Sushi is never my first choice as a dinner option. I mean come on….how much can some measly cucumber, avocado and rice really fill you up? I always find myself hungry one hour later. And that particular roll with cucumber and avocado tastes the same at a hole in the wall dive to the highest end sushi place.  There really is nothing special or gourmet about it. I find that more places are starting to become creative with their vegetarian sushi roll options, but sometimes the boring, same old roll is your only option.

I happened to be on a first date with a guy who chose to have dinner at a sushi place here in Chicago called Sunda. Without wanting to seem demanding, I went along with it since I had been there before and had items other than sushi. I knew that Sunda had recently changed their menu so I was curious to see what else I might try. While on this date, I happened to notice a vegetarian roll that included all kinds of unique items that I love, so I figured I’d give it a shot. And that roll turned out to be a MAJOR hit. The date…not so much. The guy didn’t care at all about how I was going to get home and left me to fend for myself at 10pm. He just said goodbye and waited for the valet to bring his car. No offer to get me a cab, walk me home or just give me a ride. What kind of guy doesn’t make sure a woman gets home safely when she is by herself at night? An idiot, that’s who….

Sunda – Chicago, Illinois

Back to the important part of this story. My new ever favorite sushi roll is the Sweet Caterpillar Roll at Sunda. It is an inside-out roll (where the rice is on the outside) filled with roasted sweet potato, Asian pear and topped with avocado and a roasted red pepper sauce. It is accompanied with a great black garlic teriyaki sauce on the side. Not only is this roll really tasty and unique, it is very beautifully presented.

Sweet Caterpillar Roll – Sunda

What I really like about this roll is that I love sweet potato, avocado and pears on their own (actually for those of you that know me, you know my crazy obsession with anything pear related so the probability was high that I was going to like this roll). But, what makes this roll great is that you have the soft mushiness of the sweet potato and avocado mixed with the crispness of the pear. The red pepper sauce is a unique addition that isn’t usually found in sushi. The garlic teriyaki sauce rounds out the roll with a saltiness to balance the sweetness from the other ingredients. A very flavorful combination and just something way better than the same old.

Recently my friend Rathish told me that he gets a 50% discount on Sunday nights at Sunda through his high rise building. I wasted no time in telling him I’m always down for half off sushi  at Sunda (I should note here that the Sweet Caterpillar roll is pretty pricey at $15. Seems excessive for some sweet potato, avocado and pear. But, I am totally ok paying $7.50 for it!!) Yes, I will take one caterpillar for dinner, thank you very much. 🙂