Café Tu Tu Tango

1469291506482119

**** (4 stars)

Good tapas style restaurant in the tourist district. One has the impression that there are fewer actual ingredients involved than the extensive menu would suggest, with the same things appearing in several differently named dishes. Good for groups and sharing, and a fairly quiet place to have a leisurely lunch, very like its evening atmosphere. Friendly service, and interesting artwork for sale on the walls.

Café Tu Tu Tango
8625 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 248-2222
http://www.yelp.com/biz/caf%C3%A9-tu-tu-tango-orlando-3

Hand Roll Sushi

**** (4 stars)

This attractive sushi restaurant is a nice addition to the neighborhood. It may be the first sushi restaurant I’ve been to that seems to not be run by Asians, so I approached with some skepticism, but we had a nice lunch here.

I started with a small salad with very crisp cold greens and a nice dressing, somewhat lighter but more complex than the traditional ginger dressing.

Their twist on sushi is that they also offer tacos. I wondered what a sushi taco would be like, but it turns out it’s just a regular crispy corn tortilla shell filled with whatever sushi item you select. I tried the tuna taco, and the tuna quality was excellent. The crunchy taco pretty much instantly self destructed, but the combination was good.

The real highlights here are the “Temaki” hand rolls, though. My salmon skin hand roll was the best I’ve had anywhere, and I’ve had a lot of them: plenty of crispy salmon skin with some flavorful meat still attached, well mixed with the rice so I didn’t run out of salmon skin as I ate my way to the bottom of the well-stuffed roll.

Lunch here includes your choice of any two items from an extensive list of tacos, hand rolls and conventional maki rolls, plus soup or salad, all for $8.95. An excellent deal. I plan to return and explore some of the other menu options in the future.

Hand Roll Sushi
2595 S Hiawassee Rd
Orlando, FL 32835
(321) 754-1754
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hand-roll-sushi-orlando

Oak Street Beach Cafe

*** (3 stars)

It seems three stars is the highest rating this place has ever gotten, but I thought it was fine, and one of the better choices at Midway.

The menu is a bit confusing, but it’s sliders: pick 1, 2, or 3 and what you want in them. I chose tuna. It was well done, which was probably just as well (no pun intended).

Pick your bun. I chose brioche, but I think I got white. Anyway, they were nicely grilled.

Pick your chip seasoning. I chose salt and pepper. As others have noted, they are fresh, but some are soggy. Still, there were about a pound of fresh ones.

The sliders had nice crispy romaine lettuce and decent tomato. No sign of the advertised aioli, but probably just as well.

Employees see sullen but not outright abusive.

Note: prep time is 10-15 minutes, so don’t go here in a rush.

Bottom line: I’d go here again.

Oak Street Beach Cafe
Chicagi Midway International Airport
Chicago, IL 60638

http://www.yelp.com/biz/oak-street-beach-cafe-chicago-2

Coalfire Pizza

***** (5 stars)

I admit it: I’m not a fan of deep dish pizza. So the pickings are a bit slim for my idea of a great pizza in Chicago. Coalfire pizza to the rescue!

My idea of a great pizza is a thin, slightly charred crust, with flavorful toppings spread thinly enough that they don’t make the crust soggy. That’s exactly what you’ll find here.

Normally I tend to order vegetarian pizzas, but the way to go at coal fire is with the pepperoni and whipped ricotta pizza. The pepperoni is thick cut, so it has tons of flavor, and the fluffy cheese adds a great creamy finish.

If you appreciate thin crust pizza, this is the place to go.

Coalfire Pizza
1321 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
(312) 226-2625
http://www.yelp.com/biz/coalfire-pizza-chicago

Buffalo Joe’s

**** (4 stars)

This is a good wings place, but they actually have a lot more, including hamburgers, hot dogs and even vegetarian sandwiches. Everything is cooked to order, so it’s hot and fresh, and there is a nice enough dining area both in front and in back. Service is fast and efficient. Cash only.

Buffalo Joe’s
812 Clark St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-5525
http://www.yelp.com/biz/buffalo-joes-evanston

Katsu

***** (5 stars)

This is the best sashimi I’ve found in Chicago. Interestingly, sashimi is not available by the piece, but only in various collections, such as the chef’s omakase, which is available in three sizes. The quality and presentation is superb.

This isn’t really a place to go if you’re looking for sushi rolls. The selection is limited, and they weren’t the highlight of our meal. Also, the tempura was just so so. However the eel custard was great.

Indeed, this is a sashimi place, so plan on having that when you go, and plan on spending a fair amount for it, as the quality means it is expensive.

There is a thoughtful if short wine list, and the Champagne on it goes great with the sashimi.

Katsu
2651 W Peterson Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 784-3383
http://www.yelp.com/biz/katsu-chicago

Fuel

*** (3 stars)

A good place for breakfast. The chilaquiles and pancakes were both fine, not particularly remarkable. The side order of ham was generous and very tasty, sourced (as are many of their offerings) from a local provider. Service was friendly and attentive.

Fuel
1222 Washington Ct
Wilmette, IL 60091
(847) 251-3835
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fuel-wilmette-2

Longitud315

***** (5 stars)

Superb ceviche, perhaps the best I’ve had anywhere. The sampling of empanadas as interesting, the arepas less so. The drunken mushrooms were a standout, as was the coconut sorbet served with the chocolate cake.

Wonderfully welcoming atmosphere and superb service throughout our visit make this place a special treat.

Longitud315
315 Waukegan Ave
Highwood, IL 60040
(847) 926-7495
http://www.yelp.com/biz/longitud315-highwood-2

DMK Burger & Fish

**** (4 stars)

It’s nice to find a burger place with table service. This small restaurant offers counter service to go, but if you want to eat in, just have  seat.

The veggie burger I had was delicious, with a nice crust, and moist, tasty filling, and good toppings. The bun tended to self-destruct, even though it had been nicely grilled, but fortunately I had a knife and fork!

The fries were tasty but a bit soggy, although that was mostly masked by the excellent blue cheese and bacon topping.

Service, by Tess, was great, friendly and informative. Nice place.

DMK Burger & Fish
815 Noyes St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 424-8226
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dmk-burger-and-fish-evanston

Naf Naf Grill

*** (3 stars)

This is basically a middle eastern Chipotle. You choose a salad bowl or rice bowl or pita, a main ingredient such as falafel or shawarma, and then pick the accompaniments. There’s not much point in choosing the pita, because the bowl comes with a pita anyway.

The falafel was nice and crunchy. I had it on a salad, which would have been rather dry and bland had I not added hummus, which is $1.50 extra.

Combo meals come with a drink and a side. I chose the fries, which were actually house made potato chips. They would have been good had they been fresh and crisp, but mine were soggy.

For about the same amount of money I could have gone around the corner to Olive Mountain and had table service.

Naf Naf Grill
1629 Orrington Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 866-8470
http://www.yelp.com/biz/naf-naf-grill-evanston-2