I always crave sushi when it gets hot. Emmy thinks I’m nuts because it’s raw fish and she thinks about it spoiling, but I think of it as fresh, cool and light. So, last night Eric and I decided to try Katsu (no website), which my Aunt and Uncle (who’ve lived in Chicago for 30 years) claim is the best sushi restaurant in town. It also got a shout out in one of my favorite books, Time Traveler’s Wife.
The first bonus was it’s location, about 15 minutes from Northwestern. It’s not a trendy part of town, but that means you can park right out front, for free. We were seated immediately, no reservations no problem. Eric and I started out with a bottle of chilled hachituru sake (which I have come to appreciate like fine wine). I always like edamamme and gyoza, so we ordered those to start. The decor is pretty traditional Japanese, but with nice soft lighting and fresh flowers (peonies!) everywhere.
The chef (Chef Katsu) was manning the sushi bar and chatting with regulars in Japanese. Our waiter kicked some major ass. He was attentive, constantly clearing our table without being overbearing, and he made appropriate and helpful suggestions.
Eric and I like to dine in courses, so next we ordered the fried oyster appetizer. Each oyster was fried individually and there was a horseradish based sauce for dipping.
Next we dove into sushi. I ordered the highly recommended baby yellowtail nigiri and the katsumaki roll. It was honestly the largest and freshest piece of nigiri I have ever been served. My roll was perfect with all of my favorites: tuna, yellowtail, crab, avacado and cucumber.
Eric got a bunch of nigiri, including sea scallop and o-toro (fatty tuna) and a soft shell crab roll. Honestly, the fish was so fresh, it was almost creamy and melted in your mouth. We ordered another bottle of sake, one our waiter recommended called Sen-Nenju, and I liked it a little better than the first one. The flavor was richer and almost woodsy.
I was done after one order of sushi, but Eric had a second with another scallop and a spicy octopus roll. He let me try a bite of his scallop, and it was so smooth.
For dessert we finished up with red bean ice cream. It’s a flavor I’ve definitely come to love, but not something I would ordinarily think of as good in ice cream. While we were in the restaurant it started pouring. Everyone was talking to each other and laughing about the weather. The place has a nice neighborhood atmosphere.
I would definitely go back to katsu. It’s a great relaxed, quiet place with fantastic food and service. Don’t go if you’re expecting a trendy sushi joint with wacky rolls. This place is for the serious sushi enthusiast, and I would recommend getting more nigiri than rolls. The fish is so good, you want to just eat it solo and enjoy the freshness and flavor.
zagat:
food- 27 service- 28 decor- 22
Posted at 9:01pm and tagged with: restaurant, chicago, sushi, katsu, one column,.
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