Happi Sushi makes me HAPPY

On my way home from another excellent dinner tonight with my 17 mos old son at Happi Sushi, I thought about all of the reasons I hadnt started a thread about the restaurant that I eat at most frequently in this world (other then Heaven on Seaven). It certaintly isnt the best Sushi I have ever had. That honor goes to a spectacular meal I had once upon a time at Matsuhisa in Los Angeles, and it certainlty doesnt even have the most appealing decor of any restaurant I have ever been to, heck it isnt even the most appealing looking sushi place in Highland Park where we are blessed with several very nice looking sushi restaurants. Why do I eat here at least once a week and take out from Happi Sushi equally as often and why have I not posted a thread about Happi?

The answer is because eating dinner at Happi Sushi feels like eating dinner at home with my family. It isnt fancy, it isnt beautiful, it is just the best in so many ways, some of which involve the food I really must take this place for granted and I think that it is time that I share my love for Happi Sushi.

Happi Sushi is a nice little restaurant tucked into the Ravinia Business district on Roger Williams in Highland Park. It is located near the train stop between a 7-11 and a dry cleaners, there is plenty of free parking on the street.

The main reason why I love Happi Sushi is because of way my family is treated by the chef/proprietor "James" and his sister "Kim" who runs the front of the house. I know my experience with James and Kim is not unique, everybody loves them, and for good reason. They make Happi Sushi the Happiest Sushi restaurant on earth. They remember everyones name and face, they remember that my son likes an umbrella in his water glass and they remember your likes and dislikes from almost your first visit. They make everyone feel like a regular

Happi has a wide variety of maki and James is constantly inventing new and interesting combinations of traditional and non-traditional ingredients. I think this abundance of maki is more of a reflection on the palate of the clientele then on authenticity of product served at the restaurant. I personally like Nigiri and have been offered large and tender cuts of every grade of toro, sake, hamachi, unagi, etc. The Nigiri are well constructed with the requisite amount of heat and a not overly sweet rice which I find to be the hallmark of a well constructed piece of sushi. I usually leave my choice to James. He picks out the the most appealing pieces for me and he has never served me wrong.

I also like his maki. On one of my early visits James constructed an inside-out roll made of white tuna, scallions and wasabi-roe which he named after me--the "Alex" roll. This was probably enough to make me a customer for life. He remembers that my wife likes avocado with her spicy tuna--even when she forgets to order it that way. He remembers that my son likes extra-extra fine cut tofu in his miso soup and he remembers that when my niece asks for "nemo balls" she wants salmon roe. They also allow you to create your own maki. It is all in the service.

I love the way Happi Sushi has helped to make my son an adventerous diner at such an early age. He loves tomago, miso soup, avocado rolls, pickled ginger, soba, tempura. He eats his best when he is at Happi Sushi, he sits still at the sushi bar while he is entertained. Happi Sushi is a great place for kids. They do everything in their power to make it a kid friendly experience, and the place is always filled with kids. If that isnt your cup of tea then I would factor it into your decision about whether to dine at Happi in the first place. This is really a neighborhood restaurant.

Even though they have a lot of different maki combinations, I consider Happi Sushi to be a traditional sushi joint. They dont overwhelm you with the craziness and for the most part the menu is traditional sushi/sashimi/nabeyaki with a chicken teriyaki bento thrown in for the non-shushers. The place is not overdone in the "modern sushi blonde wood zen" vibe. I find the place overwhelmingly pleasant and delicious. It doesnt hurt that it is less then half a mile from my house. If you are in the neighborhood you should give it a try---sit at the sushi bar and say hi to James and Kim.

Happi Sushi
561 Roger Williams Ave
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 432-1516

The original Happi Sushi was on Clark and Newport, circa late 70's-80's. I knew them well and loved their food. Got my sushi start there as well and made some lifelong friends. They also had a private club/hostess bar upstairs "Hizura Kokan" (sp) thats name loosely translated meant "change ashtray". I worked there for a couple of years playing in a trio (pre kareoke) doing Japanese pop and or Samurai war tunes ("it's a 'raltz' Alan-san) or "fee-rings and going downstairs to raid Happi Sushi for employee meals after the gig. Kama collar, Kakiyagi and O- toro were standards. I remember when they opened in Highland Park. Back then the owner was Ken-san. I believe he's somewhere in Michigan now. They were always friendly and most excellent.

Jazzfood wrote:The original Happi Sushi was on Clark and Newport, circa late 70's-80's...Got my sushi start there...

Ditto. You never forget your first time.

I think Happi Sushi originally moved to HP in 1980 or so and I believe at some point they were located uptown in Port Clinton Square where Bandaya is currently (I am not positive about this though).

I think it was closer to 82-3. I remember them trying to staff the place and making my buddy drive back and forth a lot. Port Clinton Sq sounds familiar.

In the 1970', early 1980's we went many times to a Happi Sushi in Arlington Heights. The staff and clientel were Japanese and the sushi/sashimi was excellent as well as the service. Then it closed and the location in Highland Park appeared but with different chef's. -Dick

iblock9 wrote:I think Happi Sushi originally moved to HP in 1980 or so and I believe at some point they were located uptown in Port Clinton Square where Bandaya is currently (I am not positive about this though).

Wasn't it named 'Happy Sushi 1984?' I never went, though the sign (and I presume the location) was always seen over the Port Clinton parking garage entrance on Laurel Avenue. I always thought it was a poor name choice instantly dating yourself from 1985 forward.

Regards,

I had dinner this evening at Happi Sushi. James informed me that Happi will now offer a brown rice option for all their negiri and maki. As a brown rice sushi lover and an unabashed fan of Happi Sushi I am very excited about this news.

Happi Sushi
561 Roger Williams Ave
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 432-1516

Brown rice sushi strikes me like whole wheat pasta; bleh! And just plain wrong.

I get the sukiaki? They are so nice and they take care of my son while we eat. Kim is the best. Please support your local business'.

Hi,

Closed perhaps temporarily with signs on the window stating, "Opening soon, new owner."

Regards,

Sad and a sign of the times.
The original Happi Sushi was in Arlington Heights.
My wife and I made the drive from Wisconsin on many many Saturday nights to sit at the Sushi Bar with the predominantly Japanese business men that populated the place.
A great clasically trained sushi chef, attentive Japanese wait staff and we had our own bottle of Chivas.
Tell them your number and your bottle appeared with bowl of rocks, tumbler of water and glasses.
Sadly, Arlington Heights closed and Highland Park appeared but different chefs and was never the same.
Now Sushi is on a par with McDonald's, most chefs are not clasically trained and most of the time, the classic greeting upon entering is gone.
Sushi is NOT just about eating raw fish.
It''s a cultural appreciation of food and species from the sea, art of preperation and service and the interplay between the chef and the patron.

-Dick

Are you saying Arlington Heights preceded Clark and Newport? That I don't recall.

I'm still friends w/the itamae Jiro Iwata that I met there. Stayed in his home and worked in his izakaya outside of Nagoya for months. The Chivis in lockers also played a signiciant role in the hostess bar that was above the Clark and Newport store I mentioned above.

It''s a cultural appreciation of food and species from the sea, art of preperation and service and the interplay between the chef and the patron.

Couldn't agree more w/this. That trip was seminal for me and affected every molecule. Haven't looked at the world the same since.

budrichard wrote:The original Happi Sushi was in Arlington Heights.

No, the original Happi Sushi was in Chicago (1978 if not slightly earlier; 3346 N Clark), not Arlington Heights. There's a fair amount of Chicago sushi history in this thread.

This Tribune Local interview from earlier this fall says Happi Sushi opened up 10 years ago in Ravinia and hints at no previous incarnations in Chicago, Arlington Heights, and/or Port Clinton. It says the chef/owner is 45 and discovered the location while attending a concert at Ravinia, which further makes me think it may not be related.

Is it possible that Happi Sushi is something of a generic name? A quick google search finds a Happi Sushi in Des Moines and a Happy Sushi in Springfield, Ill.

Regardless, this news is a huge bummer. This was our local go-to place for sushi. They had fun and creative rolls and as mentioned above in this thread and in the article they were incredibly friendly and had a preternatural ability to remember their customers. There are at least three other sushi restaurants in downtown HP and a few more on the north end/Highwood, but it was the service and ownership that set Happi apart.

A friend who lives in the neighborhood mentioned this on her Facebook page a few weeks ago, and another friend drove by and confirmed the opening soon, new owner sign. My impression is that Happi Sushi was very popular in the Ravinia neighborhood. From my perspective, though (not living in the neighborhood any more but not far away and in HP a few times a month), its dinner-only hours (4:30 or 5 to 9 or 9:30, depending on the day) limited its business. I'd have gone fairly regularly after church on Sunday or during the week if they'd been open for lunch.

iblock9 wrote:I think Happi Sushi originally moved to HP in 1980 or so and I believe at some point they were located uptown in Port Clinton Square where Bandaya is currently (I am not positive about this though).

Jazzfood wrote:I think it was closer to 82-3. I remember them trying to staff the place and making my buddy drive back and forth a lot. Port Clinton Sq sounds familiar.

Cathy2 wrote:Wasn't it named 'Happy Sushi 1984?' I never went, though the sign (and I presume the location) was always seen over the Port Clinton parking garage entrance on Laurel Avenue. I always thought it was a poor name choice instantly dating yourself from 1985 forward.

A Tribune article from August 18, 1985 says Happi Sushi in Highland Park (600 Central; Port Clinton Square) opened six months earlier. So that makes it 1985 (or possibly late 1984).

AlexG wrote:This Tribune Local interview from earlier this fall says Happi Sushi opened up 10 years ago in Ravinia and hints at no previous incarnations in Chicago, Arlington Heights, and/or Port Clinton. It says the chef/owner is 45 and discovered the location while attending a concert at Ravinia, which further makes me think it may not be related.

Is it possible that Happi Sushi is something of a generic name? A quick google search finds a Happi Sushi in Des Moines and a Happy Sushi in Springfield, Ill.

That same 1985 article clearly calls Happi Sushi in Port Clinton Square the third location (after the original in Chicago and the second in Arlington Heights). I don't know how (or if) the newer Happi Sushi on Roger Williams Avenue is related to the Port Clinton Square location.

Drove by tonight and Happi Sushi is back open. Banner touting "grand re-opening under new management."

A friend who lives in the Ravinia HP neighborhood (the same friend who told me the previous Happy Sushi owners were selling the business to a new owner) told me it was reopened. Google says that today it's open 11:30 to 2 and 5 to 9:15. That's a significant change; under the previous ownership, it was only open between 4:30 or 5 and 9 or 9:30 pm. I hope the new owners put some info on their hours for each day of the week (and how about a website?) up on the internet soon. I am glad to hear it has reopened but don't anticipate being able to get there unless they're open for lunch on weekends ideally or at least on some weekdays.

Hi,

According to this article, Happi Sushi's owners for the last two years are Koreans. They had previously worked in Japanese restaurants making sushi.

They recently have added Korean dishes to the menu.

I have never gone there, though I have been aware of it for years. Now they include Korean, I might just make it there.

Happi Sushi is at 561 Roger Williams Avenue, Highland Park. Lunch hours are 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, and noon-2:30 p.m. Saturdays. Dinner hours are 4:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 4:30-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, and 4:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Sundays. Closed Mondays. Call 847-432-1516 or go to happisushichicago.com.

Regards,
Cathy2