During the Saturday of Homecoming Weekend (Go Illini!) my #1 Dining Partner and I drove up to Chicago for a quick daytrip. After purchasing a case of frozen, partially cooked spicy fish cakes from Bangkok Plaza (the price per package went up by about a buck) we stopped for lunch at our favorite Vietnamese place, Hai Yen.
Not much to report this time, other than that I tried Bo La Lot and Bo Lui for the first time. Both were really tasty, of course MN1DP didn’t care for either dishes.
- Bo Lui (upper left) & Bo La Lot (bottom right)
An order of pho with extra beef and beefballs
Afterwards we drove across town to Mitsuwa to shop for some Japanese grocery items. I’ll have to do a separate article on what delights you can purchase there. Couldn’t this time because we ate or drunk most of it. Gomen desai.
For dinner I’d planned to go to Bonefish Grill, but it was packed and we didn’t have the time to wait an hour for a table. Oh, well, next time. Instead we settled for Todai (*Big Groan*). If there was ever an ethnic cuisine (besides Chinese) that was not meant to be served buffet style, it’s Japanese.
Yeah, it’s great and all that Todai serves all-you-can-eat “Japanese” food, but for the price they charge (especially on the weekends) don’t plan to eat there frequently. With lunch still parked in our stomachs, we were really hungry (but had to eat something since we wouldn’t get home until late).
Todai at Woodfield Mall
MN1DP had a couple of servings of tempura udon and a few other stuff, while I had two plates worth of sushi and sashimi. There were plenty of food to choose from, but none of them seem worth the while of gorging.
Todai at Woodfield Mall
There were many families there, eating lots of crab legs and sushi. This was my second time eating at a Todai and believe you me, I will probably never set foot in this place again.
Sticker shock!
UrbanaFare 