Category Archives: Japanese

Kaetsu Japanese Restaurant

Posted on by

Interior

Sashimi

**** (4 stars)

I admit to being a bit underwhelmed by Kaetsu, but perhaps that’s just because the space is so beautiful that it sets high expectations. We had the multi-course menu, and everything was fine, but there were no standout dishes. It includes the Japanese standards such as miso soup, tempura, and sashimi. All were fine, but no better than I’d expect from most mid-level Japanese restaurants. Considering the pricing I was expecting a bit more sophistication. Still, if you’re staying in the hotel it’s convenient. I wouldn’t make a special trip just to dine here, though.

Kaetsu Japanese Restaurant
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road
港灣道1號君悅酒店
+852 2584 7088
https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E9%B9%BF%E6%82%85%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E6%96%99%E7%90%86-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF

Tanoshii Sushi Mike’s

Posted on by

Escolar and sauteed shiitake mushrooms

Madai, hamachi, otoro

Seared salmon with Italian seasoning and wasabi

Striped bass in ponzu chili oil

Seared tuna with truffle

Fish and chip

Tempura

Exterior

Sushi bar

**** (4 stars)

I keep looking for a world class sushi restaurant in Chicago. It seems a city of this size should have one, but I’ve tried all the likely contenders, and still keep looking. Tanoshii is another in that list. It is good, but not great.

We had the full omakase, which is how I judge all high-end sushi places. At our request it consisted of mostly sashimi. The omakase style places an array of fish on a plate and then adds sauces and seasoning. Here are the courses we had:

Tempura: this was my companion’s favorite course, which says something about the other courses, because she is a sashimi lover, not a tempura lover. We asked for it as our appetizer because of raves here on Yelp, and it was indeed a nice, light tempura preparation, but it will not change your life.

Fish and Chips: essentially a spicy tuna tartare, spread onto a wonton at tableside, it was fine, but better without the wonton.

Maguro Truffle: tuna shaped into a rose and topped with truffle oil. It was good, but I’ve had this dish elsewhere served with crunchy bits which really elevate it above this level.

Striped bass in ponzu chili sauce: this was the first of several sashimi courses that had a certain sameness. As my companion put it, “It’s drowned in oil.” In fact all of the sashimi was quite oily. Oil was even poured onto the rolls. The bass was surprisingly tough.

Seared salmon with Italian seasoning: this was an interesting flavor combination, with a distinct oregano flavor, but again, very oily.

Madai, hamachi, otoro: this was a nigiri course, and was one of the best–simple, flavorful, with excellent quality fish. Since this is what many diners will choose, it is the reason for my four star review.

Escolar wrapped around sauteed shiitake mushrooms: this was the best thing we had. It is an off-menu roll, but you can order it, and you should. It was unctuous and perfectly balanced, and by far the most complex item we sampled. True, it is also oily, but with a purpose, and if it is the only oily thing you have, it is a great choice.

The omakase came to $66 per person, which seems very reasonable to me. I would not have it again because of the oily repetitiveness of it, but I might return to Tanoshii for nigiri and tha mushroom roll.

Tanoshii Sushi Mike’s
720 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 207-8894
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tanoshii-sushi-mikes-chicago

Katana

Posted on by

Interior

Sushi bar and Chef Robert Juan

Amuse bouche

Kanpachi

Sake with Fuji apple and osetra

Hirame

Hamachi with garlic chive blossom

Sea breem with finger lime

Salmon with smoked trout roe

Hokkaido scallop

Flaming the prawn

Red Argentinian prawn

Otoro and big eye tuna

Big eye toro hand roll

***** (5 stars)

Chicago has some excellent sushi restaurants, although curiously even the best haven’t ever matched the top places in New York or Los Angeles. Katana, an LA transplant, aims to change that.

The restaurant is large yet very spacious, and gorgeously decorated. Both table and sushi bar seating is available, and food from the sushi bar and the robata grill is available everywhere.

But there is one special experience that is only available in the back corner. The omakase sushi dinner is served here, prepared by Executive Chef Robert Juan, who acts as both chef and host. And most special of all is the table attached to the sushi bar, where parties of three or four can enjoy a hybrid of conventional table seating and intimate interaction with the chef. It’s a winning concept.

The omakase is “chef’s choice” but is individually tailored to your preferences and the number of courses you’d like. We chose ten courses and put ourselves in chef’s hands for a very special experience.

Our favorite courses were salmon rolled around fuji apple and topped with osetra caviar; “smoked” salmon that was actually fresh salmon topped with smoked trout roe and bourbon smoked sesame seeds; and raw scallop nigiri topped with osetra caviar. These courses were definitely world class.

There’s a nice wine list with plenty of Champagnes that perfectly match sushi, plus an extensive list of sakes.

Our server was friendly, knowledgeable and attentive.

Katana is a great addition to Chicago’s Japanese dining offerings, particularly in the back corner.

Katana
339 N Dearborn St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 877-5544
http://www.yelp.com/biz/katana-chicago-2

Sumi Robata Bar

Posted on by

Teriyaki Bento

Salt cure cucumber

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This small, attractive robata bar is marching to their own drummer. We went for lunch and had bento boxes which were decidedly different from others in town.

The miso soup is served with a tofu custard in the bottom of the bowl that you mix in. The salad of mizuna greens is dressed with a potent vinegar. A large seafood croquette is nicely crusted on the outside, and filled with a hot mixture of salmon and whitefish. The main item–we had a chicken skewer and teriyaki salmon–is nested on white rice. There are also some house made pickles.

The best item we had was the salt cured cucumber appetizer, which was lightly picked and nicely seasoned.

Sushi is not available at lunch time.

Sumi Robata Bar
702 N Wells St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 988-7864
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sumi-robata-bar-chicago-2

Friends Sushi

Posted on by

**** (4 stars)

This stylish sushi restaurant offers some very inventive rolls and attentive service.

We started with the salmon carpaccio: thin slices of salmon served over greens in a soy dressing. It was very good, although I thought the dressing could have used a touch more rice wine vinegar for sweetness.

Then we shared three rolls. Each was unique, and they went together well.

“Sweet & Spicy” combined eel, cucumber, and salmon, but the piquant kick of the dollop of red sauce was what made it interesting.

In the “Jimmai” the hamachi, cilantro and seabass were really complemented by the smokiness of the grilled asparagus.

Our favorite roll was the very unusual “Ticky Tacky” where the predominant flavors came not from the king crab or tender thin octopus topping, but rather the mint leaf and wasabi mayo. That one packed quite a delicious kick.

There are many additional specialty rolls on the menu that we’ll need to check out next time.

Friends Sushi
710 N Rush St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 787-8998
http://www.yelp.com/biz/friends-sushi-chicago

Yoshi Sushi Bar

Posted on by

*** (3 stars)

This is a perfectly fine neighborhood sushi bar. Fish quality is good, and the preparations are professional.

All of the fish selections for the sashimi lunch were fresh tasting and it was a nice assortment. There is a large assortment of rolls available as choices on the sushi lunch.

The Tuna Kobachi was a fairly small serving, and the very thinly sliced avocado was a bit hard to deal with, but the flavors were good.

Service was very friendly and welcoming.

Yoshi Sushi Bar
11127 W. Colonial Dr
Ocoee, FL 34761
(407) 347-0521
http://www.yelp.com/biz/yoshi-sushi-bar-ocoee

Niu Japanese Fusion Lounge

Posted on by

**** (4 stars)

This is a beautiful, large, expensive looking space, so it’s not surprising that prices are pretty high. I loved the way each item was served a bit more nicely than in the other sushi  places in town: miso soup was in a large, stylish bowl, and was a generous serving. The salad that came with lunch was an elaborate collection of mixed greens plus a couple of slices of peppers served with a much more delicate dressing than the normal ginger glop.

But when the sushi lunch set arrived, it looked pretty stingy: just four pieces of nigiri, and four coins of California roll. Not much for $14.

Fortunately I’d ordered another roll, the Mellow Yellow, and it was huge, with ten large slices for its reasonable $7 price.

I loved the tea service, with Genmai tea (the kind with the puffed rice) in a glass pot, served with a tiny glass cup and saucer.

Service was friendly, although if the place had more than a half dozen customers I’m not sure how the relatively slow sushi prep would have kept up.

Niu Japanese Fusion Lounge
332 E Illinois St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 527-2888
http://www.yelp.com/biz/niu-japanese-fusion-lounge-chicago

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

Posted on by

**** (4 stars) This bustling restaurant serves Japanese barbecue (essentially the same as Korean barbecue), and lots of it. You cook the meats and vegetables yourself on the grill in the center of the table. The combo meals are the best bet, because they let you try almost everything on the menu.

We had the Samurai, which included three types of beef, chicken and shrimp. The toro beef was the best, although all were good. The meal also come with a tasty miso soup (lots of green onions in it, which I like), salad, a so-so tuna rice ball appetizer, and bibimbap served in a hot stone bowl. I love this type of bibimbap preparation, and usually order it at Korean restaurants rather than the barbecue, so it was nice to have it included.

There were also vegetables for grilling, and a pouch of corn kernels. Dessert, too, was included, and consisted of graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate–a do-it-yourself s’mores kit! Service was fast and efficient.

The place is pretty noisy, so eating on the sidewalk would be a nice option, when available.

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ 210 E Ohio St Chicago, IL 60611 (312) 266-8929 http://www.yelp.com/biz/gyu-kaku-japanese-bbq-chicago

Tamari Japanese Kitchen

Posted on by

***** (5 stars)

This very stylish and excellent Japanese restaurant is in an unlikely mall location.

The real test of a Japanese restaurant is in the quality and visual appeal of the sashimi, and Tamari passed with flying colors. The tuna sampler appetizer was a great example. I was expecting some piles of tartare, but instead received nine pieces of sashimi, including creamy white tuna, lightly seasoned albacore, and superb big eye tuna.

They also have the usual novelty rolls, fried food and noodle dishes, which were all good, but the sashimi is where it’s at.

Efficient service and a great vibe make this the go to spot for sushi in the southwest ‘burbs.

Tamari Japanese Kitchen
639 E Boughton Rd
Ste 105
Bolingbrook, IL 60440
(630) 863-7288
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tamari-japanese-kitchen-bolingbrook