Pizzeria Uno's @ Chicago

While it was Penguin's first time in Chicago, it's only customary to have Chicago style pizza! With all the options out there, where does one find THE pizza. Of course people will tell you what their fav places are and it ranges from Giordano's to Lou Malnati's. Well, after some extensive research and help from fellow Chicagans we decided on Pizzeria Uno's. Now you shouldn't confuse yourself with "Uno Pizzeria" the chain that is spread throughout the United States. No. Pizzeria Uno's is one of a kind, there is no chain, and while they do have a counterpart "due" that's two blocks away, but I was told that it is not as good as the original.

It's a tiny little restaurant that's super busy. It takes about 1 hour to make the deep dish pizza and the wait for a table is 30-45 minutes. What they do is that when you leave your name for a table, they take your order there immediately to speed up the process. So by the time you have your table, you only have to wait another 20-30 minutes for the pizza to arrive.

40 minutes later we got our table, 10 minutes later we got our caesar salad, and another 20 minutes later we got the pizza! I didn't think we could finish it but we did. It was the BEST PIZZA I'VE EVER HAD! The ingredients were super fresh, as was the mozarella and the best part was the crust. I don't think I've ever had a crust like that, it was buttery and flaky. I really wanted to dunk it into ranch dressing (yes it's something we Californian's like to do), but I resisted my urge to do so and enjoyed the pizza as is. And it really was perfect. I don't know how to completely explain how great it was, but in the back of my head, the taste still lingers. Next time I go to Chicago again, it's Pizzeria Uno's it is!

Caesar Salad

panda loved it! i think this is his favorite caesar salad, and it's because it was super cheesy. crouton's weren't too good, they were huge and too hard. 

Uno's Specialty

I don't quite remember what this was called (Panda has informed me that it's called the Numero Uno), but it was topped with pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and bell pepper. Amazing...

omg nom nom noms...

Charlie's Ale House @ Chicago

First stop on road trip CHICAGO! Gorgeous city and so sad we only got to experience it for a few hours. Walked to Navy Pier from our hotel and only to find that it started pouring (no umbrella). Panda and I decided to grab a beer and sit out the rain at Charlie's Ale House. Penguin had the Blue Moon and Panda had the Stella Artois. We ordered a plate of calamari to share. Pretty good food, and the place looked just like any other pub. Did the job, and the rain stopped when we finished.

B Spot Burgers @ Woodmere

Celebrity restaurant to grace Cleveland Ohio! Chef Micahel Symon (Iron Chef on the Food Network) opens up a specialty burger restaurant, B Spot. It's the latest thing for all the Ohioans; a new place to hang out and a new place to eat - it only happens every century or so! Joking! The decor is really nice and kitchy, I like it. The menu is expansive and simple at the same time. My one complaint (although the menu cautions customers from whining) is that there is no substitution, you can remove an item on your burger but you cannot substitute or add something. I guess Chef Symon believes his burger creations are amazing as they stand. There's a cool pickle bar at the middle of the restaurant that has pickled pickles, pickled onions, and pickled tomatoes. I don't have a picture of the vanilla shake, but I do have to say it is to die for. It's amazing, and it's music in your mouth where all the flavors just EXPLODE out of no where.

Mosaic wall via beer cans

Rules #1

Rules #2

Pickled Bar

Chilli Cheese Fries

cheesy! the chilli was fresh and the fries were really good, not oily at all. 

Lola Burger

[burger with fried egg, bacon, pickled red onions, cheddar and mayo]

amazing! amazing! this was the best! something about the bun, the burger, the cheese, the bacon and the fried egg where the yolk just oozes out. 

Shroomage

[burger with portabella, blue cheese, Lola steak sauce, caramelized onions] 

i really liked the burger, and the portabella was an great mushroom to add to it, and the bun was nice and toasty. i would have loved it more if i could add lettuce and tomato to it, and regular cheese instead of blue cheese. what can i say, i like my own creations sometimes. and i honestly believe any sandwich or burger is not complete without some fresh produce, it brings it alive!  

Frego's @ Canada [Ontario]

Frego's...hmmm. How did we stumble upon this place you ask? Purely accidentally...and it wasn't a good accident either. Panda and I had car troubles while visiting Niagara Falls. His brake pads were all gone so we needed to get it fixed before the drive back to Ohio. Went to the CAA (Canada's version of AAA) in St. Catherines, and while the car was being fixed we ate here. We should have known better. The place was empty. Bahh. Never again! Next time we'll just go to the chain known as Tim Hortons.

Fish and Chips

the fish and chips were too oily. too much batter on the chip, and the batter was not good, and the fries were burnt. cole slaw looked inedible.

Appetizer Platter

[calamari, potato skins, chicken strips, onion rings, garlic chicken wings, and mozarella sticks]

horrendous!! everything was deep fried! fried fried fried! oily and lacking in flavor. simply not good.

Pacific East Japanese Restaurant @ Cleveland

If you HAVE to eat Japanese while in Cleveland or it's vicinity, and if you HAVE to eat rolls and sashimi, you HAVE to go to Pacific East Japanese Restaurant. While there are definitely better in California (it is California after all) this restaurant is better than some places that exist in California. It's clean and the food is fresh. Service takes awhile, but it's worth it. Expect the place to be packed during the weekends. We came here to have the BOAT to share among 10 people. It was insane and insanely delicious!

3 spicy tuna hand rolls, 4 each nigiri: salmon, tuna, hamachi, white fish, unagi, tobiko, sashimi: tuna, salmon, yellow tail, amaebi, ikura, scallops, and 3 rolls - MASSIVE

The Bridge

Agave Tequilleria & Cocina @ Ohio

It was Cino de Mayo! What do you eat on that day? Or where would you go eat if you lived in California? You go eat Mexican food! What do you do when you're in Ohio, where you rarely see any Mexicans or Latin Americans? You go eat white mexican food! Precisely why we went to Agave Tequilleria & Cocina. Food was decent, and we went during lunch hour so it wasn't pricey, oh yea since it was Cinco de Mayo the margarita was cheap too! Other than that, not much to say.

Lime Margarita

Complimentary Chips and Salsa

Chicken and Beef Enchilladas

Beef Fajitas

Vine and Bean Cafe @ Cleveland

Why is it that Cleveland you start showing me your uniqueness right before I leave? Vine and Bean Cafe seems like it was literally taken from Haight in San Francisco, Soho in NYC or Santa Monica in LA and placed it right in the middle of Cleveland. It's a cute restaurant with some really nice people - characters, trendy, artsy...all the things that you don't really attribute with Cleveland, or even Ohio for that matter. The menu is simple and so is the food, but the flavors just pop out of your mouth. It's creative homecooking.

Shipwreck

[A blissful blend of hash browns, eggs, seasonal veggies, bacon, and cheddar cheese, served with house-baked Como toast & fresh fruit]

the tastiest shipwreck i've ever had! the only thing i would change is the spice, it needs to kick up the hot sauce a few notches because the one they gave me did nothing. it didn't even register on the tongue

Biscuits and Gravy

[Cheddar scallion biscuits topped with soft scrambled eggs and sausage gravy. Served with hashbrowns and grapes]

the biscuits and sausage gravy was good, and it was definitely great to have it with scrambled eggs, but as you will learn in future posts this does not compare to what denver, colorado has to offer. what was though was the most amazing biscuits and gravy was outshone by another establishment thousands of miles away. nonethless still pretty darn good for ohio! 

Housemade Rasberry Jam

Housemade Hot Sauce

not enough heat

Ha Anh @ Cleveland

Another surprise in Cleveland! Good Korean food! Who would have guessed? Not me! Ha Anh is hidden in this small building that has a BBQ take out place and Pho. Panda and I went there wanting Pho, but we saw the Korean restaurant and we were sold! It's this small restaurant with about 6 tables. It looks like it's family owned and it really is home cooked meal. The flavors were intense and tasted like we were back in California, now that is impressive!

banchan - korean complimentary side dishes

sometimes this is the best part of the meal, it completely prepares your palate for what is to come!

Anchovies & Kimchi

Fish Cake w. Peppers & Sweet Potato

Broccoli & Spinach

Steamed Dumplings

sadly this what not what we liked. the filling wasn't good, and it was too dry :( we actually wanted korean fried chicken wings but they told us they ran out of chicken wings, which was NOT fun. booo but the rest of the meal was really great

Hot Stone Bibimbap

[rice, zucchini, beansprouts, fried egg, carrots, beef]

nom noms because....

the pot was all heated and you just mix mix mix mix mix, add sauce and mix mix mix and smush the rice into the pot, so it cooks it where it becomes crunchy. so much flavor, so much heat, so tasty. healthy too!

Kalbi

just like they make it in la! so much flavors and it was such a good cut of meat, where did they find this in cleveland??

Cleveland Chophouse & Brewery @ Cleveland

I remember the first time panda and I came here, about three years ago. It seemed like a normal restaurant, nothing fancy but we took one bite into the Rib Eye Delmonico and we were sold to Cleveland Chophouse. That was the end for us. No other steak house, from the west coast to the east and everything in the middle could do it for us. While there are other great steak houses out there, and are famous for other steaks and prime ribs, it's the price and the amount of food that they provide at Chophouse. It's a really good deal and the rib eye is HUGE! The plate comes and you're like, man how will I finish this? 10 minutes later, what's left is the bone. Delicious! Besides all the wonderful people in Cleveland, I will definitely miss this restaurant.

Calamari

[drizzled with ranch, ginger sesame sauce and topped with toasted black sesame]

not oily and actually very light. it's addicting and you want to keep popping it into your mouth

Caesar Salad

House Salad

Corn Bread - complimentary

omg this is like heavenly and there are pieces of corn it it too! so good, soft, salty, crusty, yummy!

Ribeye - Delmonico

literally the best cut of steak that exists in the world. something about the marbelization of the meat and the fat, where when you cut into it and place it into your mouth it literally melts like butter. all the taste buds in your mouth just SCREAM with give me more more more more. it's cooked to perfection: medium rare. adorned with a buttermilk onion ring, which is also tasty, but who would eat it when there's a giant slab of amazingness right underneath. exactly! this dish comes with your choice of side: baked potato, garlic mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, french fries or vegetables, and it comes with soup or salad. I believe all for less than $30. Oh yea...

White Flower Cake Shoppe @ Cleveland

Still not Sprinkles! But what do Ohio people know about Sprinkles? Unless they've been to California and specifically Los Angeles, they have no clue. I really am a cupcake snob, I realize this. I do not like the buttercream frosting that most cupcakes have, and I don't like the "lightness" of the cake itself. I like density, I like richness, I like unbelieveableness. The cupcakes at White Flower Cake Shoppe are subpar. But I do think they're known for their wedding cakes, so they may be better. I will never know.

Carrot Cupcake and Lemon Cupcake

cream cheese frosting on the carrot cupcake was ok, but the actually carrot cake was bleh. the butter cream on the lemon cake was too buttery and too light, but the lemon cake was tasty