Rockford

If you've never been to Illinois' third-largest city, go just so you can say "Beefaroo." This local burger chain serves cheese fries and onion rings totally worth the 90-mile trip northwest of the Loop (beefaroo.com). Here are nine more reasons to make the drive.- Dale Chihuly, Ansel Adams and other big names at the Rockford Art Museum (815/972-2865; rockfordartmuseum.org).- Elk tenderloin with blueberries (or other seasonal surprises), served alongside a patio waterfall at Brio Restaurant and Wine Bar (815/968-9463; briorockford.com).- Seating for 650 pancake-munching brunchsters at the legendary Stockholm Inn (815/397-3534; stockholminn.com).- Proof that mixing Mentos and Diet Coke really does produce an explosion, courtesy of the Discovery Center Museum (815/963-6769; discoverycentermuseum.org).- Practically rainproof outdoor community theater, thanks to the Starlight Theatre's oh-so-cool roof, which opens like a flower to reveal the dazzling night sky (815/921-2160; rvcstarlight.com).- Cliffbreakers Riverside Resort, where hunting trophies adorn the lobby and Rock River views urge you to turn off the TV; from $99 (815/282-3033; cliffbreakers.com).- Swoon-worthy cannoli from 80-year-old Roma Bakery, one of nearly a dozen Italian bakeries and delis on the south end of Main Street (815/964-6737).- Jane, a ferocious T. rex who died eons ago in Hell's Creek, Montana, and lives on at the Burpee Museum of Natural History (815/965-3433; burpee.org).- Twenty minutes well spent waiting for made-to-order hot chocolate gteaux at white-linen Josef of Barbados (815/282-3400; josefbarbados.com).