Sushi at South Coast

Sushi at South Coast

Last night, The Wife and I went to South Coast in increasingly groovy South Loop.

Several of the preparations rely heavily upon tropical or even Native American ingredients, like mango, jalapenos, salsa and corn. Though these rough-cut additions and garnishes are well-nigh impossible to eat with chop sticks, they did add something to the taste.

In addition to these innovations on a theme of raw fish, I had my usual: chirashi. I have had chirashi at almost every sushi joint I have ever been to; I like the combo of sashimi and vinegar rice, and having a “touchstone” dish helps me evaluate the quality of the fish served.



(Sorry about the quality of the pic; I really need a new camera -- yeah, that's it: my camera sucks).

For some reason, just about every bite of this attractive presentation was somewhat…looser than I expected. I know there are different schools of sushi prep, and some are not to my taste (I’m not crazy about Katsu’s chunkier style, though I respect it), but this fish seemed just too soft, so I guess my question is: is “softness” ever a good (or intended) thing with sushi? I’m not talking about tenderness, which of course is good, but actual limpness, fragility, squishiness. I can’t imagine it is.

Also served here: the only geoduck I’ve had outside Seattle; perhaps because it was one of the day’s specials, it was very firm and fresh-feeling.

South Coast
1700 S. Michigan
312.662.1700

Went there for dinner last night. Had softshell crab and agedashi tofu as appetizer and various nigri and rolls as entree for the two of us. The place is still BYOB, and it was full (but no wait) at 8:30PM Friday. Ambience is typical "trendy" sushi spot, music volume though is on the low side, which is good at that time of the day. Service was actually really good, waitress made various suggestions on what's fresh that day and seem genuinely interested in providing a good dinning experience.

Onto the food. The softshell crab was hot, but soggy, which is really strange as a hot deep friend dish shouldn't be soggy at the same time (oil temperature not high enough?). The breading was done very nicely, not too thick, not too thin. Relatively good dish if it wasn't for the soggyness. Agedashi tofu was a dissapointment, but only because I'm used to the "traditional" way of it being served in a broth and lots of bonito w/o anything greens. South Coast put a twist on it and served it as a salad w/ some greens mixed in. Tofu and broth tasted fine, but just too strange for me to have greens mixed in there. I thought i'd give it a shot, and a shot was given.

Nigri and rolls at were OK, on par if not slightly, but just very slightly better than Triad down the road. I guess I would echo David's comment on the fish being a bit soft/loose, I think if they kept the temperature where the fish are stored just a tad lower might firm it up a bit, but they all tasted relatively fresh.

All in all, nice experience, nothing spectacular. If you live in the neighborhood, worth trying it out and judge for yourself if you would go back.

fenger wrote:Onto the food. The softshell crab was hot, but soggy, which is really strange as a hot deep friend dish shouldn't be soggy at the same time (oil temperature not high enough?). The breading was done very nicely, not too thick, not too thin.

Yes, the softshell we had was similarly soggy, and actually had significantly more "breading" than I would have expected at a place with Asian influences (they may very well have refined the "coating" since I was there). Actually, at a regular sushi place (which South Coast is not), I'd have expected tempura, and that's kind of what I was hoping for (perhaps without justification -- this place seems to be hanging its hat on innovative sushi/sashimi/rolls).

The GF and I went to South Coast last night and were quite impressed. I looked them up on Yelp as well, since there isn't too much here yet. The service was extremely good - our server, Frances, was extremely sweet and really enthusiastic about the food, and I believe that we had the most polite busser in Chicago. The sushi was deliciously fresh, and the spicy miso soup is a must. It's BYOB so we brought a nice bottle of chardonnay and it worked with everything we tasted. And if you have a sweet tooth, don't pass on dessert, especially the "banana maki" which was like bananas foster in sweet tempura crunchy batter!

wino66 wrote:The sushi was deliciously fresh, and the spicy miso soup is a must.

Any idea on the ingredient(s) that made the miso soup spicy?

kanin wrote:

wino66 wrote:The sushi was deliciously fresh, and the spicy miso soup is a must.

Any idea on the ingredient(s) that made the miso soup spicy?

Yes, they add jalapeño slices, and charge 50 cents more than the regular miso, but worth it in my opinion.

has anyone been to both Coast and South Coast and can compare/contrast or say if one is better or if it's the same thing? (I know one of my favs at Coast was the spicy miso too)... I also know both are BYOB, but South Coast charges a corkage fee whereas it's bigger brother doesn't..

also what's the deal with the "real" fresh wasabi that you can pay extra for? ($4 or $5 extra, i believe??) .. worth it? do all sushi places use non-fresh wasabi and is this something special or extraordinary? i get the idea that the good majority of places use fake/reconstituted non-fresh?

dddane wrote:has anyone been to both Coast and South Coast and can compare/contrast or say if one is better or if it's the same thing? (I know one of my favs at Coast was the spicy miso too)... I also know both are BYOB, but South Coast charges a corkage fee whereas it's bigger brother doesn't..

also what's the deal with the "real" fresh wasabi that you can pay extra for? ($4 or $5 extra, i believe??) .. worth it? do all sushi places use non-fresh wasabi and is this something special or extraordinary? i get the idea that the good majority of places use fake/reconstituted non-fresh?

I've only been to SC, but my GF has been to both and she says that both are similar food-wise, but better service at SC. And yes, $5 corkage is charged, but they are great with pouring wine the entire time, not just uncorking it and leaving you be so we have no problem with the fee.

The "real" wasabi is indeed freshly grated from the root, not reconstituted from powder typical with most sushi restaurants, and is $2 at South Coast. And it's definitely worth it if you like that horseradish punch in between your eyes . I must note that the fresh doesn't really mix well with soy, but rather sinks to the bottom since it's not a true paste. We just added a dab of the fresh to our pieces before eating them.

dddane wrote:also what's the deal with the "real" fresh wasabi that you can pay extra for? ($4 or $5 extra, i believe??) .. worth it? do all sushi places use non-fresh wasabi and is this something special or extraordinary? i get the idea that the good majority of places use fake/reconstituted non-fresh?

It's less a matter of it being fresh and more a matter of it being an entirely different plant. The "wasabi" at most sushi bars isn't wasabi at all, but horseradish that's been seasoned with dry mustard and colored green. The genuine article is really quite wonderful, and absolutely worth a few bucks. It's always seemed odd to me that some places sell it as a side, however. The last thing you'd want to do is dump it in soy. Ideally, you'd want to pay them a little extra to have the chef use real wasabi in his preparations.

Dmnkly wrote:Ideally, you'd want to pay them a little extra to have the chef use real wasabi in his preparations.

Yes, although the first time I had it, I was pleased to have a small mound of it separately so I could taste it. It's a fantastic flavor and worth the money, at least once.

Extremely difficult cultivation makes real wasabi very expensive, which is why most sushi all over the world (including Japan) uses an imitation paste.

Best,
Michael

wino66 wrote:I must note that the fresh doesn't really mix well with soy, but rather sinks to the bottom since it's not a true paste. We just added a dab of the fresh to our pieces before eating them.

I believe that this is the "correct" way to eat sushi. I've been told in Tokyo that mixing wasabi with the soy sauce is "a total disaster" - and at least, I prefer eating this way, even with the fake "wasabi" horseradish paste.

I find that fresh wasabi tastes totally different and nothing like the green paste (well, maybe it's about as similar as aspartame and sugar). It's less spicy and there's a subtle sweetness that really enhances the flavor of the fish.

I did see fresh wasabi once at Mitsuwa. It was not cheap though...