Meiji in focus

I made a pilgrimage tonight to what the Trib's Vettel claims is "arguably Chicago's finest Japanese restaurant":

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/dining/chi-0704030776apr05,1,3666595.story?coll=chi-ent_dining-hed

and think the place merits its own thread and recent thoughts. My 7 PM party of three shared remarkable nigiri and maki with accoutrements, but what truly impressed us is how far the staff bent over backwards to make sure we felt comfortable, educated, and special. Service highlights:

- friendly greeting by lithesome hostess, with assurances that an incomplete party could be seated immediately with no problem

- sharp-suited house manager personally refilling water glasses, making recommendations, checking in frequently

- well-informed waiter who had everything from the chef's sashimi selection of the night to the flavors of the mochi flight memorized

- lead chef who, upon learning from the waiter that we had ordered the house fresh wasabi, came and gave a four minute presentation on fresh vs. powdered, and hand-grated a very generous mound for all three of us (for just the standard $3 for one order) on a sharkskin oroshigane

- second chef who proudly brought out the bag of the kitchen's excellent green tea so we could write down the brand and details

- hostess and house manager working together further down the patio to adjust parasols against wind, which unfortunately had been picking up some construction dust on Randolph Street

- good fountain soft drinks refilled gratis constantly

- prices all $1 - 4 per plate lower than the menu listed on the official site (mochi flight $9, special rolls $14 instead of $18 )

I had visited twice in late 2005 and early 2006 for lunch, and had been pleased by the creative rolls, but tonight was my first experience with the sashimi and nigiri. Portions were exceptionally large (regular sake order was virtually two salmon steaks) and perfectly fresh. Maki, if slightly oversauced, were aesthetically pleasing and extremely tasty. The Koto roll with cilantro, avocado, eel, and tangy unagi sauce was perfectly complex and even somewhat refreshing, contrasted with the richness of the Shogun, with tempura shrimp, masago, cream cheese, wasabi mayo, and scallions. A visual highlight was the White Dragon roll with a variety of snowy ingredients arranged in a sinuous dragon line, each piece topped with a perfect circle of venomous jalapeno.

Our bill was not a surprise at about $50 each since we ordered wakame (the sesame oil in just the right proportion to the seaweed, not overwhelming it), edamame, miso, Sapporo, tea, soft drinks, and sticky mochi for dessert (lychee, tiramisu, honeydew, cherry blossom), which had been cut into pieces for easy sharing. It felt remarkably fair for the service, generous portions, and quality of ingredients. While Meiji is not the place I'd go every time I have a hankering for a small variety of specific sushi (we have the bars at Mirai or Katsu for that), it was an ideal summer feast, and even on the streetside patio they made us feel like royalty. Looking across to similarly contented diners at Blackbird and Avec, the thought came to me - are there three better restaurants right in a row like this anywhere in the city?

Meiji
632 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL

This is the place right next to Blackbird and Avec, right?

Meiji is one of those restaurants that I want to like, but every time I go I just can't do it. They're trying to be taken seriously (serving fresh wasabi, reasonably good and well-informed service), but they also can't help going for style over substance a lot of the time.

I guess this quote sums up what I don't like about Meiji...

Santander wrote: Maki, if slightly oversauced, were aesthetically pleasing and extremely tasty.

This is personal taste, but I'm not really into any maki that has any sauce. I've also found their nigiri to be below par (poorly cut and poorly handled, with some fish obviously having been recently thawed).

I wanted to give Meiji some LTH love. I have eaten there twice in the past month and I just adore it. I am a big sushi fan and have eaten at many places in town, but currently Meiji is my favorite. The room is lovely, the service was extremely friendly, the noise level was quite comfortable. They have a sidewalk dining area, which I have yet to take advantage of because it was sweltering on both of my visits.

The food was quite good, so good that I find myself just craving it. We had edamame, seaweed salad and a variety of maki. They are definitely very creative with their rolls which is not to some people's taste, but I love it! There is one with almonds and jalapenos in it that I keep thinking about. YUM. Also while I am not normally a fan of Philly maki (salmon and cream cheese) I thought theirs was terrific. I found all the ingredients be be fresh and was pleased with the pricing on their wine list. I have been very happy on my two visits. Also, it's handy when the wait for Avec is 90 minutes and you just can't wait that long to eat.

http://www.meijirestaurant.com/

jesteinf wrote:This is personal taste, but I'm not really into any maki that has any sauce. I've also found their nigiri to be below par (poorly cut and poorly handled, with some fish obviously having been recently thawed).

Could you elaborate on how thawing affects the taste? I generally associated thawing with a change in texture, but I haven't noticed a change in taste. Then again, I assumed that all sushi here in Chicago was previously frozen.

Darren72 wrote:

jesteinf wrote:This is personal taste, but I'm not really into any maki that has any sauce. I've also found their nigiri to be below par (poorly cut and poorly handled, with some fish obviously having been recently thawed).

Could you elaborate on how thawing affects the taste? I generally associated thawing with a change in texture, but I haven't noticed a change in taste. Then again, I assumed that all sushi here in Chicago was previously frozen.

Yes, most (if not all) of it was at some point frozen. But, the thawing process can be handled well or it can be handled poorly. I can't tell you how many times I've eaten a piece of fish (at all levels of sushi bar) and have wound up crunching down on ice crystals. Not only is the texture way off, but the fish has virtually no taste.

You had me sold at "lithesome hostess"

I walked home today past Meiji. There are signs in the window "Space for rent". Prime spot next to Blackbird, Avec, Sepia, Province.

I wonder what this means for the perfectly enjoyable Korean bar that was above it...