We went to Cusine of India Sunday (7/15) and found it vastly improved over our last trip there 2 years ago. I could see it get old if you ate their frequently like dicksond but it's by far better than India Harvest which to me always has a cold atmosphere. Cusine was quite busy around noon and many Indian families were present. The buffet was kept fresh and the water glasses kept full. BTW, I could have sworn the Sakura speace had a For Lease sign up.

Well, no LTE, the for lease sign is on the space next to Sakura, though it is right next to their door, and if I had not seen the Open sign on the east wall as I drove up, I would have had doubts, too.

Note to Sakura - need to improve your signage, your location is already enough of a problem.

Now for the rest, and this is the kind of review I really hate to write, and my lunch was not so hot either.

At 12:30, the place had one other diner. Service was prompt and friendly, though and the extras were nice. My sashimi lunch special came with miso (small cup but lots of nice seaweed), a small plate of edamame (just fine, could have used a touch more salt but just getting the edamame was a pleasant surprise) and a largish salad - mostly iceberg lettuce with a bland, watery mayo/ginger dressing.

The fish was more problematic. For some of it, the best I can say is that if I closed my eyes, I would only have been able to guess it was sushi from the texture if that - there was little flavor, and about half the fish tasted identically bland. The mackerel and tuna were better, but one piece of fish had the slightest whiff of ammonia. So I am guessing there is an issue with turnover on a Tuesday at lunch.

My anago was much better in flavor, but the texture was soft, almost squishy, which I think is another pretty major defect. The eel should not remind one of eating sea urchin.

By the time I left things had picked up, and were really hopping with 4 diners enjoying their offerings.

Can't imagine the place will survive long unless they are doing a major, major dinner and weekend business, and I can't imagine there would be any reason to mourn their passing. Just down the street, and in a better location, you have Yamado which is reliable and well priced. A block east Asia Market is very cheap, lacking in the more interesting options perhaps, but quite fresh. Sushi House in downtown N'ville is okay.

But even if there were not so many better options nearby, I suppose I would have to skip sushi altogether before I go back to Sakura. Because these days I like to take the fish plain, all alone, close my eyes, take a bite and be transported to the ocean, tasting the spume in my mouth, imagining the salty breeze in in my face. This was more like discovering a forgotten package in the back of the freezer, defrosting and tasting it, and still being unable to tell what the heck it used to be. Okay, the fish mostly looked like it should with only a couple of exceptions, but that was the high point - it was downhill after the first visual impression.

My turn to take one for the team, it seems.

[quote="dicksond"]Apparently the only person who has heeded my Asia Supermarket recommendation is my son...quote]

I stopped by on Thursday for a good beef bento meal - a shrimp maki, rice, beef (teriyaki?), cucumber salad, miso. It was very nice. Like you say, nothing extraordinary, but a good quick food court meal. Any comments on the sushi? Do they do a decent job with it?

Also spotted some asian ingredients I might pick up after work soon - won ton wrappers, etc. Although I'm really looking forward the to the penidng openting of H-Mart down the road.

The sushi is quite good at Asia Supermarket. Very fresh, not the highest grade or the best selection, but the freshness makes up for that. And the price is good. Darned good eel.

The opening of H Mart must be getting close, as I have seen their trucks making deliveries for a couple of weeks.

Thanks, Dicksond. We've only been in the area since last Halloween, and hadn't thought to venture inside Asia Supermarket. I had their sushi - the toro was a delight - I'd forgotten how good real sushi tastes after getting take out at various supermarkets. A spicy tuna handroll was indeed spicy, but with a Korean spice more familiar from bibambap. Not bad, just unexpected, having previously been limited to Japanese versions. Mrs. C&T had noddles with shrimp tempura, and said the shrimp & broth were the best since we visited Japantown in SF.

I've been enjoying trying out the recommendations of this forum for sometime, and would like to thank all the contributors for numerous tasty meals.

Dicksond, you've been a great help, but I just can't agree with you on the relative merits of the Emperor vs Fabulous. We had lunch last week for under $12 (before tip) with shrimp wonton & noodle soup, and beef with wide rice noodles. Not quite as good as the fish in black pepper sauce over rice, but good enough to keep us visiting weekly.

I'm looking forward to trying the Indian places mentioned above. We mostly head east, and have found the lunch buffet at Sher-a-Punjab on 63rd at least as good Indian Garden (on Cass), and much more convenient. We've found both of these to be superior to India House on Butterfield in Oak Brook.
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Fabulous Noodles... ah, they live up to their name. I popped in there for lunch about two weeks ago on a rainy summer day and ordered the BBQ pork noodles and eggrolls. The wonderful hostess commented I must be very hungry, and inwardly feared I might have eyes bigger than my stomach as my mother liked to say when I was little.

As a special note, the regular tea they serve at Fabulous Noodles was a perfect compliment to the food. The earthy aroma and taste offset the sweetness of the barbequed pork slices and I found myself drinking quite a few cups before my meal came. The eggrolls are generously portioned and stuffed with shrimp and chopped vegetables (can't remember what, specifically), and I got through half of one before waiting for the noodles to show. They were great, extremely filling and everything priced at less than $10 for lunch. The lunch menu has a lot of offerings for less than $8 and on a rainy day in the autumn when the weather's cooled, I so intend to be there. It's definitely on the list of "excellent little places" around, though the restaurant isn't much to look at in a strip mall just off Ogden. It's closed on Mondays, too, which is inconvenient for my noodle cravings.

I haven't tried House of Emperor yet though it's quite close by. I remember being surprised by the broad range of food they offered and their relatively late hours.

Cho Dan (sp?)/the House of Tofu in the Ogden Mall was surprisingly good. I don't have a great deal of experience with Korean food but the menu is laid out easily enough. You get an array of offerings with the tofu soup options, and I went for moderately spicy rather than mild -- definitely not a shock for my palate but those with a real taste for spice may want to veer upwards. The food was enjoyable and a good choice for lunch.

jow wrote:Also, Bamboo Garden, the Indo-Chinese place on Golf Rd in Hoffman Estates is opening a branch in Naperville. It is located in the strip mall at the north-west corner of Rt 59 and New York Ave, just north of Fox Valley mall, across from Kohl's. It is still being furnished, but the sign is up. I guess it should open in a couple of weeks or so.

Has anyone been to Bamboo Garden or the place referenced above, Tadka? Could not find any posts. I am considering trying it this weekend and am curious whether the food is going to really be higher quality and/or offer something different, or is it just about a prettier room and more attentive service.

Looks like Tadka is the chain/franchise successor to Bamboo Garden.

Looks like Tadka and Bamboo Garden are two separate restaurants located side by side. Tadka has the usual Indian restaurant menu, whereas Bamboo Garden has an Indo-Chinese menu.