New Japan, Evanston

Reviews on New Japan has been mixed... but heavily leaning on the negative side. It has taken me 7 months to get up my courage to try this place for lunch. The verdict?? Not too bad...

I just got back from having lunch there (a sign that it wasn't bad). 2 unagi avocado handrolls, a salmon skill roll, 2 pieces of salmon, a bowl of miso soup... all for $21.

The unagi avocado handrolls were outrageously good. Chock full of tender unagi with a not too sweet sauce, fresh avocados, and not too much rice. It was so good, I ordered a second one.

Salmon skin roll was pretty good. Again, lots of salmon skin, a little cucumber, mayo and spicy sauce. The 2 salmon pieces were ok... It did not look good color-wise, but tasted fine.

I was the only person there. The restaurant was very pretty, with flowers and REAL cloth napkins. Classical music in the background... if you shut out the giant plastic fish on the wall, it could pass as a nice coffee place.

The restaurant has just changed chefs, and will be focusing on more Korean dishes. This is good news to me, as I think I am wearing out my welcome at Mandarin House for BiBimBop. Menu items include Haemool Pajun, BiBimBab, Jigaes and soups, and BBQ items!

For now, New Japan is only serving sushi and BiBimBop at lunch, since the chef does not come in until 4 pm. But if we gave them advance notice, they might be able to prepare Korean food for lunch on Fridays... Sounds like a good choice for our Evanston Lunch group, don't cha think?

(Added address... Thanks Pigmon)
New Japan Restaurant
1322 Chicago Ave, Evanston
(847) 475-5980

New Japan Restaurant
1322 Chicago Ave, Evanston
(847) 475-5980

Sadly, driving by yesterday, the space was empty and there was a large "for lease" sign in the window. New Japan, R.I.P.

Although I haven't eaten there in years (since my days in the late 80s/early 90s as an undergrad at NU), I used to go there somewhat frequently. And New Japan was the source of one of my favorite comments on behalf of a restaurant hostess. "I'll give you a window table," she said, as she sat us next to an opaque rice-paper window. To this day, whenever I drive past New Japan, the memory makes me chuckle.

We recently had (though I'm no expert) a terrific meal at Dozika, next door to New Japan. We had some kind of sushi sampler with salmon, fatty tuna, and a whitefish, along with a couple kinds of maki that I enjoyed.

For me, the best part was that they had great kids meals - my five-year-old was able to sample the maki (when we said he liked sushi, the chef sent him a special tamago all his own.) He had the gyoza with broccoli and a honeydew bubble tea. Other options for kids include the ubiquitous mac and cheese (also with broccoli) or chicken satay.

It's new, no history like New Japan, but we had a good time - and you can watch the bearded dragons at Thee Fish Bowl through the window while you eat.

Back in the early seventies, New Japan Cafe was quite a sensation, doing brisk business in a tiny converted coffee shop on Division near Dearborn. People seemed to clamor for their westernized versions (more meat, larger portions) of cooked dishes--teryaki, tempura and the like. I hadn't even heard of sushi back then, so I can't tell you if they even offered anything raw.

I'm not sure if they kept both locations for a time, or just up and moved to Evanston. Early on, the food at the Evanston location was about the same as downtown, although at higher prices, given the larger space and nicer decor. Then, as Asian food proliferated through the eighties, they expanded their menu but, at least for me, got lost in the crowd.

I migrated to Miyako Shoku Do on Clark and Yanase on State, both now gone.

Paul SL wrote:Back in the early seventies, New Japan Cafe was quite a sensation, doing brisk business in a tiny converted coffee shop on Division near Dearborn. People seemed to clamor for their westernized versions (more meat, larger portions) of cooked dishes--teryaki, tempura and the like. I hadn't even heard of sushi back then, so I can't tell you if they even offered anything raw.

I'm not sure if they kept both locations for a time, or just up and moved to Evanston. Early on, the food at the Evanston location was about the same as downtown, although at higher prices, given the larger space and nicer decor. Then, as Asian food proliferated through the eighties, they expanded their menu but, at least for me, got lost in the crowd.

I migrated to Miyako Shoku Do on Clark and Yanase on State, both now gone.

I assume by New Japan Cafe you mean New Japan Inn? There's been conjecture before whether the Evanston and Division locations were related; I say, "were," since NJI closed down about two years ago. I very much enjoyed the rickety ambience of the tiny room and the hospitality of the elderly husband and wife who ran the joint. Their's is the first place I tried Japanese curry. I used to see the wife shopping for produce at the farmer's market just outside the restaurant in Spring; always a good sign.

As I recall, and it's been nearly 30 years, the New Japan Inn on Division was the original. The owners then moved to Evanston and sold the tiny storefront which was renamed NJ Cafe.

I loved the original New Japan, it was inexpensive and unprepossesing. My mother used to take me there for lunch. Then we followed the original owners to Evanston and watched the prices climb with its popularity. I think NJC's quality and cozyness tumbled at the same time. Eventually we stopped eating at either one. To be fair, the number of Japanese restaurants in the suburbs has greatly expanded and I've found new favorites.

Diannie