Kohan on Maxwell Street: Yummy Plummy

Kohan, the newish Japanese restaurant on Maxwell Street, has proven to be more than just another sushi counter. We've dabbled in some of their Benihana-fied teppanyaki (it's okay, though more geared for fearful-of-raw-fish student element), but keep going back for the consistently fresh and inventive chef's specials.

A few weeks ago, we had one of the best hamachi kama (yellowtail collar) I've ever had, but last night's amuse bouche from their new chef really blew me away. He handed both of us small bowls with a simple seaweed salad topped with uni and a smidgeon of chopped pickled plum. Uni purists might poo-poo such a combo, but it was a righteous contrast of earthy-musky and sweet-tart. The new chef, Jimmy, worked at Heat prior, and a few other serious Japanese restaurants whose names I can't remember.

We also ordered a round of uni sushi, which he delivered wrapped in a thin sheet of cucumber and topped with plum. The cucumber was more of a distraction from the uni, so I wouldn't recommend this preparation.

You wouldn't expect much given the location--its disheartening, but not surprising to see the faux Main Street/Maxwell Street/strip mall/chain restaurant treatment this development has been given--but this place is a stand-out. If you want the goods, sit at the bar and get friendly with the chef.

Kohan Japanese Restaurant
730 W Maxwell St
Chicago, IL 60607
312-421-6254
www.kohanchicago.com

We've eaten at Kohan a couple of times, now. The first visit we sat at a table (we had a party of 5) and really enjoyed the food, but found the service frustrating. A standout was a fancy combo maki (whose name I sadly can't remember) with perfectly cooked (yes cooked!) salmon wrapped around the outside. I also really liked the spider maki -- the chef includes some lettuce and sprouts in the roll, which is a nice moist/crisy/fresh complement to the softshell crab and the sauce.

Our second visit was last Monday, and we sat at the sushi bar with our 3-year old. A good time was had by all. If one is eating sushi, there is just no better option than sitting at the bar and getting to know the chef. The sushi chef, "Chris", was friendly and accomplished. We ate early and pretty much had the place to ourselves (a plus when dining with the 3-year old). The chef comped us an amuse bouche of scallops, served in the shell, with some sort of tasty sauce. Very yummy.

We live on the South Side, so Kohan is a great option for us. The food is very good (not transcendent, but very good), not ridiculously expensive, and the location, with parking, is pretty convenient. The atmosphere is nice but not overpowering, and I feel comfortable bring my Ikura-loving son here.

I realize Maxwell Street was lobotomized, but I knew it mostly from the Blues Brothers. The new arrangement is not unattractive, and it seems like many of the beautiful building facades have been preserved and restored. As a long time South Sider, I am delighted to see more good cuisine options move of Congress. It would be great, though, to have some dining and retail options that capture the spirit of old Maxwell Street in a new and creative way.

Last winter, The Wife and I were at Kohan eating “fashion sushi,” which we were told was “really pretty sushi.” (I, too, was semi-amused by bronze “replicas” of former Maxwell St. denizens – kind of creepy).

Last night, we were at The Spotlight Grill eating “gushi,” which is a kind of do-it-yourself “goofy” sushi.

We have yet to go to Kikozu to eat sushi off a partially clothed woman, but my sense is that sushi vendors are scratching their heads, trying to figure out how they can do it differently. And I understand their plight: once you have perfectly fresh fish, nice rice, good wasabi, where the hell else can you go with this extraordinarily simple dish?

I suppose you could cook the fish, and sauce it, but that might make it different

Hammond

Had a late dinner at Kohan again last night. The new chef, Jimmy, is truly amazing, but I will offer a warning: we gratefully accepted several items we hadn't ordered from him, assuming they were chef's gifts, so we were a little surprised when they showed up on the bill.

I believe the distinction is in whether he asks you if you like something, or just hands you something. He handed us an amuse (spicy bay scallop salad), but asked, 'Do you like oysters?', 'Have you ever tried zake salmon?' and 'Do you like monkfish?'--(the answer to which was yes, yes and more yes). All morsels he inquired about ended up on the final bill.

Knowing this going in, next time we'll let him do all of the choosing, instead of ordering and supplementing with his specialities. It was a bit too much food, but I could never turn away something this guy suggests. Maybe that makes me a sucker, but I have yet to be disappointed.

crrush wrote: It was a bit too much food, but I could never turn away something this guy suggests. Maybe that makes me a sucker, but I have yet to be disappointed.

ccrush,

I don't think that makes you a sucker at all, though perhaps the guy should have been a little more sensitive to customer assumptions (as in, if you hand it to me and smile, and I take it, I might assume it's a gift from you). There is no doubt a "sushi protocol," of which I'm only vaguely aware, that contains embedded codes as to how one orders, or accepts orders, at a sushi bar -- I have been to bars where I pretty much sit back and have the sushi sensei feed me until he senses I've had enough.

Hammond

I've eaten at Kohan when it first opened, and wasn't that impressed with the service nor selection. I haven't gone back since (even when I found out one of my classmate's father was the business owner of the joint). The prices were too high for sushi that wasn't that spectacular.

LTH,

Seemed we were in for a rough ride, big street side sign advertising $11.95 lunch buffet including unlimited maki and a line of hot dishes in a room more Austin Powers than Kyoto, menu emphasis on sakatini style maki and to top it off an itamae who responds "everything is good today"

Happily, surprisingly, things got better quick, green tea and nicely done miso soup led to buttery o-toro, rich fresh salmon, squid w/shiso leaf and uni with a light sweet hint of the sea.



Orange Dragon Roll was fine, though in general I'm not a fan of Fashion Rolls, and I really enjoyed our unagi hand rolls with a light application of requested chogochujang (Korean style hot sauce).

Orange Dragon Roll


We had an interesting conversation about kimchee with the hostess, who I think is one of the owners, and she graced us with a sample of her delicious house made kimchee, both cabbage and diakon.

Kimchee


Maxwell St just east of Halsted is festooned with art meant to pay homage to Maxwell St of past. No comment from me on the complete gentrification of the area, though I was reminded of Oscar Wilde's quote on art and life.

Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.
Oscar Wilde







Enjoy,
Gary

Kohan Japanese Restaurant
730 W Maxwell St
Chicago, IL 60607
312-421-6254
www.kohanchicago.com

Jeebus. It's taking a whole lot of personal strength to resist the overwhelming urge to edit the original title for this post to something less...cracked-out Rachel Ray. But we all have our cringe-worthy moments in LTH history, no? It shows our progress, right?

As the original post suggests, I was enthusiastic about this place when it first opened. Yes, there was a preponderance of fashion sushi on the menu (I'm using "preponderance" here specifically to make me sounds smarts, in the hopes of reclaiming credibility lost with "yummy plummy" title). But the chef at the counter was always willing to serve more traditional and less wasabi mayo-ized off-menu items if you asked. I was also treated to freshly grated wasabi a few times.

However, the place went through a few different chefs in a short period of time, and the overall quality seemed to decline with each new chef. We stopped going.

Lunch yesterday--at the hands of yet another new chef, James--hints at a brighter future for the place. Despite the "everything is good here" comment, he did steer us away from a few things, and the fish was notably better than it has been.

The place will probably always cater to the fashion sushi/sake-tini crowd--the decor all but shrieks it--but I'm filing this in my own Dept. of Second Chances.

Went to the lunch buffet at Kohan for the first time and loved it. Really tasty, fresh sushi. As I have a rapidly progressing shellfish allergy, I avoided several things at the hot table. Unfortunately, since things weren't lableled and since I'm not too sharp, I had what I thought was a tempura battered Onion Ring along with my tempura sweet potato. Of course when my friend asked me why I was eating calamari, I could feel the old larynx constricting. I should really carry an Epi pen.....