Another Korean sushi recommendation on Lincoln?

Apropos of my Katsu post and the parenthetical mention of the very pleasant and less expensive Tampopo, I wonder if anyone else knows much about any of the other sushi places along Lincoln, most of which (like Tampopo, though not Katsu) seem to actually be Korean. The only one I've tried was Gaya, which was okay (and the owner/chef was very pleasant as he made our order) but I definitely missed the big honkin' pieces from Tampopo. Anybody tried other places in that area (doesn't have to be on Lincoln or Korean, but I'm generally interested in the variety of places up that way, not Bucktown or Wrigleyville)?

Mr. G,

I'd suggest trying Do Won. I've been going there for a couple of years and their sashimi is quite good, in the slightly larger amount of fish per slice Korean style. (nigiri also)

Do Won is a little less shy about their Korean roots than some of the Korean owned sushi/sashimi restaurants. If I'm there with a group I might order one of the Korean style soups, but my favorite non sushi item is fried rice with dried shrimp. There's something about the combination of ever-so-slightly oily rice, veggies and the chewy brininess of the dried shrimp that just seems to work for me.

One day I was there for lunch and a small(ish) group of Korean ladies sitting in one of the tatami rooms (can they be called tatami rooms if they have regular chairs?) were brought a HUGE wooden ship chock full of pristinely fresh sashimi. To their credit they polished it all off.

There can be a bit of a language barrier at Do Won, but they are very friendly. You may have to ask for kimchee etc the first few times you go, though Do Won does not have the full compliment of panchan.

Enjoy,
Gary

Do Won
5695 N Lincoln
Chicago, IL
773-878-5888.

As always you are right on the money. Do Won was a very pleasant alternative to Tampopo, similarly giant-sized pieces of sushi and sashimi in a slightly grandmotherly but entirely easy-to-take atmosphere. I was particularly impressed by the fatty salmon, smooth and creamy, which was comparable to what I've had at Katsu (at higher prices, I'm sure), check out the white stripes on this baby:



Surprisingly, one of the best things we had was the little throwaway salad with a ginger dressing you usually get at the beginning of the meal. The dressing was completely fresh-made, ginger with a hint of orange zest, the best one of those I've had in eons, or maybe ever. We also got five or six little bowls of Korean kim chee and such. Not a massive spread but generous for lunch.

We encountered a little language/culture barrier. Our first appetizer choice was unavailable so my friend Wyatt made the mistake of asking for a suggestion-- gyoza, the waiter immediately said. I tried to give the international semaphore signal for "They're going to come frozen from Costco" but Wyatt ordered them anyway and sure enough, they were prefab, although even then the sauce was freshly made and better than the insta-gyoza deserved.

We also ordered a "spicy cod soup." The waiter warned us it was spicy but we said we wanted it spicy. Nevertheless, though not a bad soup (quite similar to what we had at Hae Woon Dae a few weeks ago), it was clearly spiced down for our gaijin palates, and Wyatt wound up going back to talk them out of some extra chili pepper. Here's the soup:



Total bill for a ton, a ton of food, including an extra pair of the fatty salmon as a chaser, was under $40. Well worth checking out, thanks again.

Mike G wrote:I definitely missed the big honkin' pieces from Tampopo.

This is part of what I don't like about sushi bars whose chefs weren't trained in Japan. I prefer traditional sushi, tightly balled and sized to go in your mouth in a single bite. Oversized sushi flops around and falls apart when you bite it.

Nice pictures, downhill restaurant



Do Won has been one of my stalwarts. Being a Korean Japanese restaurant, you get a nice array of panchan beforehand. In fact, let's look at the fishy thing on the left a little closer:



But alas, in addition the fact that my tempura udon was not very good yesterday-- tempura fine, udon bland-- the worst thing is, they've put up a projection TV thing right in the middle of the restaurant, I don't mean on the wall like at Little Three Happiness but right in the middle where, no matter where you are in the restaurant, you can't escape midday Judge Judy type shows. Which make my skin crawl (guess that's why I'm not a lawyer).

See the Zen simplicity and tranquility in this photo? Well, that's the only place you're going to get it. Bummer.

Incidentally, Do Won seems to have dropped the sushi; it now loudly trumpets that it's a Korean restaurant, and the "New Do Won."