 travel information is also available. If you 're familiarized with Route 66, you 'll know this is one of the most classic stops in Illinois literally. Be sure to walk across the street, as there is a historical marker that talks a lot about the history of Dixie Truckers Home. Did you know this was once an outdoor movie theater at one point? This is the oldest truck stop in Illinois, dating to the early 1930s. (There have been many claims that this is the oldest truck stop in the United States, but I 'm sure a few others will dispute that, who knows

Tire went down on the interstate on July 4th and we were near this service station. We were alerted by a clerk that this service station had free air at the diesel gas pumps, when we went to acquire quarters to pay for air. Angie, one of the workers, gave us a business card of a nearby guy whom might be able to help us change the tire. She was very helpful. We ended up mostly changing the tire ourselves. There was one really helpful trucker that came back and assisted us 3x. Our tire was apparently stuck, and needed to be wedged-off with the flat end of a crowbar and hammer. But I digress. Purchased bunch of drinks, tire pressure gauge, and postcards. Thanks so much Dixie Truckers! We recommend you!

This place is trash. There are multiple guys who work there and are registered sex offenders with ankle monitors on. I have seen them out at the buffet with tank tops on and their ankle monitors showing. That should not be happening at a family restaurant. I have seen bugs and mold on the buffet.

I have not eaten here in a number of years but I ordered a soda and it tasted horrible. I asked the waitress about the taste and she said oh we have well water and it tastes bad, after another drink of the soda I could not drink it anymore and ordered milk. The food was good but I had sausage gravy which I'm sure included water when they made it and I could taste the well water in that also. You would think that place of this size could have a better water filtration system so that it would not affect the quality of their product or at least warn people ahead of time that they don't care to produce a quality product.