Sozai Banzai--Side Dishes of Significance

Yet another tiny strip mall spot that deserves some attention!

Petite_Gourmande, Happy Stomach and I ventured out to the wilds of Arlington Heights this morning for a little Asian food crawl. We only hit 3 spots--the intention was more to spend a leisurely day catching up and checking out a few places that had been on our "try-it" lists v. full-on food baby indulgence--and all were terrific.

We started at Misoya and concluded at Santouka --Ramen was the main focus of the day--but it was little Sozai Banzai that may have stolen the show. Taking a tip from Mike Sula ( http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2013/08/09/scouring-the-suburbs-for-the-real-japanese ) we made this our middle stop and glad we did. Sozai Banzai has been around since 2011 and specializes in home style sides dishes and "sets"--plates of food that looked like a reinterpretation of the American 50s housewife in a Japanese setting (think salad, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies and a main--pretty surreal!)

Since we were trying not to overdo it, we only ordered a few things but there wasn't a miss in the bunch. And the total cost was under $20! A gorgeous and substantial piece of grilled salmon belly topped with a mix of mentaiko and a bit of mayo was the star--this fish was FRESH, perfectly cooked and served right in the foil in which it was prepared--no frills--just beautiful fish. My personal favorite dish of the day were 6 perfectly fried smelt with a variety of pickled veg in a light vinegar/soy sauce. Chicken Karaage with mayo and shredded cabbage, and a large kale salad with cranberries and a light miso dressing were also very good.

Possibly the strangest dish that I've seen come out of a Japanese restaurant kitchen had to be the various Hamburg sets (see above). Of the 15 or so people eating at Sozai while we were there, at least a third ordered these--ground beef rolled in a ball, likely stuffed with some kind of cheese (from the pics on their menu), topped with sauce or some kind of small mound of something--mashed potatoes with sauce a strong possibility. These looked bizarrely good. Or maybe we just wanted to be like the cool kids In any case, in addition to the Hamburg, the soft bone fried chicken, soft shell crab, salmon bone soup, broiled mackerel and a number of other small plates looked really appealing. And I'm looking forward to returning to try them!

PSA: True to Asian strip mall tradition, the signage for this place states "Sushi and Grill" or some such nonsense. Not sure if there is any notable signage with the restaurant name visible from the street.

Sozai Bansai
1089 E Golf Rd
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
847-758-7328
http://www.sozaibanzai.com/

Fans of slippery sides shouldn't miss Banzai's natto—simple, excellent.



Even slicker is cold tofu garnished with mucilaginous okra, viscid nagaimo (mountain yam) and smooth nametake (marinated enoki mushrooms)—another very good snack.

boudreaulicious wrote:PSA: True to Asian strip mall tradition, the signage for this place states "Sushi and Grill" or some such nonsense. Not sure if there is any notable signage with the restaurant name visible from the street.

The Sozai Banzai sign isn't prominent but the restaurant is right next to Chinese Munch In, which should be easy to remember and spot.



Sozai Banzai
1089 E Golf Rd
Arlington Heights IL
847-758-7328
http://www.sozaibanzai.com/
Daily specials: https://twitter.com/sozaibanzai


Edited to fix photo links.

Sozai Banzai is very convenient if you're near Mitsuwa and Johnnie's Beef in Arlington Heights . . . less than 5 minutes from Mitsuwa, maybe 2-3 minutes from Johnnie's. I went recently after Mike G mentioned the ramen, and I really enjoyed my miso ramen, probably as much as the miso ramen at Santouka (inside Mitsuwa). Impressive noodles and broth, and respectable enough chashu pork (though still not as beautifully tender as it can be). Take a look:





While eating my ramen, I noticed a placard on the table indicated that Sozai Banzai also offers tsukemen. I realize tsukemen season might be coming to an end (it's traditionally a warm-weather ramen, with the noodles intended to be dipped, thus presenting a less hot version of the ramen), but I'm not sure that Sozai concerns itself with the seasons in terms of when it offers tsukemen (and I'm not certain if they pour broth once you're finished dipping all of your noodles). But I intend to give it a try.

Sozai also offers both tonkatsu and curry rice (the most typical combo), and while not necessarily served together, this is one of my favorite combinations. I'm not aware of any other Japanese restaurant in Chicago offering both items. FYI, Japanese curry tends to be milder, less spicy than an Indian curry.

Anyway, I look forward to exploring more of Sozai Banzai's offerings in the near future.

BR wrote:
Sozai also offers both tonkatsu and curry rice (the most typical combo), and while not necessarily served together, this is one of my favorite combinations. I'm not aware of any other Japanese restaurant in Chicago offering both items. FYI, Japanese curry tends to be milder, less spicy than an Indian curry.

GNR Renga Tei offers "katsu curry" over rice. And a mighty fine version it is.

stevez wrote:

BR wrote:
Sozai also offers both tonkatsu and curry rice (the most typical combo), and while not necessarily served together, this is one of my favorite combinations. I'm not aware of any other Japanese restaurant in Chicago offering both items. FYI, Japanese curry tends to be milder, less spicy than an Indian curry.

GNR Renga Tei offers "katsu curry" over rice. And a mighty fine version it is.

Good to know -- I guess I just hadn't noticed it there. In any event, nothing wrong with spreading the word about a very worthwhile Japanese restaurant, particularly one that's probably more convenient for many LTHers.

BR wrote:

stevez wrote:

BR wrote:
Sozai also offers both tonkatsu and curry rice (the most typical combo), and while not necessarily served together, this is one of my favorite combinations. I'm not aware of any other Japanese restaurant in Chicago offering both items. FYI, Japanese curry tends to be milder, less spicy than an Indian curry.

GNR Renga Tei offers "katsu curry" over rice. And a mighty fine version it is.

Good to know -- I guess I just hadn't noticed it there. In any event, nothing wrong with spreading the word about a very worthwhile Japanese restaurant, particularly one that's probably more convenient for many LTHers.

It might be one of the specials on the paper menu near the door when you enter. It's there most o the time. If not, ask.

I didn't mean to derail the conversation, and I can't wait to try Sozai Banzai. I just wanted to mention Renga Tei, since you mentioned katsu curry being so rare.

I tried Sozai Banzai's tsukemen (dipping ramen), but wasn't so impressed. My two experiences with tsukemen have both featured very intense, thicker soups . . . almost dipping sauces. At Rokurinsha in Tokyo, when you're done dipping your noodles and other ingredients, they come around and offer to fill up your bowl with soup. This soup was thinner, like a slightly thicker ramen soup but less of it, and served with the not so uncommon spicy oil and vinegar. Don't get me wrong - it was flavorful, just not as intense or flavorful as I had hoped for, and a little short on ingredients. But again, the noodles at Sozai Banzai are beautifully thick and with a nice chew, much more so in my opinion than those at the nearby Santouka. So if you're going here for ramen, my suggestion would be to save the tsukemen for a visit after you've worked your way through their ramen menu.

It's good to see Sozai Banzai get some more attention. I went only once a couple years ago and liked the homestyle cooking in a no-frills setting quite a bit.

My memories of the ramen aren't strong, except to recall I wouldn't choose the garlic broth again. Mentally subtracting the overly dominant roasted garlic, I think the bowl could be described as "middle of the road." In these days of extreme ramen, that's not entirely a bad thing, and applies as well to Santouka.



Aside from the garlic broth, there's plenty of ramen to choose from.



Side dishes (sozai) and ramen have been covered, but that leaves what's probably my favorite category at Sozai Banzai—the set dishes. For well under $10 (not sure about current prices), you get bowls of miso soup, rice and lettuce salad, plus a main dish and two small sozai. An unbeatable value.



Chicken karaage was tasty and greaseless, though maybe not terribly exciting. The sides vary from day to day. Here it was gobo and hijiki, both quite good.

My favorite was saba shioyaki, not unlike Sunshine Cafe's version.



If Sozai Banzai were in the city I'd be there often.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. I'm talking about Sozai Banzai's katsu curry. The curry itself was fantastic, one of the best Japanese curries I've had. It was rich and lipsmacking good, with some nice spice (not spice heat). But the katsu let me down beyond belief. Pounded too thin, and dry as a bone and not even a smidge of flavor. Plenty crisp crust, but otherwise terribly disappointing. Get the curry at Sozai Banzai, but don't get it with the katsu. The rice was not quite up to snuff either. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't Japanese-restaurant good.