I like to beat the winter blues with sushi. The delicate flavors and textures of cold, raw fish remind me of summer's happier times of beach yoga, free outdoor concerts at Millennium Park, rooftop happy hours, and lakefront jogging. In the meantime, my palate can pretend it is summer, even after wading through deep snow drifts and skirting muddy urban slush pools.
How many days till spring? Photo by Denise Werner
Friends Sushi on State's February Dine-in Deal helps beat the Winter Blues
Pure serendipity led me to discover this deal at Friends Sushi on State. On a late Saturday afternoon grocery shopping trip, the beau suddenly craves sushi but all his favorite sushi restaurants only open for dinner. Unlike me, the beau is not a sushi slut and refuses to settle for cheap Mariano's sushi. I remember the awesome $5 Temaki lunch special at Friends Sushi on State last summer so I take him there.
Their menu offers some interesting riffs on my fave cuisine. A kale and quinoa Goma-ae catches my eye but I pass after a short discussion with the beau on dubious merits of quinoa and kale in Japanese cuisine. I am a sucker for kale but its dense texture and hearty earthy flavor makes the traditional spinach version a better choice. I also like quinoa but wonder what quinoa adds, other than extra carbohydrates, to an already, rather rich dish in my opinion.
We start out with shishito peppers and hamachi carpaccio, typical menu items that meet the beau's approval. (The beau laments the foodie trend that has spawned menu items like kale and quinoa Goma-ae. I, on the other hand, remain curious and plan to order it sans the beau on my next visit.) While we wait, we watch the sous chef grate an odd looking radish and ask him what it is. Fresh wasabi, he tells us and hands us a small sample. It is much milder than I expected but still delicious.
Their menu offers some interesting riffs on my fave cuisine. A kale and quinoa Goma-ae catches my eye but I pass after a short discussion with the beau on dubious merits of quinoa and kale in Japanese cuisine. I am a sucker for kale but its dense texture and hearty earthy flavor makes the traditional spinach version a better choice. I also like quinoa but wonder what quinoa adds, other than extra carbohydrates, to an already, rather rich dish in my opinion.
We start out with shishito peppers and hamachi carpaccio, typical menu items that meet the beau's approval. (The beau laments the foodie trend that has spawned menu items like kale and quinoa Goma-ae. I, on the other hand, remain curious and plan to order it sans the beau on my next visit.) While we wait, we watch the sous chef grate an odd looking radish and ask him what it is. Fresh wasabi, he tells us and hands us a small sample. It is much milder than I expected but still delicious.
Hamachi Carpaccio. Daikon sprouts make this dish delectable.
The sauce in hamachi carpaccio tastes a bit sweet for me but the beau tries a bite with some daikon radish sprouts and informs me that the sauce works. The tangy bitterness of the sprouts tempers the sweetness and rounds out hamachi's soft, mild flavor. This hamachi carpaccio is a nice alternative to the ubiquitous hamachi and jalapeño appetizers served in sushi and other restaurants with fusion cuisine.
Ikura Uzuri. Creamy quail egg yolk cuts the saltiness of salmon roe. I order the usual, basic nigiri sushi items that the beau prefers: toro, maguro, saba, and, our must-have, ikura uzuri, or salmon roe with raw quail egg. The toro was excellent, a beautiful soft texture that nearly melted in our months. I wish I had ordered more toro in lieu of the seared hotate appetizer with kale and beetroot.
But I am a sucker for kale. And I am still a bit hungry. This point of "still a bit hungry" supposedly marks the stopping point of eating for those looking to increase their longevity and health. Eating past this point increases the number of free radicals in our bodies that contribute to the development of illnesses like cancer and diabetes.
But I am a sucker for kale. And I am still a bit hungry. This point of "still a bit hungry" supposedly marks the stopping point of eating for those looking to increase their longevity and health. Eating past this point increases the number of free radicals in our bodies that contribute to the development of illnesses like cancer and diabetes.
Seared Hotate with beetroot and kale. I should have heeded this diet advice but the kale and beetroot in this dish looked so enticing. Kale truly deserves its status as a wonder food but I remain skeptical about its place in Japanese cuisine after trying this dish. The dense, earthy kale clashed with the sharp tartness of the wasabi sauce, a sauce whose heat nearly blew out my tongue during several bites. And I can eat fresh jalapeños with the seeds sans fear. The fried beetroot added a fun, though superfluous, crunch to the dish. Scallops, like raw fish, taste best on their own, sans creamy sauces and fried crumbles, a travesty that runs rampant in Westernized sushi.
I still ate the entire dish despite the dissonant flavors. So much for curbing those free radicals but I could not pass up otherwise perfectly cooked scallops and kale. When the manager cleared my plate, she asked me how it was and I told her what I really thought. Perhaps bok choy leaves might work better. She thanked me and handed me several coupons to pass out to friends. The coupons are offering 20% off a dine-in tab for February.
Another great deal that I hope to catch. Any sushi-loving friends who happen to be in the Chicago area can PM me for a coupon.
I still ate the entire dish despite the dissonant flavors. So much for curbing those free radicals but I could not pass up otherwise perfectly cooked scallops and kale. When the manager cleared my plate, she asked me how it was and I told her what I really thought. Perhaps bok choy leaves might work better. She thanked me and handed me several coupons to pass out to friends. The coupons are offering 20% off a dine-in tab for February.
Another great deal that I hope to catch. Any sushi-loving friends who happen to be in the Chicago area can PM me for a coupon.
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