With all the amazing sushi options in Chicago, it’s helpful to have a little help navigating, right?
A few weeks ago, one of my friends, Rikki, came to me and said that I had to check out this adorable sushi restaurant in the heart of the Gold Coast. She said this place has been her little secret and she had been eating there at least once a week since she moved to Chicago 3-years ago. With that kind of glowing recommendation (and given that my friend is a successful restaurant investor in New York), I knew I had to give it a try.
When I walked into Sushi Taiyo on the corner of Ontario and Rush Street, I was taken aback by it’s simplicity and charm. With all these huge, trendy, asian restaurants popping up all over Chicago, the unassuming ambience at Sushi Taiyo was actually pretty refreshing.
While the ambience is simple, the food is not. What’s also amazing about this place? It’s affordable! Our entire meal came to just $20 each.
I’ve since gone back a couple of times and I am excited to share the 5 dishes you MUST order when you go.
1) Seared Chicken Gyoza ($8): I tend to order gyoza almost anywhere I go, but these surely exceeded my standards. Every time I took a bite, the flavor exploded from the dumpling. These are absolutely delicious and shouldn’t be missed.
Seared Chicken Gyoza
2) Yakitori ($8): You can get these delicious skewers in chicken, beef or shrimp. They come served over an open flame (such a wow-factor) and taste delicious! I ordered the chicken and the meat just fell off the stick. The dish is served with a delicious dipping sauce (although the meat was so flavorful, I hardly needed it).
Yakitori
3) Honey Roll ($11): This rolls name really does describe it. It’s a unique combination of raw albacore, cucumber, and a sesame honey sauce that will blow your mind. And if that not enough, they roll the entire thing in tempura crumbs. This may be one of my favorite rolls ever.
4) Tochigi Maki ($12): A spicy tuna roll wrapped in slices of mango and avocado with a sweet and spicy sauce. Have I said enough? This roll was surprisingly clean tasting and totally left me wanting to order more (in fact, we ordered a second one because we found ourselves fighting over the last piece).
Tochigi Maki on the top and Honey Roll on the bottom
5) Banana Egg-Roll: YUM! I won’t lie, this is nothing more than a banana wrapped in an egg-roll wrapper and fried, but honestly, how can you go wrong? It’s topped with delicious chocolate and caramel sauce and served with ice cream and fresh fruit. Finish off your meal with this and you won’t be disappointed (but share it with a friend or two or you will be disappointed when you look at the scale the next day).
Banana Eggroll
Are you drooling yet? Thank god this place has delivery, because after reminiscing about this meal, I think I know what I am having for dinner tonight…
Love always,
Erica
