Best Udon?

Since its pretty much officially fall now, I'm starting to feel increasingly soup-y. One of my go-to soups when living in NY was Udon, of any variety--nebeyake, kake udon, or tempura udon. I know I can make a big old pot myself and do a pretty good job of it but, well, sometimes I'm lazy! :roll:

Where are some great places for a good, well-seasoned, flavorful and well priced bowl of udon? A place with other good cooked food like tonkatsu, or a good sushi bar would be great as well since the hubby (strangely) doesn't enjoy udon.

Someplace in Bucktown/WP would be ideal, but I'm willing to travel a bit for an exceptional udon specimen :)

Amidst all the trendy and overpriced sushi bars in Chicago, I have found one place that serves a good bowl of udon: Tokyo Lunch Boxes and Catering.

It's in the loop near Wells and Washington. Obviously, it caters to the business crowd and I doubt it's open on the weekend. But if you work in the loop then it works out nicely -- I eat lunch there at least twice a week. I do think the noodles are overcooked but the broth is great and it will only cost you $6.60 (with tax).

I'm a loyal fan of the chicken Udon at Sunshine Noodle on Clark Street in Andersonville. The broth is never greasy but it's flavorful and you can tell they make it from scratch. The veggies are bright, not overcooked and you get lots of fat, plump Udon noodles, big pieces of white breast meat and a couple slices of the pink spiral fish cakes. And if you go once to Sunshine, on the second visit they treat you like an old regular (of which there are many). It's a favorite spot for the Octegenarian Japanese crowd, many who used to live in the neighborhood, now who come back to eat straightforward, cheap comfort food. They are open for lunch and dinner, closed on Mondays and it's BYOB.

bjt

I just had a delicious and filling bowl of nabeyaki udon at Matsuya's on Clark in Lakeview. And it only cost $6.95 (or maybe even slightly less.)

My friends and I used to make pilgrimages to Matsuya's from Evanston back in college, and now that I just moved to the neighborhood, I'm happy to have rediscovered it again.

Their sushi is also very fresh and reasonably priced. I'd even say it's the best in the neighborhood.

Janet C. wrote:My friends and I used to make pilgrimages to Matsuya's from Evanston back in college, and now that I just moved to the neighborhood, I'm happy to have rediscovered it again.

Janet,

Matsuya is one of my wife's favorite Japanese restaurants. Good sushi, homestyle dishes and I've always found the grilled fish to be top notch.

Far as udon goes, my favorites are Sunshine, which has been mentioned, Tampopo and Renga-Tei. Katsu, which is known more for sushi/sashimi, does a nice udon as well.

Enjoy,
Gary

Katsu
2651 W Peterson Ave
Chicago, IL. 60659
773-784-3383
Dinner only, closed Tuesday

Renga-Tei
3956 W Touhy Ave
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
847-675-5177

Tampopo
5665 N Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL
773-561-2277

Sunshine Restaurant
5449 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60640
773-334-6214

Thanks for the info, folks, I'll try to hit some of these places soon---though with the way the weather's going lately who knows when Udon weather will return...