Now that Chicago seems to be done with daily thunderstorms and downpours, outside dining is appealing. This past weekend I decided to stretch a little and venture out to the West Suburbs. I had cravings for sushi, so I searched for a restaurant accordingly. Mata Ne at 130 N. York Street in Elmhurst became my landing spot. I started with a bowl of crispy cauliflower. Cauliflower has become something of a super, all-purpose vegetable that doesn’t always taste the best. At Mata Ne, the crispy cauliflower tastes absolutely divine. Not overloaded with seasoning, you can taste the cauliflower alon ..read more

Chicago residents have this weird thing about visiting the North Side, West Side, or South Side. People from the South Side seem to have this distaste for the North Side and West Side. People on the West Side have a disdain for the South Side and North Side. People on the North Side will make comment about the other “sides” of Chicago, but don’t really care. And then you have residents like me who will travel to wherever if there is good food to be had. Think I’m lying? Yep, that’s how I made that trip to Bronzeville on the South Side to have something from Cleo’s Southern Cuisine. Small on t ..read more

During the pandemic, I cooked at home mostly. It gave me time to get back to preparing a lot of cultural dishes. When I was not in the mood for being in the kitchen, I ordered delivery and takeaway. One restaurant that jumped out at me when I was looking for something I’d like but hadn’t tried was The Mukase at 1363 W. Wilson Avenue in Ravenswood. They have not resumed dine-in, but the takeaway offerings have been just as delicious. I ordered several Ghanaian dishes on two separate occasions. On the first pass, I had red-red, croaker fish with kelewele, attieke with croaker fish. On the secon ..read more

Having had some time to sit still, I read through several posts from the past few years. Of course, as of the pandemic starting in early 2020, I had not been going to restaurants so that I could blog the experiences. Even when restaurants did open, I ordered food for delivery and takeaway. It didn’t feel the same as going in for proper sit-downs, so my reviews have been scarce. And after getting in travel to compensate for being inside for two years straight, I have slowly added in-house dining to my routine. Haidilao Hot Pot in Chicago’s South Loop district at 107 E. Cermak Rd. was my first ..read more

Chicago recently went from temperatures in the 80’s to temperatures in the 50’s overnight. That coupled with high winds put a halt to walking outside. But Mother Nature was kind enough to give the city some warmth for a day. So I took advantage of it and stopped by a sushi restaurant in the neighborhood. I had a sit-down at Volcano Sushi Restaurant at 2521 N. California Avenue. This used to be Inoko Sushi, which had replaced Hachi, and I think may have closed during the pandemic and since opened under new management. Nevertheless, Volcano Sushi is a spacious spot with plenty of seats inside a ..read more

After a year of being inside primarily, I have slowly reintroduced myself to the gym. And although I have been cooking at home so to maintain my discipline with being a pescatarian, there are times when I have started ordering for takeaway or delivery. However, while in Chicago’s Edgewater buying Ethiopian spices for recipes, I stopped by a Mexican restaurant on the way home. Susupuato Restaurant and Taqueria at 6161 N. Broadway Avenue was just what I needed. I ordered guacamole with chips and a platter of fish tacos with Spanish rice and refried beans. First to the table were complementary ..read more

Approximately fifty-two weeks ago, we went into pandemic mode with the expectation that we would have two weeks to somewhat get COVID under containment. That was clearly an ambitious move, given those two weeks became 52 weeks. After months of being inside and now having my kitchen out of commission while I’m having a complete remodeling project underway, I am partaking of dining out when I’m not getting takeaway for enjoyment at home. While picking up a few items for installation in the kitchen, I decided to stop in to Kona Grill at 3051 Butterfield Rd. in Oak Brook, Illinois. I used to work ..read more

Click for Gallery of Photos Since we have been in pandemic mode, as of the beginning of March, I have been cooking at home more. And when I have not been cooking, I will occasionally order takeaway from any of the restaurants that deliver within the Logan Square vicinity. Recently, while having a vacation day to cleanse my mental palate, I happened to pass through the Avondale neighborhood just to the north of Logan Square. In passing, there was Tacos Tequilas at 2919 N. Milwaukee Avenue that I had ordered delivery from several times. With the weather being fantastic and nice enough for sittin ..read more

After looking over my last blog posts, I had not realized that the last review I had published was in May. Ever since we went into pandemic mode, I thought time was passing slowly. That has not been the case. Fortunate that I am able to work from home I have not had much of a need to leave my condo. My trash goes out more than I do. When the work hours are done, I work out in the bedroom I converted into a workout room, slow cook in my crock while working, pressure cook or air fry, eat, get plenty sleep, rinse and repeat. Since things have eased up enough for people to have a comfort going o ..read more

In early March before the world that we once knew was plunged into pandemic mode, I met a friend for breakfast at Chef Sara’s Café at 7201 S. Exchange Avenue in Chicago’s South Shore neighbourhood. Another friend had spoken highly of the café and I had set a tickler for a visit. Nevertheless, days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months had turned into years. As we neared our “in shelter” warning, I got in one last restaurant outing before hibernation. Let’s just start with the welcome upon entering the café. Think sitcom shows where a regular cast member walks on the scene at ..read more