Arami - Tasting Collective Dinner

 

Among sushi restaurants in Chicago, Arami is frequently listed as one of the best.  It has earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand for the last seven years and while it has been on my list for a while, I had not yet dined there.  I was very excited when the dining group to which I belong, Tasting Collective, announced a six course Hawaiian-style dinner.  I will grant that while the dinner was going to be non-standard and I would have to return to truly see what it's about, I figured that I would at least be able to get an idea what it's about.  The space is a storefront with a very open entryway behind the door.and a bamboo curtain separating it from the front dining room and the bar.  To the right side of the dining room there was a hall leading back into the restaurant, past the kitchen and a sushi counter, to a second dining room, which is where we dined.  The room had brick walls, a cathedral ceiling with a large skylight on one side (as we were dining at night, the skylight was dark) and French doors in the rear of the room, leading to a semi-private dining room. There were banquettes on one side of the room, two long tables in the center, where we sat,  and a few other tables on the side of the room that the hall enters the room.  I ordered a cocktail similar to a Pimm's Cup called a Bohemian Grove to start things off.  It contained St. George's Botanivore Gin,. Pimm's #1, Rosemary, Lemon, and Cynar.  It was spicy, very herbal, and very good.  While I do like gin and I did like this, I did wonder if it would work with the subtle flavors that are frequently found in sushi (it did).

Our first course was a Maki Roll.  Though it was a little loose, it didn't fall apart in handling.  Called a Hayashi Maki, it contained Big Eye Tuna, Papaya, Shiso and Cucumber.  While it was stated that the Maki plate was for four, there was enough for at least two other people.  It was good.  The tartness of the papaya played well with the sweetness of the tuna and there was a lot to eat.  My thought after this course was that if all of the courses were like this, I was going to leave very stuffed.

The next course that came up was my favorite.  Called Kani Motoyaki, it consisted of King Crab Legs, Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe), and Old Bay Aioli served with Cheese Bread.  The crab legs were served in a split shell with the Old Bay and Tobiko spread over top of them.  The meat was tender and sweet with a little spiciness from the Old Bay and a little brininess from the Tobiko.  The cheese bread was dense with a nice cheesy and salty flavor that went well with the crab legs.

 

The next course, I would call the Hawaiian version of Ramen.  Called Tako Luau, it contained Octopus, Coconut Broth, served with a bowl of Sticky Rice.  The Octopus was large and tender, the coconut broth was creamy and went well with the rice and octopus.  As I have never had luau leaf before, I don't know what it's supposed to taste like.  Considering the amount of green in the soup/stew, I imagine that that's what it was.  It was plentiful, well cooked, and had a vegetal flavor.

What is a key component in a luau but a pig and that was our next course.  Called Kahlua Pig and Cabbage, it consisted of Pulled Pork, Napa Cabbage, and Brown Sauce.  There was plenty of of pork and cabbage for us and the texture was great, it was just a little bland.  It could have used a little spice of some sort.

Our final savory course, tasted exactly as the name implied.  Called Chicken Long Rice, it consisted of Roast Chicken, Long Rice, and Clear Broth and was very bland, as many chicken noodle soups are.  I trust that it came out and was served as it was meant to, but if that's the case, I have to say that I didn't care for it.  Everything about this tasted like it was of high quality, but it was boring and needed something else in order that my palate might appreciate it.

Looking at the menu before the dessert came, I saw that we would be getting Mochi.  Mochi is a rice cake made with high gluten rice which is pounded out, formed into a ball and frequently served with ice cream.  In the past, I have not cared for the mochi that I have had, so I really was not looking forward to it.  In this case we were being served something called Butter Mochi which did not sound like any of the mochi that I have had in the past, so I had a little hope.  When it came to the table, it also did not look like any mochi that I have had in the past.  It was listed as being a sweet rice and butter flavored cake.  I took a bite and it was very dense and tasted like sweet rice and butter as the description stated.  I will say that it was not the worst mochi that I have ever had, but it was also not something that I plan on seeking out in the future.

While there were courses that I did not care for in this dinner, overall it was a positive experience.  It is not their regular menu, so I will keep them on my list to try it, though if I have a chance to have a Hawaiian dinner, I will have to look at the menu and think about it beforehand.         

       

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.    

   

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.     

Hub 51 - Green Flash Beer Dinner

One of the biggest restaurant groups in the Chicago area is Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises.  Started in 1971 with R.J. Grunts, they presently run over 60 restaurants, in Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Minnesota, and Nevada, with a wide variety of styles and price points.  The common points for most of the restaurants is a flair for the theatrical and a good value.  This can even be said of their high end restaurants such as Everest and Tru which while expensive provide very high quality cuisine presented in an artistic manner with excellent service.  There are many people involved in the running of the company, but the one name that consistently comes to the forefront is Rich Melman, the founder.  The company opens new restaurants by forming partnerships with those that are interested in starting a new concept.  In recent years, he has brought his children into the company as partners and the first concept that sons RJ and Jerrod presented was Hub 51.  While I have gone to and liked several of LEYE's concepts, I have pointedly avoided those restaurants run by the younger Melmans.  This is because they seem to be aiming to create places that are about the scene first.  This is not to say that the food might not be good, but I do not like the vibe of exclusivity that seems to draw those with an oversized sense of entitlement to the place.  Hub 51 has also been accused of being without focus.  Having said that, I do like beer dinners, and Hub 51 was hosting Green Flash Brewery for a beer dinner, so I decided to swallow my attitude and try it out.  The dinner itself was in Hub 51's private lounge Sub 51, so I only briefly saw the restaurant dining room.  What I did see though, did not dissuade me from my initial thoughts.  The dining room which was light colored and open was crowded and loud.  I had to walk through the dining room to find the stairs to the lower level leading me to Sub 51.  As opposed to the light colors upstairs, Sub 51 is done in black with chrome accents.  The leather seats were gray and lifted up to provide a space for coats and bags.  There was an island in the middle of the room with banquette seating on either side.  There was also bench seating along the walls and a bar opposite the entrance.  I was welcomed and handed a beer when I arrived and was shown my place setting which was in a chrome picture frame on one side of one of the banquettes.  As it turned out, I was going to be sitting with the beer distributor and the brewery guy which I was fine with because it provides for interesting conversation and gives me a view behind the curtain, so to speak.

We started dinner out with our beer and passed appetizers.  We were first presented with first Ahi Tacos on Corn Tortillas with lettuce and a Spicy Tartar Sauce and were then presented with Green Curry Chicken Satay.  The dishes were simple, but they tasted good.  They both had a nice bit of spice to them, but they weren't just spicy, they were pretty flavorful and the size and simplicity of the dishes made it easy to walk around and talk to people.  After we had drank and socialized a little, we were seated so our dinner could start.

The dinner was listed as a three course meal (plus passed appetizers) but the food was served family style and there were at least a couple of dishes per course, so in actuality, it was closer to a six course meal with much more food than people could eat.  For the first course, we were served Spinach Salad with Orange, Fennel, and Pistachios and a Smoked Ham plate with Cilantro, Peppers, and Olives.  The spinach salad was very fresh and the oranges provided some brightness both in color and taste, but what really made it was the pistachios.  The Ham was light and buttery with a smoky flavor that almost seemed like Prosciutto.  We were provided with some very fresh bread on which to eat the ham, and the peppers and cilantro to garnish it with.  The olives were also very fresh and unpitted, which I think I prefer to canned and pitted olives.  They are less salty and their flavor is somewhat muted when compared to canned olives.

 For our entree we were served something pretty simple and something pretty complex.  The simple dish was Grilled and Skewered Shrimp with Quinoa and Brussels Sprouts.  The shrimp was perfectly cooked and served atop the quinoa and brussels sprouts.  The brussels sprouts were caramelized and the quinoa had a nice nutty flavor which went with the sweetness of the shrimp.

 

The second part of our entree was supposed to be a Lettuce wrap that we built ourselves using lettuce (of course), Smoked Pork Shoulder which we self pulled, Kimchi, Cilantro, Rice, and Korean Chili Paste.  While I did use all of the ingredients, it didn't end up as a lettuce wrap.  Everything about this was really good and while I did eat everything together, I didn't see the point in trying to eat it with my hands.  The pork was tender, smoky, flavorful, and pulled easily.  The kimchi was crisp and spicy, the rice was perfectly cooked and helped cut the spice of the kimchi and the chili paste and the cilantro provided a nice garnish.

Dessert was simple, classic and very good.  We were served a Double Chocolate Brownie, Salted Caramel Ice Cream, and Salted Caramel.  The brownie was served warm and the ice cream was cold (obviously) and they provided both the sweet/salty and warm/cold contrast that works so well together.  I enjoyed my meal here.  The food was good, my company was interesting, and the space was interesting.  While I would come back for another beer dinner, after looking at the scattered menu and seeing what is was like in the main dining room, I am not sure that I would return otherwise.

Fuji Sushi

I like sushi, but I will admit that it isn't for everyone.  It takes some taste adaptation and you have to get past the fact that much of the fish is raw.  This is not the case for all sushi and you can, in fact, have a great sushi meal where you have no raw fish (or fish in general) at all.  Most people that have come to like sushi though, have gotten past the fact that many of their choices are going to be with raw fish.  In Midland, there have been places that have served maki rolls for years, but it has only been recently that a sushi restaurant, Fuji Sushi, has opened up.  I have, for years, tried to convince my family that sushi was good, but when the only examples that they have had experience with have been mediocre maki, it's a really hard sell.  My youngest sister is very open to new culinary experiences despite the fact that she thought that she disliked sushi.  One of her friends convinced her to come with her to Fuji Sushi where she discovered that she did like sushi.  She prefers maki (rolls) to nigiri (raw fish with rice) or sashimi (raw fish), but it is a start.  Knowing that I like sushi, she invited me out with a friend, her husband, and my parents.  From the outside, it doesn't look like much, occupying a store front in a small strip mall.  Inside, it really isn't that much more impressive with white walls with a cherry blossom tree design near the rear of the dining room.  There are booths on one side and tables occupying the rest of the space.  The sushi bar is in the back of the dining room on the right side.  The menu has a pretty good list of maki with the usual suspects showing up on the sashimi and nigiri lists (the usual suspects being a lot of tuna, salmon, shrimp, octopus, and eel).  They also had a variety of appetizers and non-sushi items for those that are yet averse to sushi.  I started things out with a standard appetizer found at many sushi restaurants, Spicy Tuna Tartare.  It was served with a spicy sauce and topped with Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe) which, while salty, is more used for texture than flavoring.  The presentation was nice as were the flavor and texture and the tobiko provided a nice crunchy contrast.  The fish tasted very fresh which tells me that they have a good supply chain which is especially important for inland sushi restaurants.

For my main course, I went with the Sushi Deluxe plate which featured 10 pieces of assorted nigiri and a tuna roll.  The choices made for the plate were made by the sushi chef which I actually prefer because he knows what is best on any given day.  The fish was presented in a line on top of a coconut leaf.  In front of it was a shrimp and the tuna roll.  Wasabi and pickled ginger were presented to the side for seasoning and palate cleansing.  The tuna rolls were simple with simply the tuna, the rice, and seaweed to wrap it.  It was simple but good and allowed me to get the fresh taste of the tuna.  The shrimp was tender and obviously very fresh because it had none of the bad flavor that comes when shrimp gets old.  As far as the rest of my nigiri, I was served white tuna, yellowtail tuna, salmon and more tuna.  It was all fresh and had a good texture and taste, but I preferred the rich, fatty flavor of the white tuna best.

I am glad that a sushi restaurant has opened up in Midland, I hope to return sometime when I am in town.  While it isn't a great, high end sushi place, it is good for what it does.   

Slurping Turtle

For several years, Chef Takashi Yagahashi, of Takashi fame, served noodles at his eponymous restaurant on Sunday.  This Japanese comfort food was very popular, selling out frequently, so about a year and a half ago he opened another restaurant, Slurping Turtle, which was based around noodles and ramen.  I really liked the restaurant, Takashi, but I had never been there for noodles.  Having said that, I was confident that this would be as good as the original.  I finally got around to dining here last night (Saturday).  Located in River North, it is a bit more casual than some of the hot restaurants in the area.  It looks on the outside, like any other restaurant in the area.  While there is a door at the front of the restaurant, it is blocked and is not the actual entrance.  The actual entrance is shared by a neighboring nightclub with a large modern metal door.  Entering Slurping Turtle requires a walk down a hall and entering at the rear, near the open kitchen.  As it was Saturday in a hot dining area, it was pretty crowded and there were people waiting outside the restaurant.  I left my name with the hostess and had to wait a few minutes but I was fairly quickly seated at the bar.  The bar is relatively small for the size of the restaurant but it seemed to handle orders pretty quickly.  The space itself was pretty big, high ceilinged and very unfinished.  The ceiling was unfinished hanging lights and the walls were unfinished cinder blocks (other than the tall smoked windows in the front).  There were tall photographic prints hanging on the walls.  Seating, other than the bar, consisted of a large communal table in the center of the room, some 4 top booths along the wall opposite the bar, an 8 top table in the front of the room, and some more 4 tops on the second floor which is located only at the front of the restaurant.  As I said, I was seated at the bar which featured craft and Japanese beer, sake, wine, and cocktails.  I ordered a drink called the Groundhog's Day while I was looking at the menus.  It contained Ford's Gin, Luxardo Bitters, Yellow Chartreuse, Housemade Pomegranate Grenadine, and Lime Juice.  It was tart, bitter, and refreshing with a botanical flavor and I really enjoyed it.  The food menu was divided into Hot Tapas, Cold Tapas, Bao, Sashimi, Noodles, Rice, and Sides.  This actually made things a little confusing when making choices.  There was also a much smaller prix fixe menu containing a selection of three appetizers, three entree, and a dessert chosen from the larger menu to choose from which made things much easier when trying to make choices.  I decided to go with the prix fixe menu.      

For my appetizer, I chose Hamachi Tacos which were listed as Hot Tapas on the main menu.  There were three tacos which contained Tomatoes, Cilantro, some very tender Hamachi, and Crisp Corn Shells.  The lettuce that invariably can be found on all tacos was used as a garnish on the plate, framing and separating the shells.  The tacos were crisp, juicy, and very flavorful.  I really enjoyed them and they set my palate for an enjoyable dinner.

While I could have come here and eaten rice or sushi, Slurping Noodle was made to showcase Ramen so I had to try one of the Ramen dishes here.  I got Tonkatsu, which came in a large bowl and consisted of  Thin Housemade Ramen Noodles, Silky Pork Broth, Pork Chashu (Braised Pork Belly), Bok Choy, Pickled Mustard Greens, and Braised Woodear Mushrooms.  It was also garnished with Green Onions.  This was truly comfort food.  It was rich, creamy, and salty with a lot of different textures.  The Pork Chashu was very tender and flavorful.  While it was definitely porky, it surprisingly didn't remind me of bacon which comes from pork belly and the bok choy, mustard greens, and woodear mushrooms contributed there own flavors.

While the dessert I had was not classically Japanese, none of the desserts that I have had at Takashi were really Japanese.  Having said that, they do have a Japanese flavor to them.  I had a Green Tea Cream Puff.  The cream puff was served on a fresh tea leaf.  The puff had a solid, slightly salty, and flavorful shell that was sprinkled with Green Tea Powder.  The cream inside the puff was green, as might be expected of a green tea flavored cream.  It was slightly sweet with a pronounced green tea flavor.  While it was good, the green tea powder was a little tricky and I accidently inhaled a little while I was eating it which was rather unpleasant.  It was otherwise pretty good and made for a fitting finish to my meal.  I really enjoyed my meal here and will definitely return. 

Tanta

I was very excited when I heard that another world famous chef would be setting up shop in Chicago.  Chef Gaston Acurio, Executive Chef of Astrid y Gaston, rated the 14th best restaurant in the world, has been introducing the world to Peruvian Cuisine and its influencing cuisines.  While his primary restaurant is Astrid y Gaston, he has been a culinary tour-de-force, opening 33 restaurants in 12 countries.  His restaurant in Chicago, Tanta, offers Peruvian cuisine from all of its regions and influences with the cocktail menu featuring the Peruvian national drink, Pisco.  Peru is on the Pacific Ocean so they have a lot of seafood on the menu as ceviche and in other preparations.  It also has the Andes and the Amazon River and in addition to the Spaniards and Aboriginal people that settled here, they also have Chinese, Japanese, and Italian populations that immigrated and settled here, so they have a lot of culinary traditions to draw upon.  Chicago is a foodie city that loves trying new and different things so it seems like a natural fit.  The outside of the restaurant is relatively plain and in a single story building although it does have a big and heavy wooden door that kind of reminds me of the entrance to a sushi restaurant.  Entering the restaurant does not dissuade that idea much, although there is a definite Latin twist.  There is a a bar on the left side of the restaurant running back into the bar with the ceviche bar at the end of it.  The dining room is relatively open but there is a half-wall that runs parallel to the bars through the center of the dining room.  Aside from bar seating, the seating is divided between high tops and booths.  The kitchen is in the back of the restaurant and is relatively open.  I sat at the ceviche bar and was able to watch the chefs at the ceviche station put together their orders.  I could also, to a lesser extent, watch the chefs in the kitchen, but the ceviche chefs were more interesting to me.  Before I ordered anything, I was served a basket of Plantain chips wrapped in paper that were served with a light dipping sauce that I was able to enjoy while perusing both the cocktail and food menus.  They were crunchy as a fried plantain might be expected to be and the sauce was tangy and buttery with a spicy finish that went surprisingly well with the plantains.

For my cocktail, I decided to go a little away from their specialty.  There were many Pisco cocktails, and I like pisco, but there was a drink on the menu that stood out for me that really sounded good.  I ordered La Guapa.  La Guapa had City of London Gin, Lavender, Rhubarb, Lemon, and Cremant de Bourgogne (a sparkling wine from Burgundy, France).  The drink was pink, smelled floral, and had a lavender flower floating in it.  I like gin, but this was surprisingly "ginny".  I enjoyed it.  It was refreshing but it was also not something that you might want to drink quickly which was fine because it allowed me to drink it throughout dinner.

 While I mentioned that I sat at the ceviche bar, I did not have ceviche.  I like ceviche and I know that I like ceviche.  I wanted to explore other areas of Peruvian cuisine.  While the food I had used a lot of seafood, it was actually cooked.  I started out with a Pulpo Anticucho.  Pulpo is octopus and an anticucho is a skewer of grilled meat served with a potato and marinated in a sauce of vinegar and spices such as garlic, cumin, and aji pepper, so this was supposed to be a grilled octopus skewer with a vinegar and spice sauce.  Anticuchos are a very popular Peruvian street food.  Everything was there but the skewer which, I imagine was removed before serving.  The Potato was roasted in a Chimichurri Sauce, a sauce made with vinegar, cumin, and garlic, and everything was topped with a Black Olive Cream.  The potato was tender and flavorful with the chimichurri sauce infusing everything and had a nice light crust.  The octopus tentacle was pretty large and perfectly cooked and the olive cream finished everything off nicely.

After the Peruvian street food, I explored the Chinese influence on Peruvian cuisine with Arroz Criollo, a wok stir-fried dish similar to paella.  In addition to the stir-fried rice, it was served with Mussels, Shrimp, more Octopus (baby, this time), Aji Amarillo, White Wine, and Criolla Salad which included Radishes, Cilantro, Cucumbers, Corn, and Cherry Tomatoes.  This was very good with a wide variety of flavors and textures.  The rice was al dente and a little spicy with seafood and flavors.  Every bite brought something new.

I was actually expecting dessert to be a little anticlimactic but I was pleasantly surprised.  I ordered Pie de Limon which listed Lime Mousse with Crispy Quinoa, Cancha, and Lime-Mint Sorbet.  I was actually expecting to be served something similar to a Lemon Meringue Pie with a Lime-Mint Sorbet on the side.  I was correct technically, but the presentation made it something different.  It was served in a goblet with a slightly bruleed meringue next to the lime-mint sorbet on top of the lime mousse.  The crispy quinoa and cancha (Andean corn nuts) formed a crunchy crust on the bottom of the goblet.  It was very tart, as one might expect, but the mint provided a surprising finish. 

I really enjoyed my dinner here and while I had a variety of things here.  I really need to return to continue my exploration because there is a lot more to see and try.  The staff was very friendly and were very willing to answer questions.  This is definitely a place to which I must return.       

Gosu

I like to eat out (as can obviously be inferred by this blog) but sometimes, I forget places that are relatively close to where I live, especially if I don't ride by them every day.  About three years ago, a Japanese/Korean restaurant called Gosu opened up and while I was interested, it wasn't a place I immediately thought about when I wanted to go out for dinner.  The word Gosu is a Korean word that means someone of exceptional skill.  This is something that you would hope when you go to a restaurant of any kind and it was something that I hoped was true when I went there.  I recently had a craving for Korean food so I decided that it was a good time to try it out. The restaurant has a modern Asian look and as it was approaching Christmas, there was also a lot of lights and Christmas decorations.  There are a couple of semi-private booths on either side of the door, a banquette on the right side of the front of the restaurant with several 4 top tables filling the space.  Beyond the banquette is a half-round sushi bar with a set of tables on the left side of the dining room filling the space.  The color scheme was pastel with a lot of pink and light blue.  I was seated at the banquette near the sushi bar.  I ordered an appetizer, entree, and dessert, but as I was eating in a Korean Restaurant, I was also served a salad and soup.  The salad was a rather standard house salad with lettuce, radishes, onions and a soy dressing.  There really was nothing special about the salad but as it was part of the meal, I include it for completeness.

The soup was a little better.  It was a Miso soup with Tofu and Green Onions.  Miso is generally a salty broth (made from soy) that is generally pretty simple.  The green onions did provide a little crunch and an oniony flavor when they were bitten into.  The tofu was a nice surprise.  Tofu generally doesn't have a taste of it's own and will take the flavor of what it's cooked with.  With the miso soup, it intensified the miso flavor and added a textural element.

I ordered my appetizer simply for the name.  There was a slight description so I knew that it wasn't actually what it was called, but the name was too much to pass up.  The dish was called "Monkey Brain" and it was about the right size and interior color.  It was a Deep Fried Avocado filled with Spicy Tuna, Crab, and Spicy Mayo.  It was really good!  Frying the avocado made a crunchy crust while leaving the avocado creamy.  The crab and tuna were fresh and flavorful and the spicy mayo added some good spiciness.

For my entree, I got Bi-bim-bap, a Korean dish which literally translates to mixed rice.  It is a dish of cooked rice topped with mixed vegetables which usually include carrots, radishes, spinach, and onions, beef, and a fried egg.  It is also served with a pepper sauce like Sriracha on the side so you can add as little or as much as you would like.  It is usually is cooked and served in a stone bowl (as was this).  The ingredients are separate when served in the dish but are generally mixed together before eating.  This was served with three Kimchis, the standard fermented cabbage, fermented daikon radish, and spicy pickles.  It was all very good and because the hot sauce was served on the side, I was able to give it the right spiciness.

My dessert was not a standard Asian dessert as such but it was something that I have seen in several Asian restaurants and I am not a huge fan of the standard, Japanese dessert, Mochi.  I had a Ginger Lemon Cheesecake, which while it is not really Asian, it does have Asian flavors and it was pretty good.

I really liked Gosu and can see that they do have a chef of exceptional ability.  Now that I have been here, I will remember it when I have a craving for Korean food, this place will definitely fit the bill.