*** (3 stars)
Conveniently located adjacent to Windsor Castle, this Thai restaurant features attractive decor in its various interconnected dining rooms. The curry was the best thing we tried. The “Golden Sack” and rib appetizers were unremarkable, as was the duck entree. Service was pleasant but not particularly attentive.
Thai Square
29 Thames Street
Windsor, SL4 1PR
+44 1753 868900
http://www.yelp.com/biz/thai-square-windsor
**** (4 stars)
Anna’s offers a broad range of Asian cuisines and preparations–eight pages worth, in fact. From sashimi to Thai, curry to noodles, dumplings to roti, you’ll find a bit of everything here. I sampled a number of their small plates, and a noodle dish, and all were good.
There are quite a few house specialties, but perhaps the best known is the Stuffed Avocado, a tempura fried avocado with spicy tuna. The dish is quite rich, and the four pieces would make a good starter for a party of four, or a heavy one for a party of two.
The Trio Blossom is served on three spoons, one with squid and basil, one with hamachi (yellowtail in this case, often amberjack) wrapped around jalapeño and cilantro, and one with kani kama (fake crab) wrapped with salmon. I found the exterior of the squid pleasant, but the interior was rather slimy compared to others I’ve had. The yellowtail was the most successful, the jalapeño nice and crisp and not too spicy. As a result, I think the Rising Sun Roll would have been a better (and cheaper) choice.
The Chef’s Sake Baby Ribs was actually one rib, marinated in a tasty homemade tamarind sauce. It was good, but seemed a small portion to share, and too expensive to justify for one.
The Pad Laos was a nice variation on Pad Thai, with an emphasis on ginger and scallions rather than a typical heavy Pad Thai sauce. The lime wedge provided a nice dose of acidity.
Service was extremely friendly and attentive, and I felt welcome from the moment I stepped in the door.
Anna’s is BYOB, and they did a nice job serving the Champagne brought by a neighboring table. I found it odd in a gourmet Asian restaurant that the green tea was a Lipton tea bag.
I wanted to try a wide variety of preparations, and took my server’s recommendations of the house specialties. They were all good, although I didn’t feel there were any home runs. I think on a return visit I would focus on the sushi rolls.
Anna’s Asian Grill & Sushi Bar
1804-06 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 975-3404
http://www.yelp.com/biz/annas-asian-grill-and-sushi-bar-chicago
***** (5 stars)
What a delightful surprise! This small fusion restaurant is creating some of the most beautiful–and tasty–sushi in Chicago.
The menu is about half Japanese, half Thai, and many of the fusion items are spicy, such as their take on edamame, which had a definite kick to it. The beef salad comes with the traditional spicy rice vinegar sauce that would accompany a waterfall beef salad. These were both good, but the stars of the show were the sushi items.
We began with a plate of sashimi. Although the chef offers a sampler, we selected our own, and the pricing was very reasonable to get exactly what we wanted. All of the items were very fresh and delicious.
Then we tried several rolls. Wow! As you can see from the photos, each was a work of art. I’ve never had sushi served with such a painterly approach! All three rolls were excellent, and really different from one another. My favorite was the “All About Salmon” which combined salmon, smoked salmon and ikura, balancing them with both creamy and citrus ingredients, plus spicy and sweet sauces.
A month ago we tried the high end sushi place across the street, and it was good but extremely expensive. At about a fourth the price, our meal at Pride was actually better, and I’m ready to return any time.
Pride Sushi and Thai
2706 W Peterson Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 381-3354
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pride-sushi-and-thai-chicago
*** (3 stars)
While the logo may suggest this is a noodle shop, I would describe it more as a sushi restaurant that also serves pan-Asian food.
There are a number of interesting bento boxes available for lunch, and I like the fact that you can essentially pick your own sushi, sashimi and roll as part of one of them. The sushi was perfectly acceptable, better than a market but not gourmet. Certainly for the price it was good. The miso soup was excellent.
Service is friendly and the atmosphere is casual but nice enough.
Dozika Restaurant
601 Dempster St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 869-9740
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dozika-restaurant-evanston
***** (5 stars)
This is a gorgeous restaurant interior. If this place weren’t is a Doubletree in an obscure spot it would be packed.
Alone at lunch on a Saturday, we had a wonderful meal, sharing four appetizers: firecracker shrimp, crab rangoon, seafood pancakes and lettuce wraps. Each was excellent, reasonably priced, and the portions were huge. There is also a thoughtful wines by the glass list and a nices offering of sakes.
If this place were closer to Chicago I would be there all the time.
Karma Asian Food & Fine Wine
510 E Il Rt 83
Mundelein, IL 60060
(847) 970-6900
http://www.yelp.com/biz/karma-asian-food-and-fine-wine-mundelein
***** (5 stars)
Amazing decor, and great food. I love being able to get Thai, Vietnamese and Indian cuisine all in one place. Favorites were the summer rolls, samosas and short rib vermicelli bowl. The two or three course lunch is a great deal. It was our server, Jordan’s, first day, and she did an amazing job.
RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 552-9988
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rocksugar-pan-asian-kitchen-los-angeles-2
***** (5 stars)
I’ve had sushi all over the world, from Tokyo to Los Angeles, New York and Nobu in London. But I’ve never had better than here at Kabooki. We had the omakase, where you put yourself in the chef’s hands. He came to the table to assess our tastes, and then repeatedly to check on each dish. Everything was stellar, but the real stunner was the sashimi platter, where the perfection and simplicity of the fish left us in awe. Each was served with a different tiny dot of sauce and sprig of micro green. The accompanying wine pairing was generous and high quality. This will become our weekly pilgrimage. It’s unbelievable to find this quality of sushi in Orlando.
Kabooki Sushi
3122 E Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 228-3839
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kabooki-sushi-orlando
***** (5 stars)
I love Korean barbecue tacos. The mixture of cuisines is perfect. Dos Ricco’s makes a great one. The Regular taco comes on a corn tortilla, while the Korean version comes on a flour tortilla. However I would ask for the corn tortilla with their Korean selection.
The service is super helpful, which really makes it a joy to visit the place. Be aware that it’s not really a sit down restaurant, as there are only stools for about 10 people in the small ordering and eating space.
Dos Ricco’s
6445 S Cicero Ave
Chicago, IL 60638
(773) 284-9088
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dos-riccos-chicago
**** (4 stars)
God place for lunch, with a fairly diverse lunch menu. We tried the curry, the Pad Thai, the laab (minced chicken), and Yum Nua (essentially the same as laab with beef). All were good. Service was friendly although not speedy. The front desk was also friendly, and the place was fairly popular. I like the fact that even the mild preparations had a lot of flavor, with fresh cilantro and lime flavors. A good bet for a nice, light light.
Thai Silk Restaurant
6803 S Kirkman Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 226-3272
http://www.yelp.com/biz/thai-silk-restaurant-orlando
***** (5 stars)
Certainly the best Thai restaurant on the east side. I like the cozy environment, and the condiments on the tables. An extensive lunch menu, but also lots of good ala carte selections. The kitchen can be a little slow, but worth the wait.
Sea Thai
3812 E Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 895-0985
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sea-thai-orlando