Elmhurst Memorial Hospital in Illinois came in second in the 2013 Soliant Health list of 20 most beautiful hospitals. A look at their cafeteria tells you why. It’s built “in the Prairie School style that was most notably used by Frank Lloyd Wright,” the famous architect who once lived in nearby Oak Park. There’s no grabbing a tray or standing in line here. It’s all room service. Like many of the 21st-century hospital restaurants on this list, the cafe is set up with various stations including a deli bar, a wok station, a grill, a brick oven for bread and a carving station for meats. The cafeteria boasts “exhibition,” or “display,” cooking so you can see your food being prepared while you wait. In a nurse’s perfect world, there would be an exhibition hand washing station, too—but you can’t have everything.
Next: Mountain View Cafe and Grille →