After a few days of steady rain, Saturday evening turned into a lovely summer night. I took advantage of the break in the rain to walk to Moretti’s, one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants. A long-time occasional diner at other Moretti’s locations, I added Moretti’s Morton Grove to my regular rotation since it opened near me a couple years ago.

Moretti’s serves fantastic Chicago-style deep dish and thin-crust pizzas. I prefer the latter, with chicken and black olives, but on Saturday I didn’t order either. Instead, I opted for a mango frozen margarita and the awesome cannoli dip dessert.

Photo courtesy of Moretti’s.

Photo courtesy of Moretti’s.

A cannoli elitist, I usually don’t stray from traditional cannoli, but I wanted to nibble as I watched the Chicago Cubs on the big screen. The cannoli dip features a mound of cannoli filling served with a bunch of cannoli shell chips. The cannoli filling has the perfect level of sweetness within its ricotta cheese blend. The shell chips are hearty enough to dig into the dip and not crumble. It’s the perfect dessert.

Although the Cubs were losing, the evening got better as Simply Sound took the stage. An area band comprised of Katie Somers and Rod Guico, Simply Sound performs a variety of songs, including hits from today and the past few decades. They play everything from soulful ballads to upbeat dance tunes. I love their harmonies, but their unique mash-ups are fun, too. They have a lot of fun on stage and make it fun for the audience.

Photo courtesy of Simply Sound.

I have seen Simply Sound a few times over the years, and I already marked my calendar for a couple of their upcoming shows. Although not announced yet, I think they will return to the Moretti’s near me, and I will repeat this evening.

— John Wroblewski, writer