jamesiop.blogg.se - Juno sushi

The sushi comes when it’s ready, and you eat it fast, usually with your fingers. Melvin and Carlo Vizconde’s tiny restaurant can barely contain its own energy and that of its adoring customers, nor does it have much use for niceties such as pacing or even good chopsticks. The rice and nori at Kai Zan can’t compare to Juno’s, but the beloved Humboldt Park joint makes up for that shortcoming in creative ways.

FYI The rotating flavored mochi-think yuzu and orange or Vietnamese coffee and chocolate-qualify as some of Chicago’s best Japanese desserts.

The roll is bolstered by subtly sweet rice that makes the stuff elsewhere seem wan. And the eight-piece Sake Yaki maki teams both raw and barely seared salmon with almond slices, a vinegary apple sliver, garlic chives, and lemon aïoli. Both showcase superior nori that crackles (the Japanese call the sensation pari-pari) and dissolves on the tongue. Hand rolls such as briny uni shiso (sea urchin with shiso leaf) and a tingly tako (octopus) get served like ice cream cones in a custom wood holder. It’s Juno’s quieter plates that really prove the chefs’ mastery. The slightest pressure from my tongue melted the tuna and chain-reactioned a pleasurable crab-salad implosion in my mouth.

“Eat it quick, while it’s warm,” said my animated waiter. I was even more impressed by the Juno King nigiri, which employs maguro (tuna) as a makeshift wrapper that’s stuffed with heated spicy king crab chunks and topped with crunchy potato shavings. Juno is best known, and justifiably so, for its signature smoked hamachi, which is served beneath a smoke-filled glass dome: The scent of smoldering cherrywood infiltrates the gleaming yellowtail and its accompaniments-shiitakes and sweet corn-and the nostrils of every diner in the room. Park’s serious team crafts elegant dishes, but the kitchen also pushes boundaries. The promise that Juno had always hinted at is now a reality. It teems with families and trendies alike on a recent visit, a quick look down the 15-seat sushi bar lit with pendants revealed two couples on dates, one area chef, and a solo Japanese businessman. The room, which once seemed bleak, now feels welcoming. The Lincoln Park restaurant survived then-partner Jason Chan’s cancer scare, a fire, a renovation, and Chan’s transfer of ownership to his partner, sushi chef B.K. Juno has endured a lot in its four years. Tab does not include alcohol, tax, or tip.

Star ratings range from one (above average) to four (superlative).

FYI The homemade soy sauce is terrific.