Indie - Sushi Savior of Edgewater??

I'm pleased to report that Indie, 15-table spot with sushi and Thai on the menu, has opened in the former Lanna Thai storefront at 5951 N. Broadway.

For a few years after we moved to Edgewater, we would beg Jim and Bob Bee (then partners at Sai Cafe) to open a branch on Broadway in Edgewater so we could walk to sushi. They never bought into the idea, to our chagrin.

Then every time someone like Edgewater Community Council polled us residents about services, we always replied that a sushi bar would be very welcome. But years dragged by...

So I have high hopes for Indie. Now, I've only had one lunch there, but I can report that while the nigiri selection seems small and typical - perhaps that will improve as volume increases - the maki selection is varied and reasonably adventurous, and the Thai side of the menu is well-selected and, from what I can tell, well-executed.

I had the "Santana" maki - a futo-sized roll of tuna & scallion tempura with masago, some avocado, some more scallion, and a piquant sauce - and it was well-presented and very tasty. The rest of the maki menu had some old and new favorites - I'm looking forward to trying the dragon maki, among others - and there's a special section for hand-rolls (temaki). Not as cutting edge as someplace like Starfish, but this IS Edgewater, after all.

As usual, for my first time in a Thai restaurant, I had basil chicken (pad kra praow). Nice heat level, a generous portion, and served on an arty plate with a mold of rice. (They also sent me a crab rangoon on the house - I'm not much for crab rangoon but it seemed okay - so I walked out of the place kind of stuffed.)

The new owners spiffed up the interior, painting it white and placing a long banquette along the south wall with most of the new bare-wood tables against it. There's a four-stool sushi bar along the north wall where old-time Lanna Thai fans will remember the door to the other room used to be. Paper lanterns provide most of the light. Liquor is BYO - there's a Dominick's with a liquor section a few doors up B'way, a bar across the street, and a liquor store by the L on Thorndale.

Prices are a bit on the high side for Edgewater but shouldn't shock anyone who eats sushi - nigiris were mostly $4 - 6 or so for 2 pieces, the big makis started at $12, temakis ran $6+, and the Thai dishes were in the $5 - 9 range.

Could Indie truly be the sushi savior of East Edgewater? How about some other opinions?

i live in uptown, 1/2 block south of edgewater. thanks for the news. i had not heard of the place. i suspect that with edgewater's rapid gentrification, there are a lot more sushi places on the way. who knows, maybe the bee's will rue their decision to buy in cheap when they could have.

Anyone try this place?

I just happened to run across a VERY glowing review of their Thai food on the Reader's web site.

They compare it to Arun's (which I *think* they mean as a compliment...)

Rob

Just went here Saturday night. The Sushi was very very good, the thai only okay--Nicely presented, but the curry wasn't spicy enough and the beef in it was a little tough. Good fresh veggie egg roll appetizer though, and everything looks very pretty on the plate.

The thai food seems to run sweeter than spicy. It is terrific none-the-less. Very pretty as well.

The sushi is good but the rice isn't all it should be. It's a drier gumminess than I'm used to... if that makes sense. I find that it interferes with the flavors of the fish.

The santana roll was pretty good. I'm heading back tonight and intend on writing it up at my site.

Funny how I'll go back to Indie a third time before trying South which is basically across the street.

Seems like this place hasn't been written about in awhile, so I will write my praise.
We went to Indie for the 4th time Monday night. We arrived at about 7 and there were only two tables left. It's such a cozy place with the right amount of noise absorption so that it's not too loud even when it's full (it was by the time we left). We had edamame (came out in seconds, perfectly steamed), gyoza (light, light, light wrappers around gingery chicken filling), and a bunch of sushi. The superwhite tuna was so good we ordered another round of it, and the salmon, yellowtail and flounder (on special) were excellent. We had some pretty simple rolls: spicy tuna, softshell crab (called crazy? not sure), and salmon/avacado. There are a lot of unusual rolls but we tend to like to taste the fish and not bbq sauce toppings, etc.
We have had their Thai as takeout and that is very good as well. I especially like their coconut curries. When we asked at the end of the meal if they had coconut mango sticky rice, the waiter lamented that the chef does not have time to make that because "Like Arun's, we make all our own curry pastes."
It's byob, no corkage fee, and waitstaff are on the ball with everything.
I think our final bill was 62$, not including tip. Not bad for all that food, great service, and a cozy seat.

I ate here last night with two friends. Their suggested appetizer was some kind of wasabi shrimp dumpling, and it was not good. The spring rolls were fine.

I had the green curry with tofu -- not spicy enough, but not bad either. At $7, I cannot complain at all.

One of my friends had the Basil Chicken, which looked appealing, aside from the fact that the chicken looked to have been ground into tiny pieces. Really tiny pieces. I know nothing about Thai food -- maybe this is normal.

The other friend had some kind of veggie salad, which was attractively plated (as were all the other dishes). The asparagus looked fresh -- beyond that, I can say nothing.

The portions are not so generous, but the food is cheap (and attractive), and the room is nicer than it has to be. The synthy muzak in the background is turned down low enough to be unobtrusive. The service is quick and polite. It's hardly destination dining, but I feel it represents a good value, especially for those seeking a quick dinner in a nice room on a low budget.

I went to Indie Cafe last night for the first time based on positive feedback that I have heard. I would say I am more of a sushi 'puriest' in that I enjoy simple nigiri and sashimi over the crazy 'americanized' rolls loaded with cream cheese, jalapeno, fruit, mayo, tempura pieces, etc. and am completely turned off by the trendy club scene spaces that just happen to serve sushi. The benchmark for me in Chicago in regards to nigiri is Katsu, but unfortunately with their selection and quality comes the high price which I treat myself to a few times a year but am looking for more of a regular, quality location.
I would have to say that Indie Cafe might be the best value for quality fish that I have found in Chicago. Again, you can find better quality and you can find less expensive but their combination of both sets Indie Cafe apart from many others. I started with a sample of nigiri- hamachi, scallop, salmon, kampachi and supe white tuna (escolar). The size of the cuts is very generous and particularly enjoyed the scallop and escolar enough that I went back for another round on each of those. I also had a smoked salmon, mango and avocado roll and a roll with avocado, hamachi, salmon, maguro and amber jack which were both very enjoyable. I can tend to be a soy sauce whore and I don't know where they get their selection but it is hands down the best flavored soy sauce I have had and definitely enhanced each piece of fish.
The one disappointment I did have is that their selection of nigiri is your basic run of the mill selection which excludes some of my favorites such as uni, sake, toro, or other fatty cuts of tuna. They did however have a big selection of innovative and creative rolls for those that are so inclined and I look forward to trying a few during my next visit. I was very satisfied with my experience and could find myself going back at least once a month for affordable quality fish in a nice neighborhood setting.

Dusting off an old thread about Indie Cafe in Edgewater... (more on Indie is here discussing the Thai/Sushi combo. Didn't have any Thai so my comments fit better here.)

A crazy work day meant someone was preparing our dinner and delivering it to us last night. I had a taste for sushi and decided to give Indie Cafe a whirl over our usual choice of Hello Sushi. I won't do that again. The biggest problem was the mushy sushi rice. The next problem was the off-tasting tuna in the spicy tuna roll. The rainbow roll and the pieces of nigiri (tuna and salmon) were okay, but not enough to save the meal. I might try Indie for their Thai, but I won't have their sushi again.