Evanston Lunch Group - Kansaku 3/15/2007

Kansaku is, I believe, the newest sushi joint in Evanston ... and from what I've read, it's worth exploring.

Here's what LTH's own David Hammond had to say in The Reader:

At Kansaku it's not easy to resist the seductive and colorful "signature rolls": we had the Fiesta, a tangy cigar of salmon, tuna, jalapeno, and cilantro, as well as the appetizer Citrus Spring Roll, a spicy tuna paste with cucumber and avocado peeking through translucent rice paper. Both of these nouveau Asian items were fine, but my recommendation is to stick with more traditional sashimi or sushi and savor embarrassingly fresh finned things shipped in several times a week to this atmospherically lit, stylish, and friendly place. We had a buttery escolar, rich enough to smear on bread, and tuna sliced thick as a ham steak and so transcendently tender I couldn't bear to defile it with soy and wasabi. If you really must have hoofed creature, there's tonkatsu, fried pork cutlet, but when you come here you'd best go fishin'. To drink take the plunge with unfiltered sake like ozeki nigori, a tongue-coating, richly textured beverage, floral and suitable as aperitif or with dinner; I tried a more expensive filtered sake, which seemed neutered by comparison.

--David Hammond

So I'm proposing a lunch Thursday, March 15 (the Ides of March) at 12:30 p.m. Dates/times can vary if that meets the needs of the usual suspects.

Kansaku
1514 Sherman
Evanston

"Beware the Ides of March"

HI,

I always call The Ides of March, 'Et tu Brute' Day.

Can't make it, though I look forward to the report.

Regards,

I'm there! Thanks, Tom, for organizing this!

I think I can make it -- will confirm asap.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I think I can make it -- will confirm asap.

=R=

I'll definitely be there.

=R=

Might be a small group - the French couple is ... guess where ... but as always, all are welcome.

I work right around the corner and can be there around 1:15--is that too late?

Sharona

I may drag the Uberspouse along as well...we have to start the kid roundup at 2:30, but it shouldn't stop us from hanging out for as long as we usually do...

Sharona wrote:I work right around the corner and can be there around 1:15--is that too late?

Sharona

We may already be eating, but stop by and join us!

I'll be there at 12:30.

was there last night...in addition to the great sushi (ama ebi, ceviche app, kani su all good) they have an awesome woman sushi chef. this is pretty rare and shes very sweet and good at what she does.

Looks like I'm stag for today - see you there!

Great time, as usual. World's best sushi? No, but very good for the nouveau-style, beautifully presented.

Okay, the starter of miso soup wasn't that beautifully presented, but it was tasty:


The chef's selection of Nigiri was delicious, pristine and [fill in your own favorite adjective here]:


Followed by Squid Special Roll (left) and Eel Special Roll (interesting that the squid and eel topped the roll - they weren't contained inside):


Then there was the restaurant's namesake Kan Sa Ku roll (baked salmon, shrimp tempura, cream cheese, wasabi, tobko and asparagus rolled in Soy paper):


The Kamikaze (spicy tuna and cucumber roll topped with seared tuna and black tobiko) was as spicy as the name would suggest.


"Dessert" was the oyster shooter, with more tobiko (sadly, there were only four - albeit large - oysters - Ronnie Suburban got shut out)


Thanks to MHayes, Ronnie, GAF, and especially CrazyC for coming by (I'm not sure it's been appropriately acknowledged, but Charlotte was the one who came up with the idea of an Evanston Lunch Group™ at the Gulliver's lunch several years ago, and the idea took off).

Caveat: At $32 pp (no drinks) it wasn't exactly a cheap lunch. Worth it, though, I think.

edited: out, damn typos

As always, the food was very good, and the conversation was excellent!

I particularly enjoyed the sashimi, myself. The oysters created a kind of cognitive dissonace for me, as I associate that flavor with PEI and New England - and bland foods, not the spicy condiment they came with. I'm not sure if I liked it or not...have to go back and try it again...

Always lovely to add "new" folks to the group! And thanks for being quick with the camera!

I had a great time, too. Thanks to nr706 for organizing and thanks to CrazyC for getting the Evanston lunch 'thang' rolling in the first place. It was great getting to meet her as well as the inimitable GAF, who I'd not met before. The conversation was lively, interesting and informative. It never ceases to impress me how much knowledge and experience each LTH member I meet brings to the table. The shared, collective experience of the membership here is a truly invaluable asset.

Foodwise, I agree pretty much with what's been said. It was solid and tasty, even if not transcendant. The space was aesthetically pleasing; bright and comfortable. I liked the varied sauces and thought the food was fun. The fact that I got 'shut out' on the oyster dish was a bit of a bummer but I'll live. I will say that it was a somewhat odd occurence, given that chef knew there were 5 of us at the table. Still, if I were in the neighborhood and wanting sushi, I'd have no qualms about returning.

=R=

I think that we have pretty well noted what needs to be said. Kansaku is just fine. It is a pleasant, bright space with good quality sushi. I found it better than Koi (nearby in Evanston), but Katsu's owners can rest easily (I'm sure that they do so anyway). Kansaku doesn't compete with the very best Japanese prices, but their prices wouldn't indicate that they should. I can imagine having lunch here occasionally, but not with such a distinguished group. I particularly liked the Squid roll, but found some of the spicy rolls had so much heat as to overwhelm the fish.

ronnie_suburban wrote: The fact that I got 'shut out' on the oyster dish was a bit of a bummer but I'll live. =R=

Dude, you and me and the 'spouse at the Davis Street Fishmarket for lunch. Name your oysters - I'm buying. Send me a PM.

To those of you who weren't there, it's frequently difficult to get pics because of the rate at which I inhale food. Ronnie didn't stand a chance