Aug 8, 2022 - Food and Drink

Paul Virant's Gaijin offers delicious shirokuma dessert

Photo of a dessert shaped like a teddy bear head.

I eat only adorable desserts. Photo: Justin Kaufmann/Axios

👋 Hi, it's Justin! If you're a fan of desserts that are tasty and cute, head to Lake Street for dinner at Paul Virant's Gaijin.

  • The Japanese restaurant specializes in okonomiyaki, an Osaka-style cabbage pancake cooked on a griddle.
  • You can order them vegetarian or with beef, chicken, tofu and more, but I highly recommend the shrimp with corn and a creole sauce.

Best bite: My go-to here is shirokuma, a dessert in the shape of a teddy bear.

  • It's a mixture of shaved ice, cherries and pineapple sherbet.
  • The dessert uses coffee beans for the eyes and sugar cookies for the ears, with a delicious coconut syrup drizzled all over.
  • It's pricey ($16), but can you really put a price on sweet treats that look like Teddy Ruxpin?
Photo of a half-eaten dessert on a table.
Poor little tasty guy. Photo: Justin Kaufmann/Axios Chicago
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