Kevin Shikami's new venture [Shikago]

Has anyone heard anything regarding Kevin Shikami's (of restaurant Kevin) new restaurant Shikago? I know it is to open in April or May but beyond that I've not heard a lot of buzz.

Shikago
190 S. La Salle St.
Chicago, IL 60603
312-781-7300
Moderator edit in of address

Cuv wrote:Has anyone heard anything regarding Kevin Shikami's (of restaurant Kevin) new restaurant Shikago? I know it is to open in April or May but beyond that I've not heard a lot of buzz.

Did you say BUZZ?

...With a neutral palette and lots of wood, the modern setting is perfect for the brothers' well-prepared Pan-Asian fare. Also, there will be private dining in the sky (or at least on the 40th floor), but for truly private dining, make use of the lengthy take-out menu.

Opening June 25
Shikago
190 S LaSalle

SSDD

Popped my head in to take a look , yesterday.
They said they just opened up 2 days ago.
I liked the look of the 2" Thick Wooden tables, and the Mild Steel legs (being a Metal Furniture Designer/builder- I notice these things).
They have yet to install a lot of the Art & a transluscent screen to separate the dining area from the lunch line.
The East wall has a great steel sculpture from a NYC transplanted artistian/sculptor.
We were lucky enough to have a friend take us up,
as his guest to the 40th floor "Library"-
The view (s) from there are spectacular!

and

Nice space.

Do they serve food there?

Yes, the "Private Club" on the 40th floor (that I took images of) serves food, that is<i> "elevatored up" </i>from the Restaurant in the Lobby of <b>190 S. LaSalle</b>,
<b>Shi ka Go</b>.

The Wife and I went tonight. Knocked out.

I've had a lot of tuna tartares in the past six months, but this one was memorable, rich, fatty, with wasabi treble notes that accented without overwhelming, excellent.

Quail was superb. Again, not sure I've ever had it so good: earthy yet light, meaty and subtle, sweet and savory.

Halibut was inspired, gingery, with a played-down sugaryness that brought out the sweetness of the meat.

Bulgogi was killer: lush, fatty, soft and, again, sweet, but in a good way, candy carne, I kept wanting to eat more.

Even the Shikago roll was pleasing: just tuna, avocado, cilantro, and some odd mayo, but it all worked, balanced, composed, really good, satisfying in its simplicity.

Overall, a wonderful experience. I eat at a lot of places, and most of them, I pretty much feel I get the idea after one visit. This place, I'd visit again.

A mutedly good experience here last night. A reservation was easy to be had for a Friday night, but service issues abounded right there. While friendly, the woman taking the reservation asked, "do you know where we're located?" Sure, I thought, I know where 190 S. LaSalle Street is. "Sure," I replied. What she neglected to tell us is that the restaurant is actually located around the corner on Adams, next to the W hotel. When you're crunched for time making a few turns around LaSalle in confusion is annoying. They also do not have valet parking, so you have to use the garage down the street, which charges $14 "evening rate." (We were told by the host that we could try to use the W's valet but that they get a little persnickety with that.)

When I walked in, this was not at all what I was expecting. Two huge flat-screen televisions in the host area (behind the bar), playing nothing in particular to no one at all. Off to the right of the entrance looks like a casual cafe (which was empty) with refrigerator cases (also empty). Where else have I seen that? Oh yeah, Aigre Doux. I had a hard time orienting myself (where was the host?), when the bartender greeted me and pointed me in the right direction (thank goodness the bar wasn't crowded, I could see this being an issue).

After finally making it to the host stand well into the restaurant, we were finally seated. The decor of this restaurant is Epcot Center meets fine dining. The sound system was louder than what is typical for fine restaurants, and for most of the evening, played uplifting space-agey music, like the kind you hear in the holding rooms at Epcot (at least when I last visited there many years ago). The stark white walls and slinky-like installation protruding from the ceiling all added to the Epcot feel. Or maybe it's Epcot Tokyo. Between the hardwood floors, the hardwood tables (no tablecloths) and the modern cafeteria-style chairs (which looked uncomfortable), the strange music, and brighter than usual lighting, nothing about this room said fine dining, comfort or relaxation. It felt more like a trendy, casual sushi bar. Luckily, they have booths. I glanced over at the middle-aged couple who was unfortunately placed on display in one of the tables in the middle of the room. They looked like tourists from the nearby hotel and seemed like they wanted the floor to swallow them up. This was over their head.

The food was well-portioned for the price but overall, lacking balance or punch in flavor. Perhaps it was an issue with execution. Everything was very tame. The Korean-style short rib spring roll was generous for $5 but could have highlighted the spicing on the short rib more - the accompanying sriracha glaze was too sparely doled out to get a taste of it but the bites where the sauce fought its way through deliciously complemented the meat. The overwhelming flavor was lettuce. The scallop maki with salmon and an Alaskan king crab talon really showcased Shikami's talents. The king crab was butter-poached and served with a red curry viniagrette; the silkiness of the scallop and the high-quality salmon in the maki was beautifully complemented by a spicy mayonnaise. Perfectly balanced flavors.

A filet of beef came with two large slices of perfectly medium-rare filet, buttery in texture, over carmelized celery root with mushrooms. I defy you to find better filet at a steakhouse. Unfortunately, the slice of "carmelized" celery root wasn't apparently carmelized, and tasted like nothing more than a slightly above-raw piece of celery root. This wasn't a pleasant combination with the very earthy mushrooms served with the dish. It needing something to balance everything but some bites were more pleasant than others. The opaa was described by the server as "sweet and sour," but was more sweet, although the sweet fish was high-quality and perfectly grilled medium-rare. The accompaniments all were too sweet, and no sour to be detected. Again, the flavors weren't as balanced as they could be.

Something that bears repeating is that the dishes are very reasonably priced. The korean short rib spring rolls were the "taste" portion at $5. The maki was $12, and came with three pieces and a piece of king crab. The fish was average priced, but the filet gave you two large pieces for less than $30.

Service needed improvement. Two servers were working this half-filled room, one more successfully than the other. In addition to being harried, they could be more polished. As the courses were being brought, there was a plate build-up (clearly the kitchen was faster than FOH), and water glasses went embarrassingly unfilled. After being offered a cocktail from the "full bar," I ordered a negroni, but then was later told they couldn't find the campari. Drinks were quaffed and all ice but nobody offered a replenishment. The entrees came out too quickly after the starters, and then the server was MIA, so there was nobody to take my order for a glass of wine to go with it. Luckily, the other server (who was backing up the less efficient server) caught my eye and helped me before my entree went cold. I appreciated that these two were doing the best they can; but with the room at half-full, I can't imagine if they were slammed with walk-ins.

On the one hand, Shikago has been open only a month and a half, but on the other hand, it feels like they've been opened two weeks.

Some suggestions:

1) Soften the decor. It's too stark, too youthful. I can't imagine the Loop suits in here during lunch. This is (Chi)cago after all; trendiness is not maintream.

2) Hire more servers. Smooth out the edges.

3) If you're not hiring more servers, have the kitchen keep pace with the servers. More importantly, I get the sense that the kitchen is not adeptly executing the subletly in some of the flavors of the dishes.

4) Hone dinner service. It's too loud, too bustling, too casual.

I wouldn't mind trying this again but I'm not likely to rush back. However, if this was solely a Loop lunch destination, I'd be ecstatic.

We differ in our perception of the Shikago experience, of course, though I initially shared your aggravation at being told to go “around the corner” to get in – but it was a walk of maybe 50 feet, so I felt rather foolish being even slightly ticked at this small request (a security concern, I suppose, so acceptable to me).

Parking? Saturday night on LaSalle we found street parking no problem. Your mileage did vary, but if I were recommending that someone go on a weekend, I’d definitely counsel them to simply spend a few minutes looking for a space (we parked a few feet from the “front” door).

The flat screens are odd, but they were playing a Kurosawa film without sound when we were there, and that seemed kind of cool/environment-appropriate; the music, yes, I could see how that would bother a person (I think I heard two different versions of “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”).

They say there’s no arguing taste, and there is surely no arguing taste in design. I thought the place somewhat stark, but in a Zen, stripped down, elemental way, and so I liked it. I’m glad they didn’t put tablecloths on the tables: the tabletops are cross-sections of 300 year old trees, which I found very understated and beautiful. From a distance, though, they just look like wooden tables. I think there’s some subtle stuff going on in décor and food, some, admittedly, maybe too subtle.

Nothing subtle about the empty cases; they're used during lunch for take-out. Maybe they should drape them over in the evenings. Again, with time such refinements may be expected.

Many of your bad feelings seem service-oriented, and service is usually an issue at these new places, so I cut them lots of slack. We had a tag-team of waitresses, too, but they were both such pleasant people that I was fine with both/either of them.

It sounds like your food was, in some cases, “perfect,” and I too found it exceptionally good (though I was much more pleased than you seem to have been). Thanks for mentioning pricing – we’ve paid much more for much less at many other places.

Anyway, I appreciate your perspective a lot, and it helps curb my enthusiasm for this place, which is one of the few I’ve been to in the past six months that I would like to go back to again.

Hammond

PS. See, this is why food critics try not to gush: http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/food/200 ... e-shikago/

David Hammond wrote:It sounds like your food was, in some cases, “perfect,” and I too found it exceptionally good (though I was much more pleased than you seem to have been).

So as to be clear about my food comments, only in one instance did I find the dish on the whole to be successful and that was the maki. In the case of the filet, the actual filet was cooked perfectly, but when paired with the accoutrements which are supposed to round out the dish, it was not successful (the combination of beef, mushroom and almost-raw celeriac did not suit my palate). This, as well as other dishes, were sauced inadequately, or the flavors were too tame and/or sweet and/or otherwise unbalanced.

I get the sense that the kitchen was not fully executing on some of the dishes. Which is why, well-after it gets its legs under it, I'd be willing to try it again.

But to each their own, or as they say, that is why Baskin-Robbins makes 31 flavors.

aschie30 wrote:But to each their own, or as they say, that is why Baskin-Robbins makes 31 flavors.

I agree. How do you feel about Di Nico's pizza in Berwyn?

David Hammond wrote:

aschie30 wrote:But to each their own, or as they say, that is why Baskin-Robbins makes 31 flavors.

I agree. How do you feel about Di Nico's pizza in Berwyn?

I'm afraid after seeing the pics in that thread, I don't foresee having the opportunity to try it.

I had dinner at Shikago last night. I hadn't planned to stop in--I had the type of week that usually leaves me forgoing everything but sleep on a Friday night, but seeing Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise at the Art Institute after work put me in an infinitely better mood, and I remembered David Hammond's review in the Reader, so I decided to stop in for dinner solo.

I had vaguely remembered something from LTH about the issue of the address vs. the actual entrance. Standing on Adams across from the W, I still had to call the restaurant to find the door. I wasn't annoyed, but I simply didn't see it standing on Adams.

If I'm dining alone on a Friday or weekend night, I usually sit at the bar so that I don't take up a table, but the dining area when I walked in at about 6:00 was empty except for one couple, so I took a booth. Again, I had read on LTH before my visit about the flat screen TVs. I probably wouldn't have been able to tolerate the bar anyway. There was no Kurosawa last night. The screens alternated between bizarre still shots of models that looked like they came out of a Neiman Marcus catalog and a frenetic compilation of clips from such movies as the Matrix, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Spiderman and a few other recent action/sci-fi/fantasy flicks that I couldn't name. It was weird. The curatorial decisions in the dining area were only a little less annoying. (I admit that I am extremely finicky when it comes to restaurant decor. I'm fine when there's no decor of which to speak, but I tend to be very critical when it's clear that effort and money were invested in what's hanging on the walls.) The hanging sculpture in the dining area looked like a Lee Bontecou fed through a shredder.

One last note about the environment. The music was too much for me. My nerves were frayed from the week as it was, and I tend to avoid bass-heavy environments. I'm somewhat embarrassed about this, but I recognized more than one of the songs from last night's soundtrack from my previous life as a Spinning instructor. My conclusion about the music: Coldplay should not be remixed.

OK. On to the food. I started with the Red Dragon maki. I don't know if this is a standard roll. It consisted of soft shell crab, cucumber, spicy mayo topped with spicy tuna. There was something rather tough and grass-like in the roll that was delivered to me. Had they dehydrated the cucumber in some way? I couldn't tell. The spicy tuna on top of the roll was quite nice, tasted better than its almost mealy appearance.

Then I had a taste of the short rib spring roll already mentioned in this thread. I thought it was a great deal for $5. It was somewhat thick on the lettuce, but the papaya was a very nice compliment to the rib meat.

The waitress convinced me that the scallop in ginger broth was the way to round out my meal, so that's what I got. I thought the scallop was perfectly cooked, but the flavors in the broth didn't play out quite right, and I found the mixture of greens somewhat tough (again, grass-like).

At this point in the meal, the Ribeira I was drinking had calmed my nerves enough to help me tune out of the bass of the sound system, so I decided to linger for dessert (still only one other table occupied in the dining area). I was trying to decide between a few things when my eye caught the name of the pastry chef at the bottom of the menu...a friend from high school! (Go Trinity Blazers!) This was a big surprise because the last I heard, about a year ago, Catherine Miller had taken the post at May Street Market (before that she was at Bin 36). Anyway, it was a luxury to relinquish decision making to Cathy. She sent out to me a very pleasing ginger-chocolate cake and an even better pineapple crumble topped with white chocolate ice cream. It was nice to catch up with an old friend.

A final note: With my dessert, I ordered chamomile tea, and I was very impressed with the size of Shikago's tea pots. I'm a big tea drinker and prefer my brews on the weak side, and it's always frustrating to me when I'm brought out a pot that only holds 1.5 cups of tea. I imagine this is a minor detail to most people, but a 4-5 cup tea pot in a restaurant is rare and very admirable in my book.

Anyway, I'd probably go back to Shikago with friends. The prices are decent, and while the environment is not the type I prefer, I think it's an excellent addition to the Loop, and I hope they get a lot more traffic. (Cathy told me they've been doing extremely well with takeout at lunch.)

The music here is quite...odd. I almost wonder if they're not trying (perhaps a bit too hard) to amp up a space that is otherwise moribund after everyone leaves LaSalle street and goes home after work. The presence of the generally disliked flat screen monitors might also be an effort to inject some life into a place that must be hard to fill after quitting time.

David Hammond wrote:The presence of the generally disliked flat screen monitors might also be an effort to inject some life into a place that must be hard to fill after quitting time.

It shouldn't be hard to fill after quitting time. If the bar was more comfortable or cozy, I'd bet they'd have quite an after-work bar business that lasts well into dinnertime. See Petterino's.

What's frightening is that I work less than a block away from there, and had NO IDEA that this place existed, as I rarely walk west on Adams. I'm out of the office all of next week but I'll have to stop in for a couple of appetizers some night. I'm always looking for a way to kill time while the expressway traffic dies down.

aschie30 wrote:

David Hammond wrote:The presence of the generally disliked flat screen monitors might also be an effort to inject some life into a place that must be hard to fill after quitting time.

It shouldn't be hard to fill after quitting time. If the bar was more comfortable or cozy, I'd bet they'd have quite an after-work bar business that lasts well into dinnertime. See Petterino's.

I should note that when I arrived Friday evening, the four or so tables in the bar area (not the seats at the bar but the seating area up front, separated from the main dining room) were actually occupied, so I think people who work in the area are starting to find their way to Shikago after qutting time.

In terms of the music,

David Hammond wrote:The music here is quite...odd. I almost wonder if they're not trying (perhaps a bit too hard) to amp up a space that is otherwise moribund after everyone leaves LaSalle street and goes home after work. The presence of the generally disliked flat screen monitors might also be an effort to inject some life into a place that must be hard to fill after quitting time.

I think this is a good point, but maybe they could just lower the music volume slightly until they have more of a proportionate crowd. The music as it is overwhelms the space. Obviously a very different venture, but I think TAC Quick, for example, manages to play similar bass-heavy music without it being intrusive.

Maybe my tastes are different from most others' but I thought the decor, seating, and plasma screens all fit together nicely. The food was fantastic (I had the maki rolls and spring rolls with a glass of white Burgundy). My only complaint is the server (although very nice and capable) was overly attentive and verbose. I will definitely go back.

I dined at Shikago last night with a friend and had a great experience. I had prepared by reading this thread, so I knew how to find the restaurant, hostess stand, etc. I could see how it would be confusing to someone not well-equipped with this information. The music is no longer overpowering, as noted in previous posts, so it looks like they've turned down the volume.

I have to admit the service still needs work, because we had two servers who were not well-coordinated with each other. I didn't see the need for two servers for us in the first place, but if they're going to work together, they at least need to know if our drink orders had already been taken by the other, etc. The net result was too much attention, but it wasn't too annoying. I should also note that there were maybe two or three other parties dining when we were, one of which was a party of 8.

The food was great. I had the short rib spring rolls described in previous posts, my only complaint was that it was falling apart when it arrived to the table, so a little difficult to eat, but good. My friend and I both had the duck, with accompaniments of rabbit and a little ramen and broth. Both of us loved this dish. The duck was cooked perfectly, and the rabbit and ramen were so terrific, I was almost tempted to forgo dessert and ask for seconds of this part. We ended with the peach dessert, which was nice as well. All in all, I would return. Total bill with shared apps and dessert, one cocktail and entree each, $60pp.

A good friend has been patiently waiting for me to return to work (after being gone for over a month) so that we could go to Shikago for lunch -- her treat. If I knew how delicious lunch would be, I might have come back sooner.

As soon as we sat down we were presented with crisp flatbread and a hummous appetizer. The hummous tasted like it had orange zest in it, which was different and refreshing. I am used to making hummous with vast quantities of garlic, so it was a milder flavor than I am used to, but I liked it a lot.

My friend did most of the ordering because we like to share food and she has a number of food allergies. We each had a soup and shared a couple of rolls and a shitake mushroom entree. I cannot tell you if the entree was altered in any way because Kim is allergic to tomatoes and alcohol, but it was outstanding. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and the rice that accompanied it had a delicious flavor.

We had the combination maki rolls and the spicy tuna rolls. Everything was incredibly fresh and the flavors were amazing together. I had a coconut milk and corn chowder that I would happily order again.

I look forward to stopping by Shikago again soon and sampling some of their "to go" offerings.

Suzy

sdritz wrote:allergic to tomatoes and alcohol

Wow.....that'd be tough.

. . . and she's diabetic, too. It's a nightmare. But they did a beautiful job working around her food problems.

Suzy

Met a friend for lunch today at Shikago. Our waiter recommended a special that contained scallops, ramps, bacon, grape tomatoes and watercress. I had to try it.

I would go back for this special again and again. It was just wonderful. The scallops were cooked to perfection, the tiny slivers of bacon really added to the dish and this was the first time I have tried ramps. I would love to eat them again, they were perfectly cooked and delicious.

I think many of the portions at this restaurant are small and they would like you to order several items on the menu to round out your meal. I don't think most people would have been satisfied with the size of the dish if that were all they were ordering, but it worked for me today.

I am also enjoying Shikago's carry out section. They have a nice variety of foods and the bento boxes are not horribly priced. It's a mere two blocks from my office and I find myself going there on a regular basis.

Suzy

No dedicated thread to this restaurant although it has been posted about viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9671&hilit=shikago here.

I had lunch today at this spot and found it totally underwhelming which is a huge disappointment considering Kevin was a great spot.

While my salmon entree was fairly good, I would say the biggest dissapointment was the sushi which most closely approximated the the tiny rolls and pieces I get when buying sushi at my local grocery store and not what I would expect at a restaurant like Shikago which is trying to be fine dining. $50 ea for lunch. My fifty dollars would have been better spent at Rosebud Prime which previously received my award for worst lunch value in the loop.

Service was also terrible.

Shikago
190 S LaSalle St
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 781-7300

Any news/recent visits since Kevin Shikami left?

iblock9 wrote:No dedicated thread to this restaurant although it has been posted about viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9671&hilit=shikago here.

I had lunch today at this spot and found it totally underwhelming which is a huge disappointment considering Kevin was a great spot.

While my salmon entree was fairly good, I would say the biggest dissapointment was the sushi which most closely approximated the the tiny rolls and pieces I get when buying sushi at my local grocery store and not what I would expect at a restaurant like Shikago which is trying to be fine dining. $50 ea for lunch. My fifty dollars would have been better spent at Rosebud Prime which previously received my award for worst lunch value in the loop.

Service was also terrible.

Shikago
190 S LaSalle St
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 781-7300

Was your comment on Rosebud prime regarding just the Kobe hot dog or rosebud prime in general? I know you didn't like that hotdog, but you previously liked other things (i think the tuna)

Anyone been to this place recently? When it first opened I was psyched to try, but never got around to it. Kind of slipped off the radar, but I'm having a meeting nearby in a week or so.

figmolly wrote:Anyone been to this place recently? When it first opened I was psyched to try, but never got around to it. Kind of slipped off the radar, but I'm having a meeting nearby in a week or so.

Didn't this place close some time ago?

We have not been but, to the best of my knowledge, it's still quite open.

Here's the website.

I remember what it was. Kevin Shikami had a row with his brother quit. The restaurant is still open, but with a different chef.

I have been to Shikago recently. The menu underwent some fluctuations, but is back to being a lot of seafood with an Asian flair.

Both times, I had a tuna duo for lunch: Seared tuna and tuna sushi. Both were prepared well, but not really remarkable. I think if I were going to have a nice lunch/dinner in the loop, I would go somewhere else. (maybe Italian Village or the Berghoff?)