Category Archives: Japanese

Mizuki Grill

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*** (3 stars)

With three sushi restaurants now within a two block radius, it’s hard to understand why this former Mexican restaurant (I know the decor looks Italian, but whatever) has become a combination sushi and American concept.

We didn’t try any of the American items, but the sashimi and sushi we had was all fine, although nothing stood out as particularly remarkable.

The salmon and hamachi appetizers were fairly similar, the main difference being minced onion on the salmon and jalapeño slices on the hamachi. Ceviche was served in a martini glass, and was mainly about lime juice and cilantro, which pretty much overwhelmed any fish flavors.

Rolls were somewhat more interesting. The Summer Roll (which according to our waitress “everyone orders”) was a balanced blend of tuna, cucumber, jalapeño, cilantro and tempura flakes, topped with spicy mayo and sitting in eel sauce. The White Dragon was shrimp tempura with avocado, topped with eel and eel sauce. A few bits of the eel had a nice char that increased the complexity of the flavors.

The place is huge, with five dining rooms, although not all are furnished, and only two were in use. Service was efficient. The wine list is limited, and there are no sparkling wines, the best match for sushi. There are a few beers and sakes also available.

Mizuki Grill
474 Central Ave
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 926-7598
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mizuki-grill-highland-park

Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar

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**** (4 stars)

This restaurant combines sushi bar, robot grill and noodle shop all in one. The lofty main room is pleasantly modern and upscale without being dressy.

I enjoyed the sashimi, and a King crab special appetizer. The skewers from the robot grill didn’t really impress. Despite the elaborate menu descriptions of sauce, they were all fairly bland.

The ice cream trio for dessert was the highlight of my meal. The espresso was a real standout.

There are some excellent cocktails, particularly if you enjoy bitter and complex flavors.

Service is friendly. It can take a while to fill orders, even though there is a team of delivery people.

Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar
230 West Erie Street
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 662-4888
http://www.yelp.com/biz/union-sushi-barbeque-bar-chicago-2

Sushi Tomi

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***** (5 stars)

This is one of the better sushi restaurants in town. It’s at the extreme southern end of a particularly crazy parking lot.

The lunch specials are a good deal, and you can get sushi, tempura or noodles. They are equally adept at all three.

It’s designed like a classic sushi restaurant, with tables in the front and a sushi bar on one side at the rear. Service is fast and friendly.

Sushi Tomi
8463 S John Young Pkwy
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 352-8635
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-tomi-orlando

Koi

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**** (4 stars)

This was a delightful find. Wonderful interior design and lighting make this a place you really want to spend some time in, and we dawdled our way through close to a dozen dishes, all of which were excellent.

Some of the sashimi was particularly good, and the specialty rolls were quite creative. There’s also a nice assortment of non-cconventional cooked dishes.

The wine list is excellent.

Koi
730 N LA Cienega Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 659-9449
http://www.yelp.com/biz/koi-west-hollywood

Hanamizuki Japanese Restaurant

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**** (4 stars)

There are lots of places in Orlando to get sushi, but not that many to get noodles. This is the real deal, and an excellent choice for lunch (when all they have is pretty much noodles). Don’t be fooled by its proximity to the tourist area, Hanamizuki is where the locals go for authentic Japanese noodle dishes.

Hanamizuki Japanese Restaurant
8255 International Dr
Ste 136
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 363-7200
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hanamizuki-japanese-restaurant-orlando-2

Morimoto

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***** (5 stars)

Morimoto offers an upscale sushi experience at a surprisingly reasonable price. The dining room is elegantly trendy, and although large, sounds treatments keep it from being deafening.

Sushi and sashimi are top notch. We had the omikase, which is different than other restaurants I’ve been to, because the emphasis is not on sushi or sashimi (although there is a course of each) but rather cooked foods. We particularly enjoyed the smoke from the burning herbs that accompanied the scallop, and the lovely wagu beef.

Service was efficient, and the wine prices, while not inexpensive, offer a number of nice selections that aren’t exhorbitant.

Morimoto
88 10th Ave
New York, NY 10011
(212) 989-8883
http://www.yelp.com/biz/morimoto-new-york

Sapporo Ramen

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*** (3 stars)

This small place in the Asian plaza on Colonial offers a nice variety of Ramen dishes, plus an assortment of more elaborate items. You order at a counter in the back, and then your food is brought to your table.

We tried the Shoyu Ramen, which is served with thin sliced pork. The broth was flavorful (and fairly salty) and the noodles had a good consistency.

The takoyaki would be an acquired taste. The deep fried balls had a nice outer consistency, but the gooey inside took some getting used to.

I also saw some tempura delivered to a nearby table, and it looked quite good.

There is an excellent bakery next door to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Sapporo Ramen
5080 W Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32808
(407) 203-6777
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sapporo-ramen-orlando

Sunda

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*** (3 stars)

I had high expectations for Sunda, and they were met in some areas, but not all.

The best item we sampled was the Crispy Brussels Sprouts, a superb house specialty; thin slices of broccoli are almost toasted, then tossed with red cabbage, carrots, chilies, fried shallots, and minced shrimp and served with nuoc cham (a rice wine vinegar dressing). I couldn’t stop eating this!

Tiger Shrimp Tempura was interesting in that it was served with candied walnuts, but the creamy honey aioli was really slathered on and made it very rich.

“Grilled Spare Ribs” are actually Korean style kalbi ribs, not my favorite.

Sushi was less inspiring. We tried several house special rolls, and none was greater than the sum of its parts. Spicy Salmon Shiso was particularly odd, with very finely ground salmon tartare and a dollop of sriracha on top of a thin slice of jicama and a shiso leaf. The ingredients were fine when picked apart, but the combination was a bit of a mess.

The wine and beer list in interesting, with many selections, including some excellent Champagnes, available by the glass. The space is stylish and vibrant, and the service was efficient, if not inspired.

Sunda
110 W Illinois St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 644-0500
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sunda-chicago

Pride Sushi and Thai

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***** (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