Good value sashimi

I'm looking to buy a night out for two overworked moms, both of whom love sashimi. One is of Japanese descent and fairly traditional in food expectations. I'd like to find somewhere that can give them a memorable night without breaking the bank. Given their schedules, earlybird on a weekday is ideal, so that should help. I've done some searching here, with Katsu, Kai Zan, and Juno all getting high marks. Does anyone have other recommendations or pointers to anywhere else worth considering?

Thanks.

Edit: Just to update - location and time are not so important, price and quality are.

When it comes to sushi, price and quality can sometimes be mutually exclusive. The places you mention are all great, but I wouldn't call any of them inexpensive. A good alternative might be GNR RengaTei on Touhy & Crawford.

Renga Tei
3956 W Touhy Ave
Lincolnwood, IL 60712

FYI: Juno is still closed.

Katsu is terrific, but it can get pricey.

I haven't had the sashimi at Kai Zan . . . the rest of their offerings are fine but don't excite me.

Why not Arami? If I have one complaint about Arami, it's that their rice could use a little work. But that's not an issue with sashimi and Arami's fish is more impressive than most in the city. I've only had better at Katsu.

As to value, you get what you pay for. Arami is not cheap, but in my opinion, the value is fine. And it's a lot less expensive than Katsu.

stevez wrote:A good alternative might be GNR RengaTei on Touhy & Crawford.

My thought exactly........

RIP Tampopo.

=R=

What about Mitsuwa market in Arlington Heights? I've always been impressed wit ht the food there even though its a food court. Freshness is not a problem. It all comes down to the atmosphere. You can even add in some cool Japanese shopping while you are at it.

For traditional sashimi from a classical Japanese Chef, there is no better value than the Omikaze selection at Kuni's in Evanston.-Dick

budrichard wrote:For traditional sashimi from a classical Japanese Chef, there is no better value than the Omikaze selection at Kuni's in Evanston.-Dick

+1 on Kuni's. It's been a favorite of mine for a very long time, though I don't get there nearly as often as I'd like to. A meal there last month reminded me how great it is.

If you want to head downtown, Sushi Sai on Randolph/Wacker has a $20 all you can eat after 2:00 every day. Product is consistently good there.

Midori Sushi has the best sashimi in Chicagoland when scoring on the "Quality to Value" ratio.

I always get one of the Chef Sashimi plates but never need a menu, I think they are simply called Sashimi (or maybe Chef Choice Sashimi) "A", "B" and "C".

Huge pieces of flavorful Sashimi. You will not be disappointed!

Try one of their sashimi "Cones" as well - wonderful!

LTH Midori Thread

The proprietor, Roberto, takes Tuesdays off I believe so make sure to visit any other day. Do not be disuaded by having a non-Japanese sushi chef - Roberto kicks ass!

Bster

What about Itto Sushi? It doesn't get a lot of love on LTH, but for value and quality from a traditional Japanese spot, it's one of my favs.

chgoeditor wrote:What about Itto Sushi? It doesn't get a lot of love on LTH, but for value and quality from a traditional Japanese spot, it's one of my favs.

I'm glad that you mentioned Itto Sushi. It's not gourmet, but the uni I had there recently was much better than I had expected. My wife and I love Itto sushi for both its solid cooked and raw offerings.

The service has always been warm and accommodating.

Itto Sushi
2616 N. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL
773-871-1800

Thanks for reminding me about Itto. It had been a long time since I've been there, but made it there tonight. On the minus side, one more Chicago place serving ten zaru soba without soba-yu. Oh well. But they have a lengthy menu with some interesting choices.

But tonight, it was all about nigiri. And on the plus side, some pretty respectable nigiri including well seasoned rice that held together rather lightly. I was not as enamored with the quality of the fish as I am at Juno, Arami or Katsu (except for the anago which was one of the better versions I've tried in town), but I was still pleased with my dinner.