Recent eats: Chuck's, Abelardo's, Chisme, Bauder's.

Pizza Margherita from Chuck's in Highland Park. Super thin, delicate crust. Order up only what you can eat as any leftovers loses its crispness quickly. Disappointed to have a chunky sauce instead of diced tomatoes. Torn basil leaves visually appealing, but not evenly scattered about. Still, I'm game to try a pepperoni and onion on my next visit.

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Abelardo's ground beef burrito with cheese, above left, is a superior product to the meat paste served at larger chain joints like Taco Bell or Taco John's. The flavor though seems all too familiar, like that from a taco spice packet. Still, it's probably how your mother made taco filling. Very simple, basic comfort food. Your kids should go nuts for it.

The hash brown burrito, above right, with eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, cheese constitutes a complete breakfast and then some, substituting tortilla for toast, and throwing in not one, but two classic breakfast meats. Finicky children should also enjoy this as well.

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Chisme's huevos rancheros with an added side of hash browns. The hallmark of honest, hand-crafted food is that sometimes a dish doesn't come quite as you expect. The hash browns are a tantilizing melange of julienned potatoes, and sautéed strips of green bell pepper and red onion, however today they were a bit oily. Also I had requested eggs over easy, but what I was served were over hard. No big deal. This happens, even among the best cooks and their hand working wait staff. If you want agonizing consistency get a McMuffin.

I did relish Chef Jesus' take on the typical ranchero adornment of the eggs. The generous heap of sautéed white onion, jalapeño , and meticulously diced tomato was pleasing to my eye and palate.

The fact that Chef Jesus employed two different varieties of onion for each particular dish speaks volumes. ¡Salud!

UPDATE: Chisme no longer offers breakfast.

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Bauder Pharmacy's famous turtle sundae. O-M-G! This rocks in so many ways. Handmade vanilla ice cream, pecan pieces, and chocolate and caramel syrups. There are times when getting something to go does not do justice to that which is eaten. To see the construct and hear the clink of metal upon glass as you consume this simple, sinful delight. Plan your schedule accordingly.