We drove up to Chicago today to satisfy a craving for two things: Japanese food, and something new. Yusho fit the bill.

We went to Urban Belly for lunch…one of my favorite stops for lunchtime. I was starving by the time we got there. I ended up with a few kinds of dumplings and ramen — exactly what I needed.

Dinner was definitely more fun, though. We went to Yusho, the new yakitori restaurant by Matthias Merges (of Charlie Trotter’s fame) in Logan Square. Everything was tasty, but the steamed bun is feasibly the best bite I’ve ever had in Chicago. I’ll link you to the meal at the bottom.

Since I’m an avid Twitter user, I am always checking my iPhone. I sent a tweet over to Adam from “A Life Worth Eating” because I saw he was in Chicago. I asked if he’d eaten at Yusho yet since I had planned on going in the evening. Maybe he had some tips. He responded with “soon “. Strange, I thought – for a moment. Then it occurred to me! I bet he was planning on going there that night.

As our first few courses arrived, I noticed a few Chicago chefs that were on Top Chef last season, sitting in the back of the restaurant. Obviously we were eating in the right place. Of the 20 or so people eating there, over half were in the food business. Always a good sign.

Then I noticed that a guy two booths away from us had a VERY nice camera and was snapping photos of every course that came out. I was convinced that it was Adam Goldberg. Remember, I talked about him a few paragraphs ago? I sent a tweet to him that said “steamed bun at Yusho. Dude.”

Just after I pressed “send”, the guy with the camera turned around and waved in my direction. I turned around, too, thinking maybe someone was behind me. Nope. I was right. I felt like I’d just busted a Michelin inspector. We exchanged a couple more tweets, none acknowledging that he was eating at Yusho. Like Kevin Spacey said in The Usual Suspects, “….and like that…he was gone.”

We finished our meal about the same time that all the chefs in the back of the place did. They all left except for Richie Farina (of Moto) and Sarah Grueneberg (of Spiaggia), who were sitting at the bar waiting for their ride.

I’d talked with Richie online a few months back about tattoos and thought I’d get a look at his ink up close. I walked up and introduced myself. Both chefs were very friendly, especially considering that they were on Top Chef so millions of people now recognize them. They could have easily blown me off.

But they didn’t. They were very cordial.  The bartender bought us all a round of drinks and we chatted about Texas, banh mi, tattoos, Top Chef, and Chicago bakeries. That was about when my wife (unbeknownst to me) snapped this photo.

Their car arrived and we called for one for ourselves. Then I headed to the Clark Street Ale House. The night becomes fuzzy at that point.

Everyone should check out Adam Goldberg’s blog: A Life Worth Eating. You can find his blog and his Flickr stream at:

BLOG: http://www.alifewortheating.com/

FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alifewortheating

And, of course, eat at MOTO and SPIAGGIA!

http://www.spiaggiarestaurant.com/

http://motorestaurant.com/

1. Edible menu, maki sushi roll.

2. Tooth fish

3. Oyster and crab

4. Quail

5. Foie gras (duck liver) w/ carbonated orange

6. Edible cigars, Philly Monte Cristo

7. Others, which are not totally weird. (custard, mushrooms, chicken noodle, marshmallow hot tea, Michael Bolton dessert)

8. Me with Top Chef Texas contestant Richie Farina. Chris from Top Chef was also there!

9. The total menu. 16 courses. A four-hour meal.

10. The restaurant. Chris and coworker Kati.