Texture orgy - Kimo at Mirai

Wednesday night I had a chance to eat one of my favorite dishes in this city - Mirai's Kimo. To me, sushi is as much about texture as it is about flavor, sometimes more so. Kimo exemplifies that aesthetic.

The dish is monkfish foie gras wrapped in octopus (or fluke, but I can't imagine it being as much of a texturefest with fluke), topped with a single chive, and served with the house ponzu for dipping. When I eat it, all conversation ceases, my eyes roll back in my head as the liver squishes out from inside the octopus and the two textures blend on my tongue. The octopus, I'd like to add, has always been very fresh at Mirai, not rubbery, which I've found at a lot of other Japanese restaurants.

It's like three different textures coming together to form a mega-texture Voltron - soft monkfish liver, substantial chewy octopus, crunchy chive. They all play off each other, mixing in the tangy ponzu, making me wish this bite would never end. I want more just thinking about it.

Mirai
2020 W. Division
Chicago
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J3s,

In the words of my Texas BBQ friends, you done flung a craving on me. I'm texture orientated, sometimes I think even more so than taste, and I can't wait to get to Mirai to try monk fish liver w/octopus and chive.

Enjoy,
Gary

If you're into textures, be sure to try the yukke toro as well when you go to Mirai. It's tuna tartare with quail egg, but it's the best implementation of the dish I've ever had. Soft, melty, so good.