Kitsune - Tasting Collective Dinner

 

I have been to Elizabeth Restaurant several times and it is a favorite.  I was excited then, when Chef Ileana Reagan announced that they would be opening a new restaurant focusing on Japanese cuisine, Kitsune.  When it opened, it went on my list of places that I need to visit, so I was happy when they had a dinner with Tasting Collective, the dining group that I belong to, and I quickly signed up for the dinner.  Located in North Center, the space is small, like her original restaurant, Elizabeth, seating about 30 people in a triangular space.  We were seated toward the back, so I was able to get a fair view of the space.  The main seating area is a banquette along the longest wall.  There are also a few other tables in front of the bar and open kitchen and a few seats on the bar.  The bar is next to the kitchen and has a tall shelf behind the tap that holds the liquor.  The shelf is nice looking, but what is cool are the little toy figures including several foxes (which is where the name Kitsune came from) as well as a picture of former President Obama on the shelf above the liquor.  While they normally serve cocktails, the fact that they had a full house that they were going to try to serve the same thing at the same time and have a small staff, limited what they were serving on this evening to beer and wine.  On the beer list was a beer that I like, Maplewood Charlatan American Pale Ale (which had just won a Bronze Medal at the Great American Beer Festival for American-Style Pale Ales), so that is what I decided to drink.  It was smooth with a very light head with a bitter and citrus flavor, similar to grapefruit.  While it had been there when I sat, I didn't really notice the small ceramic cat that was sitting in front of me until my beer came and I had to move it a little.  I wondered what it was until later in the meal when it became more clear.

For our first course, we were served Koji Sourdough Bread, made from a culture that Chef Ileana has kept growing for 13 years.  This was served with Fresh Cultured Butter and Pickles (Pickled Vegetables).  The bread was dense and flavorful with a tart flavor which went well with the Pickles and the Butter.

From there, we were served a large Romaine Salad with Jumbo Lump Crab and Ramp Ranch Dressing.  This was really good, though it was a lot for two of us to eat.  The greens were fresh and crispy, there was plenty of crab in pieces big enough that you could actually bite into it, and the Ramp Ranch Dressing was both creamy, and provided a nice flavor of ramps (which have a flavor similar to a cross between garlic and green onions).

After a large and very nice salad, we were served more vegetables, Blistered Shishito Peppers with Kabosu (a Japanese Citrus fruit similar to Yuzu used instead of vinegar in some dishes), Shisho Meshi (dried Shiso leaves used for seasoning), and Sea Salt.  I like Shishito peppers not only because of their taste, but also because eating them is kind of like playing the lottery, in that 1 in 10 is noticeably spicy.  These peppers were well seasoned and blistered a little less than I have had at other places.  There were a few peppers in our bowl that bit back, but they were all good and the bowl disappeared quickly.

When I say the name of the next course, I didn't know what to expect because it was given a Japanese name.  Called Tomorokoshi, it listed Charred Corn, Fresno Kewpie, and Cilantro.  When it arrived, I saw that it also had a lot of Bonito Flakes and despite the Bonito Flakes, I knew it by a different name, Elotes.  It was funny as well when I heard the kitchen staff referring to the dish as elotes.  I am generally not a fan of bonito flakes, but mixed in well with the corn they did not feel like dried leaves and did add to the flavor.

We then proceeded to the first of our entrees, Ramen.  It was a vegetarian ramen made with Ramp Noodles, Shio Mushroom Broth, Enoki Mushrooms, and other vegetables.  It was very flavorful and like other ramen that I have had served in a large bowl with a large spoon.  Serving and eating ramen is a two handed operation with one hand holding chopsticks to hold the noodles and the other holding the large spoon to serve the broth and vegetables.  I did see a few people puzzled by this operation, but having seen and done it before, it was fine.  This was good and very flavorful, but I still prefer Tonkatsu Ramen (with Pork Broth and Pork Belly).  This is also where I figured out why the cat was on the table, it was a chopstick holder, used to keep the tips off the table.

Our second entree was a spin (pun unintentional) on Chicken Teriyaki.  It was made with a Tsukune (a Japanese Chicken Meatball) Stuffed Chicken Roulade, Brown Rice, Carrots, Cauliflower, and Carrot Caramel.  It was pretty good.  The chicken meatball and the chicken had different, though complementary, flavors and the carrot caramel added a vegetal sweetness.  The brown rice, carrots, and cauliflower added texture and flavor.

Our final entree was a monster of umami.  Called Uni Butter Beef, it also had Duck Fat Potatoes and Togarashi.  The beef was rare and sliced for easy serving and eating.  The butter and potatoes added richness and savoriness.  It was also one of my favorite dishes.

Our dessert was Yuzu Taruto (tart) with Graham Crackers and Pistachios. This was tart with a nice nutty flavor (from the pistachios).  While it wasn't built like your standard tart, all of the elements were there, and it went together very well.  The yuzu was presented as a sorbet, the graham cracker was the "crust", and the pistachio was the crumble.  I really liked my dinner here and I will definitely return. 

Toki Underground - Washington, DC

Before I left for my vacation I did a look at the restaurant scene in the DC area and one restaurant kept popping up, Toki Underground.  A look at their website proclaims it to be DC's first ramen house.  This kind of blew my mind because their are many ramen shops in Chicago, including 5 within a 15 minute bike ride of where I live, so it was a place that I was going to have to visit.  The neighborhood in which it is located could kindly be called "up and coming".  It does have a run down look to it, but their are also indications that hipsters are starting to move in.  While it's located on a major street, it wasn't obvious where it was located.  This wasn't surprising to me considering the fact that it has "Underground" in the name.  I expected to find it in a basement space.  I was mistaken.  It was actually located above a dive bar called The Pug, sharing the same entrance.  The logo for Toki Underground was on the door, but it was admittedly a little confusing to go upstairs to a restaurant with underground in it's name.  After the fact, I think the Underground could be ironic, it could mean not yet in the mainstream, or it could mean both.  Walking up the stairs, I saw that it was a very small space (seating about 25) with an open kitchen.  While there were a few tables, most of the seating was at the bar, at a counter in front of the kitchen, or a counter looking out the front windows.  The restaurant seemed to employ the reduce-reuse-recycle aesthetic heavily.  The rail/fence above the stairs was made up of skateboards that had been cut like a picket fence.  The tails of the boards were used above the divider between the kitchen and the bar.  There was a small dead tree used to hang Christmas lights. The walls had a street art design with both painting and stickers, and the bar top was uneven and resin covered with this found art sculpture embedded in it made up of nails and clips that kind of reminded me of a pinball machine.  Their liquor selection, while not huge, did have a good selection, not just using the usual suspects when it came to whiskey, vodka, gin, rum, etc.

We started out with some Pork Dumplings served with Sesame and a Spicy Teriyaki Sauce.  The dumplings looked like they were grilled, but they did have the standard steamed dumpling texture.  They were very tender, a little spicy, and very good.  While I didn't order these, my dining partners did, and I was glad to be able to try them, because they were very good.

The reason that I came here though was to try their Ramen.  While they did offer several ramens, they all seemed variations on the same theme.  I went with the Toki Classic with Braised Pork, Greens, Soft Egg, Pickled Ginger, topped with Nori, Sesame Seeds, and Scallions, and added more pork with some Berkshire Pork Belly.  I went with the Classic to see what their standard ramen was like.  I added the pork belly, because pork belly.  The nori came as a big piece on top and as could be expected it tasted very salty and green.  The taste of nori reminds me of spinach.  The two porks were very tender and while they were each served in a solid piece, they were easily shredded with the spoon or chop sticks provided.  The egg was a perfectly soft boiled egg, and broken open, it added another savory flavor to the already savory broth.  The noodles were plentiful, tender, and slurpable.  It was all very good and worked well together, the only issue that I had was that I thought that it could have used a little more heat and I saw no hot sauce readily available.  Having said that, I would gladly return to have it again. I really enjoyed the space and the food even if I wished for a little more heat.

Kai Zan

While I really like sushi and have been to many sushi restaurants, somehow, I have not managed to do an Omakase menu.  Omakase basically translates to Chef's choice and it the sushi equivalent to a Chef's Tasting menu at a fine dining restaurant.  I recently read an article listing Chicago's best and most affordable Omakase menus and I happened to notice that a restaurant that has been on my radar for a while, Kai Zan, was on the list.  I decided quickly, that it must move up my list so I could try the Omakase.  The restaurant is a small place with the bar on one side and booths on the other and it was pretty busy when I came, but they were able to seat me and at the bar, although I was told that my window was a little limited because they would need the seat for a reservation in 50 minutes.  I agreed to this and while I never felt rushed even after I went slightly past the time for the reservation, courses did come pretty quickly.   The next time I go, I will plan on making a reservation.  My position at the bar afforded me a great view of the action in the kitchen and there was a lot of action in the kitchen.  While the Omakase is listed on the regular menu, what is on it or even how many courses, is not.  If you order the Omakase, they will bring you a printed menu to keep before anything arrives.  I am not sure if it was a factor of time, but while I did receive everything on the menu, the first several courses were out of order.  It wasn't a huge issue though it was slightly confusing to try to keep track.  The first course to come out was actually the second course on the menu, Escolar and Maguro Pearls which consisted of Seared Tuna and Escolar, Sushi Rice, Spicy Mayo, Truffle Oil, and Scallions.  The course was served on a long plate with pickled ginger and wasabi on the side as were many of the fish plates.  While many people think of sushi as raw fish, many of the courses were at least seared.  While the two fish were served with the same accompaniments, they had very different flavors, the lighter colored escolar having a buttery flavor and the tuna tasting like tuna.  While the course was officially the second course, it fit well as a first course, introducing the diner to the flavors and styles that they would be experiencing.  It was very good and I really enjoyed it.

The second course served which was the first one on the menu was called Madai Carpaccio.  As might be expected from a dish called carpaccio, it was very thinly sliced and served with olive oil and greens.  In this case, it was Japanese Red Snapper with Basil, Toro (Bluefin Tuna Belly), Black Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe), and Olive Oil.  It was very delicate and flavorful and also served on a long narrow plate.  I will say here that while I am sure that silverware could be had if you asked, it was not automatically given to diners and the only dining implement provided for the sushi were chopsticks.  I will admit that while I can use chopsticks, I am not an expert with them, and the carpaccio was harder to eat with chopsticks than was the first course which had a regular shape and something to hold onto with the sushi rice.

The third course that showed up was actually the fourth course on the menu.  Called Angry Crab, it was Spicy Crab wrapped in Tuna with Tempura Crunch and topped with Spicy Mayo.  This was a one bite wonder with a variety of flavors and textures.  It was spicy and sweet with a nice beginning crunch and a good firm texture.

The next course were Shooters and while they didn't look exceptionally appetizing, I like them.  I was served one Oyster and one Scallop Shooter both of which were prepared the same way, with a Quail Egg, Tabasco, Scallions, and Black Tobiko in Ponzu Sauce.  Ponzu is a thin citrus-based sauce that essentially works the same way that the citrus in ceviche works, it tenderizes the seafood.  A shooter is supposed be swallowed like a shot, slamming it down, although it is possible to chew whatever shellfish is in the glass.  I generally will give it a minimal chew before swallowing it.  The shooters were very tart and the seafood was tender, but chewable.  The quail egg provided a depth of flavor and the Tabasco added a spicy finish.  The tobiko were salty and texturally similar to tapioca.

The rest of the courses that followed came in the correct order according to the written menu.  The next course was called Orange Rush and was a lightly seared Scallop wrapped in a lightly seared Salmon with a Citrus Glaze served on a Scallop Shell.  This was another one bite wonder that was as fun to eat as it was good looking.  It was tender and flavorful with a nice and tart finish.

The next course confused me a little with its placement within the meal although it was good.  It was a Tuna Dashi which was Dashi Broth with Shiitake Mushrooms, Little Neck Clams, Nori, Sesame, and a Tuna Skewer.  It was good and very flavorful,the mushrooms were plentiful, and the clams were like little bonus bites in the bottom of the bowl.  The tuna was tender and the flavor paired well with the dashi.  As I said though, the placement within the meal confused me a little because soup is generally served at the beginning of a meal.

The next course called the Main was actually four courses in one.  The first was Shrimp dotted with Tobiko and served with a Sliced Lemon.  It was very fresh and tender and had none of the bad flavor that shrimp gets as it gets old.  The next is one of the kings of Japanese Street Food.  Called Takoyaki, it's Fried Dough containing Sliced Octopus and topped with Takoyaki Sauce, which is similar to Worcestershire Sauce.  The next course was Char Siu, a Grilled and Barbecued Pork Belly that was served with Broccolini.  The last dish was called Tako Wasabi which was Wasabi-seasoned Squid and Octopus.  All of it was good, but I think I liked the Takoyaki best.

After the main, I was served my first and only roll and it was definitely something else.  Called Fiesta Maki, it had a little of everything.  Wrapped in Nori and the Rice, of course, it had Salmon, Tuna, Avocado, Cilantro, Masago (a small forage fish in the Smelt family also known as Capelin), Chili Oil and Jalapeno.  This was flavorful with a variety of textures and with the nori, pretty easy to eat.

After the maki, I was served another shellfish called Dynamyte Mussels.  While it did have a New Zealand Mussel and was served in a Mussel Shell, it also included several other things that enhanced the flavor.  It also included Masago, Black Tobiko, and Scallion Mayo with a slice of Lemon on the side.

The savory portion of dinner finished with Sashimi.  I was presented with four fish on a single plate in a very nice presentation which could be differentiated by color.  I was served a couple of slices of Salmon, which was red, Hamachi, which was pink, Escolar, which was rolled and white, and Snapper, which was striped.  Also on the plate were some Pickled Ginger and, on the other side, Wasabi.  I was also given a shallow dish with some Japanese Soy Sauce specifically used with sushi.  While I did eat the pickled ginger between fish to cleanse my palate, I was very light with the soy sauce and the wasabi because I wanted to taste the fish.  The fish was tender and tasted very fresh and was a nice finish to the savory side.

While dessert was not part of the Omakase and I generally don't think much of Japanese desserts, I will try them because, while I can't say that I have really liked many, I also can't say that I have disliked many and I am open to being surprised.  For my dessert, I had a  Coconut Milk Panna Cotta with Kiwifruit, Mango, Mint, and topped with a Blackberry.  It was fresh and refreshing with a sweet and tart flavor.  I was very happy with this and found it to be a nice finish to a very good meal.

I really enjoyed my meal here.  The food was very good and the staff was friendly although I will say that the next time I return, I will make sure to make a reservation so I don't have to be as concerned about time.    

   

Strings Ramen

I seem to have been on a ramen kick of late.  I recently met a friend for ramen at Strings Ramen in Lincoln Park.  They also have a location, which is also their original, in Chinatown.  The location of the Lincoln Park location is a little confusing to find.  The sign for the restaurant is in front of a brownstone two-flat with an elevated first floor.  It made sense to me that the restaurant was on the main floor, but after walking up the stairs, I saw a sign on the door that said, "Strings Ramen - Downstairs", so I went to the basement unit and found the restaurant.  The space unsurprisingly looked like a basement with a low ceiling and high windows, but it was fairly nicely done.  The space was pretty open with a long bar on one side, which, I saw was not a bar as such, but a serving counter as the restaurant is a BYOB.  The lights were hanging lights that looked like Chinese lanterns and everything was done in light colored woods.  Seating was all at high top tables for four (plus the counter) with a banquette on the wall opposite the bar/counter.  The menu at Strings features the four standard ramens, Shoyu (Mushroom Broth), Shio (Sea Salt Broth with Chicken or Turkey Stock), Miso, and Tonkotsu (Pork Broth), but they also have premium versions of each and Hell Ramen which features five levels of hotness.  While the Hell Ramen sounded interesting, I went with the premium Miso Ramen which included King Crab Leg, Bean Sprouts, Asari (Clam), Scallions, Shichimi (Seven Color Chili Pepper), Black Sesame, Nori, and diced Kuro Buta (Berkshire Pork).  We also ordered Soft-boiled Eggs to cut into the ramen, because the egg yolk adds a richness to the broth.  While it did taste good and there were peppers in the broth, it was still pretty bland.  On the table was a couple of hot pepper mixes that you could add to make the ramen spicier or you could get a half mix of the peppers used in the hotter Hell Ramens.  We ordered one of these and it very definitely helped.  After adding the pepper mix, I really enjoyed the ramen.  The crab leg was split so it was easy to get to the meat and there were plenty of small shrimp and clams.  The Kuro Bota was bite sized and tender and also added a little richness. 

While this is not the absolute best ramen that I have ever had, it is good, especially after adding some of the hot pepper mix, and is well worth returning.  It is low key and friendly and the waiter was very helpful.   

Ramen-San Dan Sall's Mexican Omakase

While I have been on a little bit of a ramen kick recently, I recently went to a ramen place not for ramen, but for Mexican food.  Ramen-San, Lettuce Entertain You's representative to Chicago's ramen scene, hosted Dan Sall's of The Garage and The Salsa Truck to do an Omakase dinner featuring cuisine from his upcoming Mexican restaurant.  While I assume most of the diners for this dinner were in a private dining room, I had a problem making a reservation, talking to three different people and they still screwed it up, so we ended up in the main dining room.  After a little talking, we did get things straightened out and while we stayed in the main dining room, we did get the omakase dinner.  The dining room was deep with high tables in the center of the room that reminded me of a high picnic table, and booths on the outside.  The furniture and floor were light wood with black iron support for the tables and chairs and old brick walls.  The soundtrack was old school rap, which is apparently a standard thing (One of their operating principles is that No one gets a room pumped up like Eric B and Rakim).  Our dinner featured four courses with four optional add ons and three cocktail choices.  The cocktail list featured two tequila based, and one mezcal based drinks.  I went with the Mezcal based drink, which was called The Diving Bell.  It featured Single Village Mezcal, but also contained Dry Gin, Yuzu, Caramelized Pineapple, and Cayenne.  It was very complex with smoky, herbal, and sweet fruit flavors and had a spicy finish.  I liked the flavors, but it did start to break somewhat as the drink aged.

For our first course, we started with Chicharones which were served with Sikil Pak, a creamy Mayan Pumpkin Seed Dip similar to Hummus in texture, and Valentina Hot Sauce.  We were given a couple of chicharones each which were light and seasoned with cayenne and to be dipped in the sikil pak which was light and tasted really good.  Unfortunately, there weren't enough chicharones to eat the sikil pak with.  While I did run a finger along the edge of the bowl, after the chicharones were gone and did taste really good, I did feel a little uncomfortable doing that and really wished for more chicharones.  This was, though, our first course, which was supposed to get us anticipating the next course which it did well.

For our next course, we progressed to Atun Borracho, or Drunken Tuna Salad which, in addition to the raw Tuna, was served with Avocado,  Pickled Mango, Tortilla Chips, and had Tequila poured over it.  This was another adventure in eating.  Although it did have a significant amount of liquid, like a ceviche, it was very unlike ceviche, and more like a tuna tartare.  I started by putting the tuna avocado and mango on the tortilla chips, but I was left with much tuna when the tortilla chips (which were very crisp and good tasting) ran out.  As we were in a Japanese restaurant, there were many chop sticks, so that is how I finished with the tuna.  While it did taste good, it was a little light on seasoning.

I was kind of excited for the next course, Cochinita Pibil Tacos, because Mexican Pulled Pork, which is essentially what Cochinita Pibil is, is very good and flavorful and you can't go wrong with tacos.  In addition to the Pulled Pork (and the Corn Tortilla), it also had Mango Salsa and Pickled Onions.  The tacos were good, but not great.  I was a little disappointed because thay felt like they were missing something.  They were, however, quickly wolfed down.

When we go to the last official course, we were considering adding another course, because the first three had still left us a little hungry.  We had not decided when our last course arrived, which was a good thing, because we would have had to take something home.  The last course was a Japanese-Mexican Fusion called Pozole "Ramen".  Pozole and Ramen occupy the same areas in their respective cuisines so it seemed to be a natural fit.  Pozole is a stew with hominy and pork and ramen is essentially a stew with noodles and a bone broth.  With the Pozole Romen, we had Hominy, Noodles, a Red Broth that is common with pozole, which was kind of spicy, Chashu Pork (a marinated pork belly which while with a Japanese name, is relatively common in pozole).  It was also served with a Bean Tostada, which while simple, was pretty good.  After we made it through this, we were actually happy that we didn't order anything else, because we were kind of full.  The pozole ramen was good and spicy with a lot of noodles and hominy.  The pork was tender and flavorful and it was a pretty good finish...

We thought.  While it wasn't listed, a small dessert was also included.  We were given Churros with a Honey Mango Dipping Sauce.  The Churros were very light and airy with a light and crispy crust and a covered with sugar.  The dipping sauce was sweet.  If it had been with just honey, it would have been too sweet, but the mango added a tartness to it that toned things down and definitely made for a good finish.

While everything was good, nothing was really great.  We did finish very satisfied, but it might have been nice to try some of the add on dishes which included Duck Carnitas, Mexico City Fried Chicken, Braised Lamb, and Braised Shrimp.  The problem with my reservation was a little annoying, but they recovered well and while I say that nothing was fantastic, I might still be interested in trying out Chef Dan's restaurant when it opens.       

Fat Rice - Kill Grill Hauted Izakaya Halloween Dinner

It has taken me a few weeks to put up, but I went to a themed Halloween dinner at Fat Rice this Halloween.  Every time I have gone there, I have really liked Fat Rice.  I also like themed dinners and Halloween can be one of the most creative.  This year, they dressed up the restaurant (and themselves) to go with a Kill Bill theme, calling their restaurant Kill Grill, A Haunted Izakaya.  I am a fan of Quentin Tarantino's movies, but the Kill Bills were my least favorite.  I did, however, think that it would make a great theme, so I decided to check it out.  As Fat Rice is a Macanese restaurant, it wasn't a huge stretch to go for a Japanese theme, about the only thing they did to the restaurant was to add a few weapons hanging on the walls.  The staff also dressed as various characters in the movie which was pretty cool.  At our table setting, we were given a menu and a handwritten kill list for the characters that were killed.  All of the courses were matched to the individual killed.  Kill Bill was a very gruesome movie and between that and the fact that it was Halloween, I expected the dishes to have a bit of a macabre look to them.  I was not disappointed when our Amuse Bouche came out.  It was billed as a Bloody Eyeball, which is what it looked like, but consisted of a Poached Onion with Lychee and Beet Juice.  It was very gruesome looking, but it did taste good. 

All of our courses were accompanied by drinks which most of the time, came out first.    The first course/kill was Budd and our first drink was called Budd's Shift Drink and was actually a spin on a Boilermaker with a shot of Whiskey, a Pickleback, and a Tiger Lager.  I am not a huge fan of drinking a shot of straight whiskey but the pickleback helped it go down and the Tiger is a light Asian Lager.  For our first course, we were served Yakitori, or skewers, with Tongue (Chicken), Ears (Mushrooms), Finger (Korean Finger Pepper), and Blood (More Beet Juice).  Again it did look pretty gruesome, but they were all pretty good.  The pepper was of the non-hot variety and while it looked like a finger on a stick, it tasted similar to a grilled green pepper.  The mushrooms were like little bites of wonderfulness. and while the chicken had the general shape of a tongue, it still tasted and looked like chicken.

After Budd was Elle Driver.  The drink was called Miserable Old Fool and the course was Nigiri.  The drink was a combination of Sake, Peach Liqueur, Lemon, and Sriracha.  I am generally not a fan of sake or peach liqueur on their own, but their combination. along with the lemon and sriracha, mediated the worst influences of the other.  It wasn't too bad, but it probably isn't going to be drinking on a regular basis.  The Nigiri was interesting and did some things that I hadn't previously seen in sushi.  The first was a Torched Pork Fat Furoso, essentially bacon on a bed of rice.  It was rich and flavorful, and despite the general unhealthiness of it, I would definitely have it again.  Then there was the Charlie Brown Pepperoni Pizza which I will guess they gave the name because it was small and had only a couple of pepperonis on a layer of cheese, rice, and tomato.  I'm not sure how it held together, but it was definitely a pizza on rice and I liked it.  We then had what was called Fish Entrails.  I am not sure what this was, it did not taste fishy, and it was served with a rice cracker with the seaweed rolled rice topped with sesame and served on the side.

When Elle was dispatched with, we continued to Bill for which we were served a drink called Blood and Guts and an Exploding Heart Bun.  The drink was the simple part of this as it was Beet Vodka and Virtue Offalgood Cider (a collaboration between Virtue Cider and Chris Cosentino, a chef who knows much about offal, that contains nothing but apples and wild yeast).  Because of the difference in densities, the vodka floated on top, giving it a two tone color, which also had a very nice head.  The exploding heart bun reminded me of a large round pastie.  It was firm and had a crusty exterior, but it did sort of explode when it was cut open.  It had Five Points (Star Anise) with Chicken, Mushrooms, Glass Noodle, Carrots, Almonds and was also seasoned with Ginger and Cinnamon.  It was very good and was definitely my favorite course up to that point.  (Spoiler:  It ended up being my favorite course of the meal).

We continued to O-Ren Ishii with a Poisoned Fish Head and a glass of wine, Vina Mein Ribeiro, 2014 (that I forgot to photograph).  The poisoned fish head, though, I definitely remembered to photograph.  Yes, that is a real fish head served whole.  Thankfully, the eyes were removed.  In the mouth of the fish were a couple of Sticky Rice Balls with a ribbon of Carrot and Fennel.  We were told not to eat the tongue, but that wasn't a huge issue.  They also told us that most of the meat was around the cheeks and collar.  We were also given a heaping bowl of rice to go with the fish head.  I will say that the rice was a heck of a lot easier to eat than was the fish head.  Having said that, the fish head actually did taste good (initially) and I ate more than many of the people I was sitting around.  I even ate the brain which I really didn't plan on or really think about.  The flavor wasn't significantly different than was the rest of the fish, but it was much creamier.  After eating the fish head for a few minutes, we started getting a numbness in our lips and tongue.  This freaked out some of the diners and we were told that this was the poison on the fish head before telling us that it was Szechuan Peppercorns which I was guessing.  I had never had Szechuan Peppercorns, but I had read about them and found it a very intriguing experience.

The fish head was our last savory course and we finished our dinner/murder spree with Vernita Green.  The drink looked interesting, but the dessert looked a little disappointing.  The drink was called Tea Time for Vernita and contained Ninja (an energy drink), 1/2 and 1/2, Lemon, Angostura Amaro, and Black Tea served in a tea cup.  It tasted like Earl Gray with cream and a little alcohol and I enjoyed it.  I did just sip it initially which was a good thing, because unbeknownst to me, I was going to need it.  Dessert looked pretty unassuming and frankly pretty underwhelming.  It was however named Kaboom!  Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold so I was a little on my guard.  Our dessert came out in a cereal bowl and looked for all the world like a bowl of Fruit Loops.  The cereal tasted like what it looked like, but instead of using milk, it used yogurt that was a little spicy.  I was pretty underwhelmed until I came across a gelee a few bites in.  It tasted sweet at first, but very quickly exploded to something very hot.  It turned out to be a Lychee Gelee with a drop of Ghost Pepper and you could definitely tell when diners came across it.  There was a look of terror and shock and you could see several people wondering whether they should eat it.  The kitchen was watching the dining room and had a laugh when diners found the gelee.  Luckily, while it was pretty hot, the heat dissipated quickly.  It was a surprising end to a good and very creative meal.  I was glad I came and really enjoyed the food, the staff and my fellow diners.  As a Treat for the Tricks that the restaurant played, they gave us a Chinese take out box filled with a Sesame Cookie, a Crispy Rice Treat, and several hard candies.  I'm glad I came, it was a lot of fun, and I will definitely return.            

Wasabi

When I think of Wasabi, I think of my first experience with the Japanese horseradish.  It was actually my first real experience with sushi.  A friend of mine took a few of us to a sushi bar and ordered a bunch of stuff.  When the plates arrived, there was a blob of green sitting at the edge of one which I took and popped in my mouth without knowing what it was.  That probably was not the smartest move ever made.  As one might guess, this was wasabi and it was very painful going down.  While I have since learned how to handle it and i have actually come to enjoy it, this first experience still comes to mind when I here the word.  A few of years ago, a Japanese restaurant opened in my neighborhood called Wasabi, I thought that it was another sushi restaurant, which would have been fine, but there are many sushi restaurants in the area, so I kind of put it on a back burner to visit at some future time.  I found out recently though, that while wasabi has sushi, it focuses on small plates and specializes in ramen.  There have been several very good ramen places that have opened in Chicago recently, and as I like ramen, I decided to check it out.  The building that Wasabi is in is a former Mexican restaurant and has a shape like a Spanish Mission.  The walls, inside and out, are all dark gray with the exception to the brick wall behind the sushi bar/dining counter.  The room is rather narrow with the bar and the tables (all four tops) are a bit close, so it could be a bit difficult to move through the dining room when it gets crowded.  I sat at one end of the bar so I had a good view of both the open kitchen and the dining room, which did get crowded by the time I left.  Wasabi does have a good list of sushi, but I was there for the ramen so I didn't try it and will have to return for that.  While I was having the ramen, I figured that I would also have room for a few things on the small plates and skewers menu.  I started with Takoyaki.  Takoyaki is supposed to be a fried ball of dough with a lot of chopped Octopus which is usually served with a dipping sauce and Bonito Flakes.  This was all of that and it was very good.  I say supposed to be though because I have run into several restaurants that were serving takoyaki that was not takoyaki and contained something other than octopus.  I was very happy to have octopus.  The balls were fluffy and flavorful and the bonito flakes, while plentiful, were not overwhelming.

My next small plate was something highly recommended by my waiter.  He recommended getting a skewer and specifically, the Fried Chicken Thigh.  His argument is that the ramen takes a long time to make and has a lot of ingredients so you should expect that it should be very good.  The skewers are very simple and focus on a single ingredient, so it should take some skill to make it stand out.  The best of the skewers, in his opinion was the fried chicken leg because the thigh has the most fat and hence, the most flavor.  With his glowing recommendation, I tried it.  It was very simple as could be expected and the meat was well seasoned, juicy, and flavorful.  While it was good, it wasn't as exciting to me as it apparently was to him.

For the vegetable portion of my meal, even when I go out I try to have at least one dish that has a good focus on vegetables, I had Crispy Brussels Sprouts.  They were well browned, cut, and served with Toasted Almonds and Miso Sauce which provided an even more savory flavor than would normally expected.  As they were browned, they were pretty crispy as the name stated and very good.

I saved the Ramen for last because that kind of made sense to me.  In actuality, everything arrived, for the most part, at the same time, so I could have eaten it in any order that I wanted to.  I just had it in the order that made the most sense to me.  The Ramen that I had was called Spicy Roasted Garlic Miso Ramen.  It actually starts out with a pork base broth like tonkotsu and is actually very similar to their Tonkotsu Ramen.  In addition to the broth and the noodles, it contained Pork Belly, a Soft Boiled Egg, Marinated Bamboo Shoots, Bean Sprouts, Sesame, Scallion, Roasted Garlic, Garlic Chips, Chili Threads, and Sesame Oil.  The difference between this ramen and the tonkotsu is that this has bean sprouts, garlic, and chili threads, and the tonkotsu has wood ear mushrooms.  In any case, it is really good.  It's rich and spicy and has a lot of noodles in addition to the many other ingredients.  While there is a little bit of a learning curve for eating ramen, use the large spoon to take a scoop of the ramen and eat off the spoon with chopsticks, the food is satisfying, so the experience is good.

The menu at Wasabi is pretty big so you have to make multiple trips to become an expert.  From what I tried though, I would very much enjoy returning to further become an expert.  The food and service were very good and the waiter was very helpful.