Review: Nomonomo Japanese Pub + Grill

11 May 2024

A busy Saturday, a rare one where I’m home in Chicago these days. I need to cut down on these weekend trips as they are so draining and leaves me too little time to wind down from a long work week…

But this Saturday started with a nice little snack at Hopleaf, where I also enjoyed a few excellent Belgian tipples. I was in the area to pick up some artwork I had gotten framed by one of Chicago’s most interesting up-and-coming artists, and this has added some nice colours to my living room!

But I wanted to enjoy some good food, and I was hungry, so I made my way south towards Logan Square and eventually to my early dinner destination, Nomonomo Japanese Pub + Grill. They seem to specialize in robata, and my favourite izakaya in town, Cocoro, is fabulous for everything except it does not have an extensive robata menu, so this was a way to satisfy this part of my craving.

I got there just as it opened, so it was empty. I enjoyed a cocktail and ordered a few starters, and let’s see where this goes. Soon the first item arrived, takowasa.

Good, I always love this. A large portion, perhaps not as spicy as at Cocoro, but very good. My confidence for this place is going way up.

And it goes way, way up with this beautiful mushroom dish. I love mushrooms, especially when you get a variety here, from oysters to enoki. Excellent, worked as the perfect side dish for the rest of the night.

Then you get a really good hamachi kama (collar), grilled perfectly and flavourful. I stripped this beast happily and felt very confident about this place to keep ordering. Now for some skewers!

I enjoyed some good sake that I ordered and soon my table became overwhelmed by plates of goodness…

The gyutan (beef tongue) was excellent, grilled very nicely with really good texture.

The shishito was under a lot of these katsuobushi (bonito flakes), and did its job as a side alongside those divine mushrooms.

The crispy tofu, also under some katsuobushi, was okay, nothing special.

But the pork belly was really good, again excellent texture and flavour, grilled very nicely.

Then a double of chicken started with kawa (skin), which was a little interesting presentation-wise, but could have been a little crispier. The momo (thigh) was juicy and delicious, so it’s all good.

Wow, lots of food, and I was extremely full at this point. The only dessert I could consume is ice cream…

Delicious, especially with a good Japanese whisky. Nice to chill as this place gets a bit busier. I relaxed and slowly finished the double as my Lyft eventually rolled around and I thanked my excellent server.

A good night, definitely good for skewers and those delicious mushrooms. It doesn’t replace Cocoro for me, but if I need grilled skewers, I know were to go next time.

Nomonomo Japanese Pub + Grill
2115 North Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

Review: Kado no Mise

29 March 2024

I got into Minneapolis early this Saturday morning. I knew the Twin Cities took a major snow hit last week after a nearly dry and almost-too-warm winter, but I was surprised it hasn’t melted off with the rain like it has in Chicago. Oh well, that may put a major damper in my plans today…

Yeah it did. I had to improvise a little, ended up hiking through at-times calf-deep snow and ice, so I got in a good workout. Sadly a poor lunch at a very hyped place didn’t help (I’ll write about this in a few days). So I was looking forward to my dinner at Kado no Mise, a much heralded Japanese restaurant located very close to the much-missed Bachelor Farmer.

Kado no Mise apparently do a kaiseki night on Tuesdays, which is too bad as it’s something I definitely would have loved to try. But I have high hopes for this place as I rolled in on my Lyft and headed up the stairs. And I sense a good evening, as I was seated at the counter where Chef Shigeyuki Furukawa was stationed.

Honestly it didn’t start too well. Just before I was about to use the hot towel to wipe my hands, the server took it away…geez, really? And the first sake pour was a little light. However, once I saw the first dish, I was far happier.

Now this was a welcome sight, hotaru-ika (firefly squid). Not had this in awhile, as you can still taste the essence of ink as you bite into this. Tasty dish, good start. A different sake was poured and the very hot chawanmushi was next.

Subtle, took awhile to bring this out, from the shiitake to the dashi. I thought maybe this particular sake ate into this dish a little due to its subtlety. Whatever the case, I enjoyed it more without the sake, drinking it all afterwards.

A plate of other snacks showed up, with the botan-ebi as a delicious bite. The celery was interesting, once again, subtle and nuanced. I fear this may be lost on some diners. At this point a larger sake pour happened as we enter the sushi segment. Chef Furukawa got to work and we have a series of breams to start.

The tai (sea bream) was quite nice, but the kasugodai (baby sea bream) was really fantastic.

Lovely stuff. Then the sakuradai (cherry bream).

Tasty morsel that’s for sure. BTW the rice is excellent, a good balance with the fish and consistency about perfect. And the bream series ends with kinmedai (golden eye snapper).

I’m not the biggest fan of kinmedai, but this was rather good. I enjoyed that series, you don’t often get a bream set like that. Then with another sake, we have the tuna series. Of course it starts with akami.

One of the better lean tuna I’ve had in a long time, really delicious.

The chutoro was excellent, really lovely flavours that just melted in your mouth. Again, the excellent rice made it even better.

The otoro was good, but I think the chutoro was the winner of this series. Good stuff. Another sake pour and we have the more distinct flavoured pieces.

Shimesaba (cured mackerel) didn’t work as well for me, as I thought the ginger was distracting. As a mackerel fan I really don’t like this adulterated. Oh well, a rare miss tonight. Then a nice surprise, sagoshi (young Spanish mackerel).

You don’t see sagoshi too often, and this was quite delicious. And of course, kohada (gizzard shad).

Again not one of my favourites, something that often comes on the early side of an omakase, so I kind of like this order.

That was a good set. But it’s not over yet because I ordered the more extensive menu. So next up was some uni.

In a wee handroll, delicious. You can so taste the sea here, just wonderful.

Then we have some delicious tuna, just a great way to ease into the last item…

Yep, wagyu, something that’s pretty common in omakases these days. I don’t remember nikuzushi ever ending up in these things except in trendy non-edomae places, but it seems to have spread. Delicious.

That was quite good! And it was clearly the end as the tamago was presented.

Quite good, with some quality of care in making it. Chef Furukawa asked if there’s anything I wanted, and I thought let’s do one more saba as a palate cleanser…

Well, I forgot about the ginger. Oh well, I guess it did work as a palate cleanser!

I probably didn’t need one as this miso soup was absolutely delicious! Chef said they use a combination of three different red misos, and the depth and complexity of this soup was astounding. A wonderful way to end the night!

A nice dessert closed the dining experience, as well as a wonderful conversation with Chef Furukawa about various topics, from interesting kaiseki around the US to the state of the restaurant business. A really good chat.

I thanked Chef Furukawa and headed out…well, not quite yet. I dropped into the whisky bar connected to the restaurant and wanted to see how it is. A cocktail and a less-well-known Japanese whisky later, I was happy and ready for my Lyft back to my hotel.

Kado no Mise definitely passes the test and it’s quite excellent. I really now want to try to come back on a Tuesday to do their kaiseki, so that’s on my list for my next trip to the Twin Cities. But gotta figure out how to do this on a Tuesday without missing that much work…

But this is highly recommended! Is my luck on this trip turning around?

Kado no Mise
33 North First Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Worth a Two-Year Wait (Review #3: Nasime)

23 November 2023

Ever since I left the DC area in the autumn of 2021, I’ve been dreaming of returning to Nasime. Luckily, timing worked out on this trip and I snagged a counter spot for the late seating on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Nasime is one of very few kaiseki places in the US that actually feels like being in Japan; sitting at the counter in front of Chef Yuh Shimomura makes it even more real. I still remember my first visit here and was totally blown away, not believing I was enjoying such an experience in Alexandria, Virginia.

My last visit here was just before I moved, so it’s been over 2 years. So it was so good to be back and able to say hi to chef as I watched him work. I went with the sake pairing for my dinner.

One thing about Nasime’s dinner experience is that it is extremely high quality, again, something that makes me think of the excellent kaiseki places in Tokyo. However, for this high quality, it is also crazy inexpensive. Compared to the mediocre kaiseki dinner at Hinata in Indianapolis, where the quality was lesser and price more than double of Nasime, it makes me treasure this place even more.

And we start with a seasonal surinagashi, a traditional vegetable soup. This seasonal rendition focuses on butternut squash, as well as local blue crab. Sensational, worth the wait for my return here. As someone who is not a great fan of the season-o-squash, this was excellent.

Next up is some beautiful authentic wagyu from Japan, this time very lightly seared shortrib with a truffle shoyu glaze. Stunning, just melts in your mouth, so rich and delicious, helped on with that shoyu. Fabulous!

I knew what was coming as I was watching him cut the fish for this otsukuri course. Lovely stuff, so fresh and delicious! Just lovely, with a beautiful presentation as well from different angles. Feel free to expand on the image (any image, as always) by clicking!

Was definitely good to catch up with chef, talking about his holidays in Japan and business. He said things have changed in two years, and one thing was extending the dinner to seven courses. Amazing how he keeps the price the same!

Next up is the agedashi dish, this time featuring yuba-wrapped Chilean seabass. Delicious, love the complexity of the combination of sweet and bitter here that just plays off each other. So good.

I could smell the next dish before it arrived, as it is a beautiful lamb hobayaki – which is prepared on top of the hoba leaf. The lamb itself was stunning, already rich, accented with more richness with a foie gras miso. Just dreamy.

Although I was getting full, I know as a lone diner I will get a good portion of the next dish, and I was right…

Look at this, a beautiful noodle pot with a succulent base of oysters from the Chesapeake and seasonal matsutake mushrooms. This broth was so good, and a generous amount of oysters too. Lovely dish, and I drained every last bit of this pot.

I am full! And then we have a nice little dessert of chestnut and red bean ice cream. A wonderful way to end this meal. Of course chef knows that I like my whisky, so we had a few – me buying rounds for chef for us to enjoy together while he finishes up cleaning his station.

This was definitely worth the wait for, but also reminded me not to wait this long to come back. I so wish there’s something remotely like this in Chicago, but frankly it may be cheaper to fly to DCA and eat and fly back! Amazing quality, ridiculously affordable, this may be one of the few things about my DC life I miss most.

Thanking chef and his service assistant, I left with a gigantic smile knowing I will be back soon.

Oh, absolutely recommended! Fly here if you have to!!!

Nasime
1209 King Street
Alexandria, Virginia

Not-Quite-a-Review: Hachi Ju Hachi

3 September 2023

A long Sunday. Did some morning hikes, visited with relatives most of the afternoon, so have not been doing the same almost-10-miles-a-day of hikes for once. Then a very nice dinner at Hachi Ju Hachi with a friend.

I’ve had a great meal here before, but didn’t get photos. I’m not in a writing mood today, so I’ll let the pictures (click on them to expand, as always) speak for themselves today…

Needless to say, very highly recommended.

Hachi Ju Hachi
14480 Big Basin Way
Saratoga, California

Review: Leichi

2 September 2023

One of the good things about being in the Bay Area is getting really authentic Asian food. I had a very long day, hiked a rather hilly location and put in about 10 miles in total, so I was knackered. Got to my hotel in Cupertino and after a little rest, I headed out for dinner.

Tonight my dinner destination is Leichi, an izakaya in a non-descript strip mall. I got there and I was given a table, which was nice for a busy Saturday night. I looked at the menu, and realised I will probably eat enough to make a two-top proud! So many things I can’t get easily even in Chicago!

I ordered some stuff and began with a flight of Hakkaisan sake. That hit the spot. I was sore, and needed some relief. Then the food started to arrive.

Namako! Not had sea cucumber since Japan. Not as crunchy as you usually get in Japan, but quite good. I snacked at it as my second dish is warm.

Nankotsu, one of my faves. Chicken cartilage is not something you get easily in the US, but this was quite excellent. One of those dishes I can eat several plates of. And you ask why I saved some of my namako?

For this. They affectionately call this “Hokkaidon” – as it has many of the elements of the classic rice bowl you get on that amazing northern island. I flashed back to when I was there, remembering Kuishimbo [くいしんぼう] in Hakodate, so as I was feasting on this bowl I added some of the namako to bring back the full experience. This is about as close as it gets. It was quite good, and it got me hungrier.

I had a carafe of one of the Hakkaisan sakes anyway, so I ordered more stuff.

Went with the salty stuff so I can drink more. First up was the day’s special otsumami, which was a unique selection of stuff from karasumi (which I love) to two different types of fermented innards. Salty and unique, love it. Drank more! The cream cheese was weird, but kinda worked!

Then some good takowasa, the octopus little low on the wasabi, so I ordered a side of it. I forgot to add it, so – as my readers know I do – I just snacked at the wasabi all night…

And finally, another item you don’t get often, ume suisho – or shark cartilage. Quite nice in this plum-based sauce, also salty, so more drinking!

I was starting to get full, but was having such a good time I decided to close with some sashimi. And it was a nice selection…

An unusual selection to say the least, especially for the US. I’ve not had good raw iwashi (sardine) in a long time, while the sawara (Spanish mackerel) was quite tasty. The shin-ika (“new” squid) was nice, and also the less common hagatsuo (striped bonito) was a treat. Meichidai (large-eye bream) was another nice one, as was the very plump ebi (shrimp). Oh this was so good…

I was full, but decided on a shochu to close. They ended up comping me a snack…

Cheese! Nice, odd, but nice. And then I decided to have a dessert…why not?

This was an excellent green tea ice cream, one of the best I’ve had. What a wonderful way to close the night out! People were still coming in, so they will be busy for awhile despite it nearing last call. I thanked the staff for their excellent work and headed out and back to my hotel by Lyft.

This was a wonderful evening of feasting, and all the calories burned off on the 10-mile hilly hike basically went back in with this dinner. Totally worth it. I so love these unpretentious places that lets the ingredients shine…so much better than some tasting menu fiasco that shows off how “creative” the chefs think they are.

Highly recommended!

Leichi
246 Saratoga Avenue
Santa Clara, California

A Great Place to Hide – Review #2: Cocoro

It was a long day at the office and I was trying to figure out where to go for dinner. I wanted to unwind somewhere not too far, so had several options. At the end, I thought of doing Japanese, as it’s been awhile.

What was supposed to be a stormy late afternoon turned into a humid-as-heck one, and I was soaked after the 20-minute fast walk to Cocoro just as it was opening for the evening. After my first visit a few months ago, this place has easily become the to-go place for me for Japanese food.

I relaxed at my now-usual table, looked over the sizeable menu, and ordered the first round. I know there’ll be multiple rounds as the food is always so good. I chilled out and kept an eye on the weather, as the aforementioned storm appears to be regrouping and headed towards Chicagoland.

My sake arrived soon and was glad to have a glass down my throat after this long day. They brought out some spiced pistachios as a free snack.

Good drinking snack, I love the spice on it. Then quickly we have kinripa renkon, some delicious sliced lotus roots.

Love the flavour on this, worked so well as a side to the seafood that was starting to also appear, like my favourite shishamo.

I just love these things so much. I can eat this absolutely non-stop. The lovely mix of bitter and savoury, especially when these things are filled with roe. So good.

That balances out with this beautiful saba presentation. I always crave mackerel, and this was a great way to get my fix for one of my favourite fish. The slices were thicker than usual, which with a large heap of wasabi and quick dip in soy, was just heavenly.

Oh, of course I was nibbling at the wasabi all evening, from this plate and from the next.

A small selection of nigiri here: hamachi (yellowtail), hirame (fluke), and hotate (scallop). They didn’t have toro this evening, but this made due. The hamachi was rich and delicious. The tamer hirame worked well with the shiso. But once again, like last time, the hotate was just crumptious. Huge and sweet, these were absolutely a steal. So good.

That was a wonderful first round. As I was finishing it, and my sake, the skies were turning pretty ugly outside. I kept an eye on the weather by phone as a tornado watch was on for Chicagoland. Oh, fun.

I ordered a second round, and switched to shochu, which was an inspired choice. I just love the Tan Taka Tan, which is distilled from the red shiso leaf. This worked well with the start of the second round, takowasa.

I love octopus in any style, and this was one of my favourite preps – raw in wasabi. Delicious drinking snack. And sets up the big dish of the night…

It’s been awhile since I’ve had aji no hiraki – one of Japan’s most iconic dishes, salted horse mackerel. Lovely flavours, something I’ve not had since I last visited Japan – which has been way too long. I need to get back there…

As I was working on this delicious fish, everyone’s phone blew up with sirens. Great, now it’s a tornado warning. Kept an eye on it and kept at this delicious fish. Some people are not patient enough to get through the bones, but if you are, it’s a fine reward.

Although I was somewhat full, the weather was a mess so I decided to stay for a final round, my version of a “dessert” I guess. I switched to a stronger shochu made from barley and made my last order.

The skies were just clearing up when the first item arrived…

You knew I was gonna get another order of these lovely things. So good. Again, I wish I can get more! But have to exercise some self-restraint, after all, as it’s only Wednesday! As I sadly finished the third shishamo my real “dessert” arrived…

And I forgot to take a photo. But it was another order of hotate, as plump and sweet as the first. And also a pair of unagi – a fitting dessert, both nice and sweet in their own way.

I thanked the wonderful staff as it was nice and clear now and I headed out to catch my Lyft home. That was certainly a wonderful evening and reaffirmed that Cocoro is my to-go-to Japanese place. Delicious, simple, modest, what’s not to love? It truly reminds me of being back in Japan.

As always, heavily recommended!

Cocoro
668 North Wells Street
Chicago, Illinois

Just What I Needed – Review: Cocoro

10 May 2023

Tuesday was a frustrating day working at home. Hybrid has its advantages, but it also has some disadvantages – especially when you have bloody idiots meandering around for two ridiculous hours using society’s most anti-social implement: the leaf blower. The noise is deafening and annoying, especially if you have meetings.

So I naturally went into the office on Wednesday to work in person, which I do once a week minimum anyway. And it was a very long and busy day. From about 7.15am until I left at 4.45pm, I only left my office twice – both times to use the facilities and grab a cup of coffee. Having skipped lunch, I was hungry, not to mention tired.

I had an errand to run in River North anyway, so I went to check out a place I had wanted to try since I came to Chicago: Cocoro. Ironically it was on the same block as Asador Bastian, where I was last week for that good but expensive dinner.

Cocoro is an old-school, Japanese-family operated place that has an extensive – and authentic – izakaya menu. Just looking at the menus you can sense this is authentic, with things that you find in izakayas in Japan – not what Gen Z “thinks” izakayas serve without having spent time in Japan. So I drooled over the menu as I asked for a small bottle of a nice ginjo.

I ordered my first round – knowing there will be more – and relaxed by sipping on my sake. Didn’t want to drink too fast considering I’ve not eaten in 24 hours. It was still relatively early, but there were people trickling in already on this sunny and warm Wednesday. Then soon the procession of food arrived.

First up was a plate of saba. I absolutely love mackerel as my frequent readers know, and this wonderful sashimi plate hit the spot. Lovely stuff. As I was enjoying it, more food came.

I love gingko, it’s one of my favourite things to snack on in Japan. Pricey but worth every morsel. Done well here.

Then the buta kakuni came, which was quite nice. It was not as visually appealing as it can be, but I suspect they trimmed off some of the skin/fat to placate the local audience. But it was good, with plenty of fatty bits below. A touch of Japanese mustard shows that this kitchen know what pairs with what traditionally.

I was enjoying the dishes and was winding down on them when a plate of nigiri arrived.

Oh these were fabulous. The hamachi (yellowtail) in the middle was the first morsel, and it was excellent. Then the hotate (scallop), which were massive and absolutely delicious. Then the toro on the left was scrumptious. High quality seafood but with price tags far less than even in the suburbs? Wow. I need more!

I eventually finished that set of food. That was a lot, but I was still hungry – no thanks to not having eaten since the previous day (and that was an early dinner too). So with my small (300ml) bottle of sake empty, I ordered another and another set of food.

Why the heck not, today was a monster of a day at the office, and I needed a self-reward. Soon that second small bottle arrived and I enjoyed it as I awaited the second round of my feast. I already sense this will be a place I visit often, especially convenient if I go into the office!

The next round dishes, which I focused more on drinking snacks, started to arrive, and first up was shirasu oroshi, or baby whitefish with grated daikon. I love good daikon, and this is clearly sourced better than the stuff I get at the Asian market near where I live. The tiny fish works so well with the daikon, the textures complementary with the savoury of the fish and sweet of the daikon mixing perfectly.

Soon came shiokara – which by being offered on the menu tells you what kind of place you were in. It’s about as close to being back in Japan as it gets. Wonderful squid fermented in its own salted viscera. An acquired taste (and texture) but works so well to increase sake consumption! Love it!

And of course, my favourite thing to eat, shishamo. Lovely grilled ones here. Too bad they weren’t too laden with roe, which makes them absolutely addictive. But these were delicious, so happy to have them. It’s been years since I’ve enjoyed them!

I also added a small plate of sushi here. Escolar is always good, but you need to eat it in moderation. The unagi was also done quite nicely. Works for a dessert…or does it?

I relaxed and had a bit more sake, so I nursed it. I checked my phone and there was a stupid surge charge on rideshare, no thanks to the weather and early hour (people still commuting home), so I decided to hang out a little. The restaurant is now getting full despite the relatively early hour and sunny weather.

When I told the proprietress that I appreciate the menu items as many are hard to find in what people call “izakayas” in the US, even Chicago, she told me she had the same problem, which is why this place opened! What a wonderful idea, and they definitely earned a loyal customer in me. As I finished off the sake, the surge has not receded, so I thought, why not a third round? So my server smiled when I placed an order for more.

Soon a wonderful shochu arrived, one I particularly enjoy – tan taka tan, made with red shiso leaves in Hokkaido. Such a unique taste. And after a little, my final (yes, final!) round started to appear.

I had to get more nigiri as this was darn good and cheap! The hotate on the right were gigantic and absolutely delicious, while the toro on the left were melt-in-your-mouth excellent. The great thing about this place I can treat it as the wonderful edomae-ish sushi place I’ve been looking for in Chicago (instead of the adulterated sushi omakase experiences), and also as a place for all these wonderful izakaya dishes.

And of course, one last round of shishamo. I can’t just have one plate! They are so addictive!

After all that, I was beyond full and crazy happy. This was an awesome discovery! I relaxed but then sighed when I see rideshare having trouble locating cars, and mine happened to be a ways away. So I got a dessert after all…

One that I can handle with a very full stomach – green tea ice cream. I happy (and slowly) consumed the ice cream and settled my (understandably) hefty (but very worth it) tab as my rideshare approched. I thanked the crew and headed out just as the car pulled up. A near-perfect end to a near-perfect dinner!

Very highly recommended!!!

Cocoro
668 North Wells Street
Chicago, Illinois