National Barbecue Month in May encourages us to break out our special recipes and get some mouthwatering deliciousness started. But if you want to celebrate without the work, just stop in to your favorite local BBQ joint... and then tell us about it by voting for your favorite!

Right on the corner of E. State and Madison, you'll find Omakase, a ramen and sushi bar. We ventured in on a particularly hungry night to sample... almost everything.

We started with Gyoza, traditional pork dumplings pan cooked with chili ponzu s.auce, and Crab Rangoon. Nothing beats a good appetizer, especially here! Everything was delivered hot and with the most amazing sauces. Gyoza is a personal favorite of mine, so I may be a little biased. They were delicious. I will be back.

Next, we thought an entree would be the best choice. We went with the Teriyaki Steak dinner. We asked for it to be prepared rare, and this is definitely the place for you if you like your steak rare. They get it, they support it, they prepare it right. This was served with a generous heap (yes, heap) of grilled vegetables with amazing flavor. You get your choice of fried or white rice, and we wholeheartedly recommend the fried rice. It had such a fresh flavor and was definitely worth the extra few bucks. By now, we were full... but we knew we couldn't stop here.

It was time for sushi! We ordered the Yellow Tail, the Scallop Roll, and the Omakase Roll. We couldn't pass up ordering their namesake roll that features scallops, crab, avocado, green onion, baked with a sweet soy mao and sriracha sauce, and topped with masago and red tobiko.

The Yellow Tail and Scallop Roll were great mild choices, perfect for anyone new to sushi. The Omakase Roll brought some heat in a delicious way! This is a bolder roll, but we are glad we ordered it. The presentation alone was beautiful.

Of course, we finished with mochi. And we recommend you do as well. Be sure to make a reservation, as they fill up fast on busy nights. It's worth the extra planning for this delicious experience.