Sushi O Sushi

In our hunt for our sushi place, we tried Sushi O Sushi on W Armitage between N Sedgwick and N Orleans. The chef is fantastically happy and outgoing. Our table of 4 received complimentary sake from the chef. I don't particularly like sake, but I appreciated the gesture! To start, between the 4 of us, we ordered 2 bowls of Miso Soup, and 2 Crab Rangoon appetizers, which each came with 5 small pieces. Both were okay. We ordered 6 rolls to share. My favorites were Lover (cream cheese, scallions, crunch, and masago on top of a California Roll) and Crispy (crab stick, cream cheese, avocado, eel, and white fish, deep fried). The chef and the atmosphere were top grade, but altogether, our hunt for our sushi place wages on.

The Bagel Restaurant and Deli

While Christmas shopping at Westfield Old Orchard Mall in Skokie, we stopped in at The Bagel Restaurant and Deli for a quick lunch. We intended to order at the counter, but the line there was long, so we decided to sit and dine. We were given bread and pickles upon sitting down. I ordered a Chicken Salad Sandwich from the sandwich board, and added cheddar and bacon. It was delicious. It came with lettuce, tomato, and coleslaw on the side.

Uncle Julio's

We recently grabbed dinner at Uncle Julio's on North Ave between Clybourn and Dayton. It's a Mexican/Tex-Mex place near the North/Clybourn Red Line stop amidst an upscale shopping district. It's a large restaurant, and was very loud on that Friday night.

We began with the Guacamole and Queso Combo. The portions were disappointingly small. The guacamole was good, but it was served over a piece of lettuce. I wished I could've scraped it off the plate, y'know? The queso was okay.

The Mesquite Grilled menu items were far too expensive, and so, for me, not worth a look.

I love Mexican food, but I'm very simple, and generally prefer to order menu items à la carte. I never really like the rice and beans that come on the side, but that's often hard to avoid. I ordered the Crispy Taco Plate that came with 3 crispy tacos (I went with beef), and the unavoidable rice and beans came on the side.



Overall, the meal was okay, too expensive, and the restaurant was too loud.

Grilled chicken, bacon and cheddar sandwich

Tonight's dinner!

Grilled chicken, bacon and cheddar sandwich

Ingredients (serves 1):

1 hamburger bun
1 chicken breast
3 slices bacon
1 slice cheddar cheese
1 tbsp mayonnaise (optional)

1. Cut the fat off the chicken, then slice it thinly. Place the chicken slices on the grill and cook for several minutes until they reach an internal temperature of 165°.
2. Meanwhile, toast the hamburger bun, and cook the bacon per instructions. (I used turkey bacon.)
3. Pile the sandwich together. From the bottom: Bottom of hamburger bun, chicken breast, cheddar cheese, bacon, mayonnaise, top of hamburger bun.

Pizano's Pizza and Pasta

We recently dined at Pizano's Pizza and Pasta, and my partner dared to say that this may be her favorite deep-dish pizza in the city. I still stand by my choice of Lou Malnati's, but agree that Pizano's is good. Similar to Lou's, they offer personal deep-dish pizzas with reasonable wait times. I found the crust to not compare to Lou's Buttercrust, and it was tough to cut through, and burnt around the edges. Both deep-dish restaurants have multiple locations throughout the city, so I guess the next time we're looking for some familiar deep-dish, we'll have to flip a coin.

Owen and Engine

Tonight, we ate at Owen and Engine on Western between Schubert and Diversey. It's right across the street from the Regal City North 14 movie theater. I'd been meaning to try their widely praised burger, so I waited until a movie came out that I wanted to see, and made a dinner/movie night of it.

The burger at Owen and Engine is a little expensive at $14, plus upcharges for toppings. It comes on a homemade toasted potato "bap" (a good, airy bun). The burger, which is a mix of ground chuck, short rib, and brisket is very thick. I ordered it medium well, but it was still pretty pink. It's juicy and drips all over the plate, and the toppings fall out very easily. It comes with lots of caramelized onions, and I asked if I could add cheese. They only have one kind of cheese in the establishment: Irish white cheddar. It comes with fries, though at a gastropub, I guess we say, "chips".

The burger was pretty good, but I don't think it deserves it's current high placement on most "Best Burger in Chicago" lists.

For me, Lockdown Bar and Grill still strongly holds the title for the best burger in the city.