Umacamon Japanese Kitchen- Big-Bowl-of-Yumm

To steal a phrase from Chicagoan Jeff Garvin-
Umacamon serves up a Big-bowl-of-Yumm......

I found myself in Schaumburg (land beyond IKEA) today- and
remembering a Steve Dolinksy reccd Japanese-Yakitori place
nearby IKEA- on Golf Road near Algonquin-
we headed towards there- only to discover
that Yakitori Boogytori was gone- and
its Japanese replacement (Ramen Takeya) behind Goodwill Donation Center- "Closed-For-Remodeling" -
also GONE!
What to do?
Whip out Google Maps- and lo and behold-
the 2nd-one-down-the-list was a hidden gem.

Just further up the way
in yet-another Strip-Mall-in-the-burbs.- was a delightfully friendly place- called Umacamon Japanese Kitchen.
When I inquired about their "Lunch Special"-
I was amazed at the goldmine I'd discovered.
Not only a Big Bowl of Shrimp Tempura Udon Soup,
Delightful Udon Soup- Lunch Special by R. Kramer, on Flickr
not only a very tasty portion of Sashimi -along with pickled Ginger and Rice....
Sashsh + Rice (part of The Lunch Special!!) by R. Kramer, on Flickr
Shrimp Tempura- for my Udon Soup- served separately! by R. Kramer, on Flickr
and
lots of other daily specials worth investigating!
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -IS- SOMETIMES WORTH THE DRIVE by R. Kramer, on Flickr

The service couldn't be nicer.
The crowd was light on a Monday afternoon
.....mostly Japanese men- slurpin'-away- quite happily
it appeared too........
and the Salad bar-(featuring a VERY tasty Sesame-Flavored Japanese-Style
dressing too- BTW!) was one that
made the 3-piece meal-
a true-
Under-$10.00-Lunch-Special.
My dining partner went with The Curry-Udon-Beef-Special which was
quite a Unami-bomb-of-flavor.....


Now- if I lived in this part of the burbs- I'd be here often.
But- as this City-Boy,
who's only occasionally visiting Vendors in Schaumburg- or
Elk Grove Village- (& of course IKEA- my go2 - "Hardware" Store)
this is a bit out-of-the-way....but- I know
there's lots of "LTH-ers" who reside in The burbs....
Umacamon Japanese Kitchen- YUmmmmmmmmm! by R. Kramer, on Flickr

So - give this place some LOVE!


Umacamon Japanese Kitchen
1673 W. Algonquin Road
Rolling Meadows,IL.60008
224.318.2489
(near the WALMART- kinda in-front of it...)
Just North of Golf Road......

I live blocks away from here, but the timing hasn't been right for me to dive into the menu, so I'm glad to have someone whose judgment is probably good provide a preview.

On a sidenote, I also tried to go to Ramen Takeya on Friday evening only to discover they were closed for remodeling...it would have been my first time there, too, but I have a coworker who recommended it. Do you have reason to suspect the remodeling is a put on and they won't be reopening? Just curious so I can tell my coworker. She'll be very disappointed, as their Fulton Market location was her favorite when she lived in the city and was very happy to have a closer location when she moved to Hawthorn Woods.

Do you have reason to suspect the remodeling is a put on and they won't be reopening?

Most often- I find that good Industry Intel
is gleaned from
Industry Insiders, Vendors and Competitors.
In this case - when I told the Manager at Umacamon- of how we came across their place,
and mentioned the visit to Ramen Takeya- and the sign that said -"Closed for Remodeling", she acknowledged she'd heard
that they had closed.

You may wish to call ahead to check
what their Daily Lunch Specials are - as they change.

If you are going for dinner- take a look at
some of their very uncommon- Japanese dishes.
http://www.umacamon.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/DinnerMenu-Nov-2018.pdf

I went here for a friend's birthday. It is very good. Many places that call themselves izakaya really don't fit the bill in terms of quantity of offerings, casualness, and quality. I think this one checks all the boxes.

A "return" @ IKEA in Schaumburg- forced us- - to take another opportunity to indulge a Japanese Soup passion at Umacamom-this past Saturday-
and OMG- was the Tempura-fried-Onion-Hockey-Puck not the star of my Lunch special there......
Lunch Special on Saturday- @Umacamon- Rolling Meadows,IL by R. Kramer, on Flickr
You'll note that they actually served us 2 of them- one with the bowl of Rice and one for The Soup- and each
was as indulgent as those Fried Onion Blossoms
you'd see at - a Fudruckers kinda place.........quite intense little-
flavor-bombs of savoriness.....
Lunch Special on Saturday- @Umacamon- Rolling Meadows,IL by R. Kramer, on Flickr

Lunch Special on Saturday- @Umacamon- Rolling Meadows,IL by R. Kramer, on Flickr
&
Lunch Special on Saturday- @Umacamon- Rolling Meadows,IL by R. Kramer, on Flickr
Salad Bar comes with The Lunch Special.

I find the folks quite friendly that work here- even remembering us- after only visiting one time prior-
and the food-......is well.......take a look- a feast for the eye- and the belly-too!

Go here.

Just back from Japan. I imagine I’ll make my way to Umacamon at some point this winter. Reason being is their Champon Noodle Soup. The regional specialty from Nagasaki (via China) is the prelude to tonkotsu ramen with its broth made of chicken and pig bones. Umacamon makes a good one.

http://chibbqking.blogspot.com/2019/01/ ... tchen.html

It appears that either Mike Sula, of The Chicago Reader
reads lthforum for "intel"-
or
it's just extremely coincidental
that just a short while after I'd written/shared about this unique Japanese Restaurant
all the way out in Rolling Meadows-
that Umancamon made its way into the pages of The Chicago Reader
https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/u ... d=75584070


I'm glad that he was able to interview the owners for more of the back-story on their 1st foray into the Restaurant Business and how regionally specific Japanese Cuisine is-
in light of how it's presented to American audiences.

PS- to be fair- after reading The Reader/Sula's comments about this place-
I did an online search and discovered that a dedicated Food Enthusiast- https://chibbqking.blogspot.com/2019/01 ... tchen.html
wrote about this great spot back in January of 2019.

Hombre de Acero wrote:It appears that either Mike Sula, of The Chicago Reader
reads lthforum for "intel"-
or
it's just extremely coincidental...

Guessing he does check LTH from time to time but in this case, the interval was way too short. It generally takes more than 3 days for a piece to work its way through the Reader's pipeline. Either way, it's great to have this place on the radar now.

=R=

Sula has shouted out LTH in reviews and articles before, so it's not like he's hiding the fact that he lurks (or maybe even posts while wearing a luchador mask).

but in this case, the interval was way too short. It generally takes more than 3 days for a piece to work its way through the Reader's pipeline.

Au-Contrare......Mr. Ronnie-
it's been about 8 weeks since I created this Post-
plenty of time for "The Reader's Pipeline" to work effectively
in publishing Food-Reviews he's able to monetize.....
....be that as it may..... I'm please to know that the owners and staff at this
very friendly establishment- enjoy the success they deserve.

Hombre de Acero wrote:

but in this case, the interval was way too short. It generally takes more than 3 days for a piece to work its way through the Reader's pipeline.

Au-Contrare......Mr. Ronnie-
it's been about 8 weeks since I created this Post-
plenty of time for "The Reader's Pipeline" to work effectively
in publishing Food-Reviews he's able to monetize.....
....be that as it may..... I'm please to know that the owners and staff at this
very friendly establishment- enjoy the success they deserve.

Well, 8 weeks seems a lot less coincidental than 3 days, if you know what I mean.

As Gnarchief mentioned, Sula's always been upstanding and forthright when it comes to matters of this nature. The same cannot be said of all (local) journos.

=R=

A Facebook post by Umacamon yesterday has announced that the restaurant is closing as of November 30. The posting was in Japanese, so I ran it through the translator machine, and verified it with my Japanese business partner who confirmed that the news was indeed that of a closure, although there was a mention that "in the future, the form of business will change, but I am going to work hard on the local contribution and the customers who are willing to be happy." Not entirely sure what this means, but, still, sad, sad news.

Interestingly, my Hoffman Estates office has pop-up restaurants or caterers in each day and I was surprised to see Umacamon came this week. The offerings were, however, not what I would have expected: shrimp tempura or California rolls, salmon or beef poke bowls. I didn't partake, as I wasn't sure about those choices. I understand they only had a few of each of the bowls and sold out quickly, perhaps partially on my recommendation based on this thread. It struck me as odd and I wonder if this is related to the closure - perhaps they intend to go to a catering mode? Still, I would have hoped or even been thrilled if they had brought some of what you see on this thread. Maybe in the future...