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• Enjoying Urbana's downtown shops

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An interior look at the newly opened Black Dog Smoke and Ale House in Urbana. (Photo by Anne-Marie Cheely)

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Related Venues

Black Dog Smoke and Ale House »
Address: 201 N. Broadway Ave. Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 344-9334
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Priceless Books »
Address: 108 W. Main St. Urbana, IL 61801
Phone:
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Heartland Gallery »
Address: 112 W. Main St. Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 337-4767
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Mirabelle Fine Pastries »
Address: 124 W. Main Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 384-6460
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After a trip to downtown Urbana on Saturday I came home with some new goodies after hitting some of the shops that line Main St. After a delicious pulled pork sandwich from Black Dog Smoke & Ale House, a fairly new restaurant on Broadway Ave, me and the beau walked around the corner to Priceless Books. I got a book called “A Day in the Life” and a Robert Schumann CD, classical for those unfamiliar with the name. My total bill was under $15, though I could have kept shopping for hours and probably spent about $100.

Next stop was Heartland Gallery, a quaint little store with some incredible artwork by Irish artists and little knick knacks, along with a case full of claddagh rings (a pair of hands holding a heart adorned with a crown; an irish symbol of love, loyalty and friendship) and necklaces galore.

We then moved on to Mirabelle Fine Pastries and indulged in some French coffee, a custard fruit tart, and an M&M cookie. The coffee wasn’t my favorite, but the tart was — like my pulled pork sandwich — delicious.

I realize I have probably bored you with a detailed description of my Saturday afternoon, but I guess the point I was trying to get at is that there are a world of things so close to campus that most students don’t even know exist. Oh, and the parking in downtown Urbana is $0.25/hour opposed to downtown Champaign, which is $0.75/hour in case you are trying to be frugal in these hard economic times.

So next weekend when an afternoon game of bags or screw-the-dealer aren’t sounding quite so appealing, perhaps hit up your local downtown area and indulge in a new experience.