Mystery Diner: Tackling the horseshoe sandwich at Honest Abe's in Morris

MORRIS – I've never been to Springfield, at least not that I remember. And I've never eaten a shoe.

Though apparently that's a thing people do there.

And in Morris.

On Thursdays, it's horseshoe sandwich day at Honest Abe's in Morris. And, it's clearly worth it to go and get a full one for $10.50 that day. It's usually $15, which is why I brought up the special.

But onto the sandwich, or, the gargantuan open-faced Texas Toast with toppings and cheese sauce and fries.

I didn't eat it. Or order it. Because one of my fellow diners did.

And he raved about it, though it wasn't his first time there having the meal.

For starters, you can order the full one (horseshoe) or the half one (pony shoe). And I don't want to advocate for overeating, because I'm not sure you want to eat the entire horseshoe in one sitting, but you can certainly bring home half and have two great meals instead of one.

On top, you can order Angus beef, grilled chicken, buffalo chicken, Philly steak, garlic pork, ham or bacon and eggs.

If I were to go again, I'd for sure order the bacon and eggs. Because it sounds delicious. The photo we have, from my fellow diner, is the buffalo chicken. It was a lot and he took half home.

Along with the horseshoe, Honest Abe's has plenty of burger choices. More than 20, in fact, and you can substitute a chicken breast for any of them if you choose too.

I was looking for something spicy, so I went with The Booth, with pepper jack cheese, jalapenos and flaming sauce. Though the Gettysburg, with cheese, bacon and an over easy egg seemed like it might just hit the spot too.

The burger was fantastic and it was even hotter than I expected. Our other fellow diner had a log cabin, with provolone and mozzarella cheese sticks on top and marinara sauce.

There are plenty of other options, with toppings from The Philadelphia (cream cheese and bell peppers) to Chicago Style (relish, mustard, tomato, onions, pickle, hot peppers and celery salt) to The Mario (spinach, Swiss, grilled onions and Sriracha mayo) to peanut butter and jealousy with, you guessed it, peanut butter, jelly and bacon. Yes, I wrote bacon.

I wasn't enough of a risk taker to get peanut butter on my burger this time.

Maybe later, but probably never.

It's good to know that's a thing, though.

And it's good to know about Honest Abe's, south of the Illinois River on 47, is there with the horseshoe sandwich. I'll be back to take it on someday.

• The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at The Herald-News. The diner’s identity is not revealed to restaurant staff before or during the meal. The Mystery Diner visits a restaurant and then reports on the experience. If the Mystery Diner cannot recommend the establishment, we will not publish a review.

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: Honest Abe's Tap & Grill

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday

WHERE: 3585 N. Route 47, Morris

INFO: Call 815-941-2485 or visit honestabestapandgrill.com