ronnie_suburban wrote:

stevez wrote:

seebee wrote:In the picture of the nigiri - what is that with the translucent kinda cover in the lower left hand corner?

Looks like scallop to me. Katsu often has excellent scallops that he has flown in from Seattle.

I'm sorry that I cannot recall the fish under the cover (will check my notes later) but the cover itself was a special ginger that Katsu prepared. It was gari-like but a bit omre aromatic and complex.

=R=

I think that is saba (mackerel) or some fish related to it. Katsu served that to me once when I told him I absolutely positively hate saba... except that one! The ginger really helps with the strong flavor...

CrazyC wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

seebee wrote:In the picture of the nigiri - what is that with the translucent kinda cover in the lower left hand corner?

I'm sorry that I cannot recall the fish under the cover (will check my notes later) but the cover itself was a special ginger that Katsu prepared. It was gari-like but a bit omre aromatic and complex.

=R=

I think that is saba (mackerel) or some fish related to it. Katsu served that to me once when I told him I absolutely positively hate saba... except that one! The ginger really helps with the strong flavor...

You are correct. I just checked my notes and it definitely was mackerel, delectable mackerel.

=R=

Ronnie,

Good to see you went back to Katsu. In my opinion, the highest quality, most dependable fish in all of Chicago.

Was at Katsu this past Friday evening, after a long (way too long) hiatus from visiting. Friend who was coming to town requested that this be her first meal after arriving from the airport, and we took another friend who is new to the sushi world along with us.

Boy oh boy, it was every bit as phenomenal as we remembered.

We started with the pumpkin tempura, which was slightly blander than I recalled but still a fun beginning to the meal. I love pumpkin and I love tempura, so there really isn't any way they could mess this up too badly in my eyes.

Given that nothing at Katsu disappoints, we just ordered chef's choice at one of the price points offered - I think $80. We received two rolls (Katsu roll and negihama) as well as: the delightful shrimp, whose crispy exterior was more than happy to smile for the camera before his head was bitten off; salmon, just as buttery and mouthwatering as I recalled; the most pristine yellowtail I've ever had, and some bluefin tuna, which was nice and fresh but not the favorite of the night.

Ever the gluttons, we dove back in. This time we just ordered what we had been missing from the previous round: three pieces of scallop, my all-time favorite; some more yellowtail and salmon; spicy tuna roll; and a super white/scallion roll.

Katsu's yellowtail has perhaps ousted Katsu's salmon as the most succulent and crave-worthy piece of fish I have ever had. And the spicy tuna roll isn't messing around with the spicy. I love that they just use chili sauce rather than a mayo.

The one downside: the scallops had shiso leaf hidden between the fish and rice, and my dining companions and I simply don't care for shiso (that's putting it mildly, actually). Just too menthol-y. But once we took out the leaves we went on our merry way.

We finished off with some coconut and mango ice creams/sorbets, then made our way to In Fine Spirits tavern. An excellent opening to our weekend of gluttony, which also included brunch at Uncommon Ground and dinner at L2O (which I’ll post about soon). I live 15 minutes away from Katsu by bus, and pass it twice a week, and yet I hardly ever make it inside. I’m going to have to do something about that…

Dined at Katsu Saturday night with my husband and some friends who were in from out of town. Our group ran the gamut from a "California roll and miso soup only" eater to a lover all all things raw. We had suggested this as our favorite sushi place in Chicago with the freshest fish but definitely the price tag to go with it. (We gave them a bunch of other choices - Volo, Primehouse, Sweets & Savories, but this was the winner.)

In an effort not to save the punchline until the end, we had a rough start but in the end a wonderful meal and a great time.

After we were seated, we waited about 20-25 minutes until our waiter (a male who I think other people on the forum have had a problem with before) finally came by. He must have flown by us between the kitchen and his other tables 10-12 times occasionally saying "be there in a minute, I promise" to the point it became almost laughable. My husband and I were starting to slink down in our chairs hoping that Katsu would eventually redeem itself because our restaurant pick was starting to not look so good. The table next to us that was seated at about the same time got drinks and appetizers before we got the time of day. So, choppy start.

However, as soon as our waiter came by, he used that winning combination of apologies, humor and free drinks that then won us over for the rest of the night. Relief! Delicious food! More free drinks! Seriously though, his level of service was instantly more attentive which made us finally feel welcome and relax.

A quick summary of the food - delicious and the same quality we've all come to expect from their fish. The pumpkin tempura was a little bland and one note for a $9 appetizer, but the baby clams served in a flavorful broth were a big hit. The sashimi - yellowtail and fatty tuna - fired on all cylinders. A myriad of rolls were enjoyed by all. After they accidentally brought out two spicy tuna rolls instead of spicy octopus, our waiter acknowledged the mistake, apologized, and told us to keep the spicy tuna rolls gratis and brought the octopus rolls within minutes.

So, all's well that ends well, especially when he brought us ladies a couple of complimentary rounds of sake at the end of the meal and a final apology for the rough start. And our sashimi lover, who doesn't live in Chicago and considers nights like this a big treat, announced it was the highest quality and best prepared sushi he's ever had.

Made my maiden trip and will just add that this was the freshest tasting sashimi i've ever eaten. I'm no sushi expert and i don't pretend to be, but this was clearly on another level. The fatty tuna and super white tuna were stellar. I may as well have been eating them on the very vessel that caught them.

Slap me if you must, but I'm a sucker for beef-asparagus rolls and this one is the best i've ever had. It was so perfectly balanced in flavor and heft that I ordered one to go and ate it an hour later while laying in bed.

It's pricey, and in this economy we all need to be a little wiser about spending our money. But nobody will fault you for spending it here.

Katsu is a refuge. The nicest, calmest staff imaginable, and ingredients so fresh and trustable that no flicker of concern occurs when reviewing even the less seasonal or more potentially fishy selections. I sat at the sushi bar this evening in the otherwise empty space, and was warmly engaged by the two chefs present (an older man and a younger woman). Their craft was excellent - the special toro in the flaky nori and gold leaf, and the pungent tako roll with scallions and fresh wasabi - and their conversation rewarding. I was generously offered a small bowl of archetypal miso and cold bean sprouts with tofu skin in light ponzu, which were a perfect counterpoint for the rich maki. I did get the distinct feeling that they'd like to have more regular business in addition to the Japanese MLB players, Chicago news personalities, online food enthusiasts, and novelists for whom they're a treasured secret. With so many lesser sushi places opening to vacuously more voluminous responses, I hope a niche for Katsu always persists.

Santander wrote:I sat at the sushi bar this evening in the otherwise empty space...I did get the distinct feeling that they'd like to have more regular business in addition to the Japanese MLB players, Chicago news personalities, online food enthusiasts, and novelists for whom they're a treasured secret.

Has business fallen off at Katsu the last few years? I know when we first started going there it seemed like you couldn't entirely count on being able to get a reservation. Then, a couple years after that, you could, but most tables were occupied. Then, the last time, we were practically the only ones there, as you were. But that was an earlyish dinner and I thought it was probably a fluke. (No pun intended.)

Ronnie linked to this NewCity piece on Katsu, but I think it goes here too. I'm not sure what it is, but I like it, right down to the Ultraman shot. Fred Sasaki could be the Nisei Hungryrabbi we've all been waiting for.

http://resto.newcity.com/2009/11/11/bes ... ter-katsu/

I really enjoyed how he ripped yelp reviewers a new asshole. I too, esteemed writer, despise Lauren H!

Regarding Fred Sasaki's piece, thanks for the kind words. It's the kind of weirdly brilliant writing that makes my week. I thought you all would especially appreciate the informed debate this story has set off on Yelp, where Yelpers apparently interpreted it as a critique of them. http://www.yelp.com/topic/chicago-coupl ... ty-no-less

brianhey wrote:Regarding Fred Sasaki's piece, thanks for the kind words. It's the kind of weirdly brilliant writing that makes my week. I thought you all would especially appreciate the informed debate this story has set off on Yelp, where Yelpers apparently interpreted it as a critique of them. http://www.yelp.com/topic/chicago-coupl ... ty-no-less

LMAO! You meant 'informed,' right?

=R=

Of course I meant informed. Why, otherwise I would be guilty of using sarcasm and I don't think sarcasm is in the repertoire when Yelp is involved, apparently.

brianhey wrote:Regarding Fred Sasaki's piece, thanks for the kind words. It's the kind of weirdly brilliant writing that makes my week. I thought you all would especially appreciate the informed debate this story has set off on Yelp, where Yelpers apparently interpreted it as a critique of them. http://www.yelp.com/topic/chicago-coupl ... ty-no-less

Wow, Yelp continues to frighten me. I love how they accuse the writer of this stylized piece as having no creativity and leaching off of Yelp OR actually planting the referenced negative reviews in order to write the piece.

Dear Yelp,

Either the writing or the planting were far more creative than anything I have ever read in the 90 seconds of my life I've spent on your site.

If you need me, I'll be back in my own foodie echo chamber.

-gg

I will try to bring this thread up to date.
Last night, my wife and I had one of the omakase selections, entirely of Katsu's choosing after we explained that we wanted to concentrate on the sashimi/sushi and were open to anything he would care to make for us.
We had a nice amuse as the French would term it and then a beautiful sashimi selection, followed by a very nice Chawanmushi. The sashimi came with fresh grated wasabi and uzu, a nice touch of only the best sushi bars. A sushi selection in the old style followed where the topping overlaps off both sides of the rice. My wife pronounced this the best Japanese meal she had ever had in a sushi bar.
Katsu is very knolwedgable and knew of all our favorite Chicago area Chef's both Japanese and whatever. The origin of each piece of fish was known and quality as well as presentation, impeccable. Not a single maki roll was seen. For the die hard sushi/sashimi aficionado Katsu is the place.-Dick

Budrichard,

can I ask how much that was? I'd like to do this for our not on Valentine's Day Valentine dinner.

JeffB wrote:Ronnie linked to this NewCity piece on Katsu, but I think it goes here too. I'm not sure what it is, but I like it, right down to the Ultraman shot. Fred Sasaki could be the Nisei Hungryrabbi we've all been waiting for.

http://resto.newcity.com/2009/11/11/bes ... ter-katsu/

Sweet Lord - I have be laughing with tears since reading that. A monstrously hilarious piece of writing. Is Sasaki on this site? That was a combination of Dostoevsky, Jospeh Heller and Monty Python.

I am , I am, I am Katsu's bitch.

Wasn't so sure of the threads title but obviously it was only because I had not yet eaten at Katsu. I found a chance to remedy this last Friday night.

I picked up my wife after work in Lincoln Park and started right away to the far reaches of Peterson. After arriving around 5:45 and promptly finding a great spot on the street we entered teh restaurant as one of only 3 tables. Lucky for us this meant we could snag a seat at the sushi bar with chef Katsu and what a seat it was.

We started with a daily special of Super White Torro from Spin and Blue Fin torro from Greece. Both were remarkable in both flavor and texture and when paired with a beautifully fresh shiso leaf only got better.

Next we went with Chef Katsu's recomendations and had the steamed baby clams from Seattle and Unagi egg custard. The clams were teh best stamed clams I have ever had, period. Broth was even better.

My wife espically liked the egg custard. With a texture that quivered like the breast of Venus and sizeable pieces of shitake and unagi it was a real treat both in flavor and mastery of texture.

Feeling strong at this point we asked for the chef to prepare 5 pieces of sushi for each of us. Since the fish so far had been so good I really wanted to see what this man does with rice! We recieved the same 5 each which was perfect as sushi pieces are no good for shareing. 1 - Warm unagi, unbelieveble. 2 - Giant Scallop from Seattle. 3 - Marinated Mackerel with seaweed. 4 - Salmon, not sure were it is soursed from but great flavor, color, and texture. 5 - Super White Torro

After this my wife was perfect but I decided to order a bit more so we had 2 rolls of the chefs choice which included one octupus and shiso roll and one super white torro and green onion. Both were great. Finally seeing a pumpkin tempura walk by I broke down and also ordered one for us to share.

Overall best sushi I have found in Chicago if not anywhere I have benen fortunate enough to visit.

Dinner for 2 with tip $250

Cheers,

Bourbon

We went to Katsu on Friday night to celebrate my birthday. Everything was fantastic. My favorites were definitely the chawanmushi egg custard with eel and the scallop sashimi. A quick question for those familiar with Katsu... we had the deep fried flounder where you get the whole deep fried skeleton to eat. This comes with some type of sticks on top that look almost like deep fried, but otherwise uncooked, spaghetti. What are these sticks? The ones that came with our dish were pink. Any information?

I went to Katsu on Saturday night. I am only able to go maybe 1-2 time per year and have to say it is my favorite sushi in the city. in my past experiences I have put the ordering in the hand of Katsu to prepare and deliver the best and freshest selection of nigiri for that night and have never been let down. This past visit I decided to order for myself and got a wide selection of my favorites- uni, saba, salmon, o-toro, super white tuna, scallop, king crab, hamachi, etc. and although was very good was not the melt in your mouth experience that I had previously had and noticed some of the garnishes were not as elaborate as before.
Did I miss the mark by taking the ordering upon myself and not letting the master Katsu do his job? I figured my selection was varied enough that i would get some great selections but overall it just seemed less than I had previously encountered; could there really be that much difference in ordering off the menu and having the chef select and prepare what he thinks is best for that night or could it just be an off night for the fish and/or restaurant?

What time did you go? did you sit at the bar or a table? Did Katsu or his assistant prepare your sushi/sashimi?
We always dine early so we have the attention of the chef we want to make our dinner. We always sit at the bar and we just about always explain we want the chef to chose and pace the meal.
If you sat at the bar and Katsu prepared your meal, there should have been no difference unless i suppose he was very busy. Katsu did tell me that early on Saturday is best as it can become very busy and there is only Katsu and his assistant to prepare for the restaurant.-Dick

I was there at 6:30 on Saturday, so somewhat early and before most of the crowd. I do usually sit at the bar and just get the pieces as Katsu prepares them but this time I was at a table. Assumed that the preperation was by Katsu but to be honest didn't even turn around to check if he was making it.

Great meal at Katsu last night. Not cheap by any means, but definitely worth it. I won't waste time echoing the praise this thread has generated. My opinion is that this is the best sushi in Chicago, and personally, some of the best sushi I have ever had (haven't been to Yasuda yet, haven't eaten lots of sushi in LA).

The server (who is hilarious by the way) recommended a medium-bodied sake that I enjoyed, but wouldn't order again as it left a strange astringent aftertaste. Still, not a bad deal at $24 for 300ml.



We started with egg custard with eel, mushrooms and ginko. This was a revelatory dish for me. In this setting it made so much sense; uniquely Japanese in its simplicity and austerity. Had I been served a dish like this at Schwa, I would have thought it extremely creative and no less wonderful. The custard was light as I've ever had, the mushrooms earthy and the eel slightly sweet and fishy. A bit of soy and orange zest rounded things off very nicely.



Clams in sake broth, which came out on the house - the server insisted we try it and didn't charge us for it. We initially turned down his offer to order it because we had clams with black bean sauce that morning in Chinatown. These were in a completely different league. The broth tasted intensely of clam without any funk or fishyness.



Otoro with scallion roll was great. The tuna melted on my tongue.



Chef's choice sashimi and nigiri. Everything was great. Highlights were mackeral that was fishy (characterstic of mackeral) but also sweet. Best mackeral I've ever had. Tuna and wild Scottish salmon were also great. Yellowtail nigiri was delicious. Unlike others here, I really like the giant cuts on the nigiri.





We finished with immaculate uni and sweet, fresh scallop nigiri.



I loved Katsu. My womans already wants to go back. Maybe after I get my refund.

On that note - it is damn expensive. Dinner for two with sake, 1 beer and tip was $236. Not terrible, but in LA or NY you could probably get better sushi for the price (or sushi of similar/slightly lesser quality for a lot cheaper, see Tomoe in Greenwich Village, NYC for example).

To end on a positive note - again this place is a gem; and certainly worth going out of your way for and saving up for if you live in Chicago and love sushi.

Well...I gratefully join the Katsu bi-yatch club.

Went to Katsu last night with wife and best friends in tow. And I decided this was one of those 'bucket list' moments--at this place & time--to order an omakase sashimi platter & let quality trump price or budget.

With an accompanying junmai sake, I put myself in chef Katsu's hands & he delivered magnificently with a 16" tray of high-end fare: yellowtail from Tokyo's Tsukiji market, flounder wrapped florally around thinly-sliced lemon, fatty toro & bluefin tuna, that wonderful wild salmon, threads of ika (squid), creamy scallop & tremendous mackerel. All of it dressed creatively with flakes of this & that, perfect condiments. Katsu's wife made a point to tell me that the wasabi was fresh, potent, and it should be tasted directly on the sashimi, not necessarily mixed with soy. She wasn't kidding, as that horseradish kicked me in the back of the head a few times, but that taste & that of the sea from what has to be the freshest sashimi in Chicago was a transcendant combination. I could almost hear the waves crashing.

Am I 'ruined' from enjoying other, less stellar sushi? I hope not--we'll see, once my tastebuds lose this memory. Was it worth the three-figure price tag? Absolutely. Without a doubt. The feeling of well-being afterwards was similar to an endorphin rush from a great massage, a completed sale, a football bet ending in my favor. Salut to chef & Mrs. Katsu!

FINALLY made it to Katsu last night. As an avid sushi fan in the sushi purgatory called Chicago, I don't know what took me so long. (OK, I do, I live downtown and Katsu isn't open early in the week when I would be more into the schlep.)

It was the first real sushi I have had in Chicago. My meal was similar to the above posts. The fish was great and varied, he is the consummate host, and it reminded me how a sushi experience was supposed to be. He takes pride in his fish and it shows.

I look forward to returning and encourage any more stragglers like me to make the trip, sit at the bar, and put yourself in Katsu-san's hands. You will not be disappointed.

Chico

I'm going to Katsu tonight for the second time...the first time, we ordered toro, but I don't remember which one. It was just a piece of fish, I don't think there was any seaweed or anything.

What's the difference between Toro Gunkan Fatty Tuna, Chu-Toro and O-Toro Gunkan? Any recommendations on which to get?

I loved the pumpkin tempura last time, and I'd like to try the Wagu beef- is it worth the price, as a once-in-awhile thing?

Sounds like the scallop and fresh salmon are big hits; anything else we shouldn't miss? We've got 4 people going, and we're fairly adventurous, but probably not interested in offal, and would like to keep the cost down (under $300 if possible).

Discuss with Katsu which type of items you would like i.e sashimi, sushi, cooked or a selection. Next give him the price you would like to pay. Let Katsu select the menu, order beer or sake and enjoy.
Japanese sushi chef's enjoy this type of customer and it let's them give the customer the best of what they have for that day and the customer has some idea of the total tab + alcohol and tip, tax.
If $300 for four is the total you would like to pay including alcohol, tip and tax, I don't know if you can do that and have the selection of items you mentioned. Enjoy.-Dick

Sounds good- I wasn't sure if they could do that on the spot, or if you needed to tell them in advance.

You noticed i Posted "Japanese sushi chefs".
Most sushi chefs are not Japanese, not classicly trained and do not work in a place owned by Japanese. It's like eating at McDonalds. They give you a piece of paper that you are supposed to check off what you want. You don't get the traditioanal greeting when entering and the chef's pay no attention to you and what you want.
Katsu on the other hand is Japanese, clasiccly trained and owns the retaurant.
Don't try to order this way at most other sushi places.-Dick

Akami is also known as maguro: it's lean and red.

Toro is a general term that describes fatty tuna, cut from the belly.

Chu-toro describes a cut that is pink with striations of fat distributed heavily throughout. It comes from the upper half of the belly, below the akami and above the o-toro.

O-toro is the ne plus ultra of toro and it comes from the bottom-most part of the belly. This is the toro that almost melts in your mouth. I've had pieces of o-toro that were a very pale pink...

O-toro is very expensive, sometimes as much as $15/piece...