All Things Chill

Eating alone. Is it really that bad? Sure, in college, you’d never be caught dead eating alone in the dorms… but is it so bad now? Its still weird for me, but since I’ll be making some trips out of state in (for business and pleasure) in the next couple of months, I’ll have to start getting used to grabbin’ some grub on the solo.

Test Run: Sushi House in Naperville, IL

I was driving back from a ridiculously wonderful/draining weekend in Milwaukee/Chicago and I left the city without a morsel of sushi in my stomach. I decided to call Tiff and ask her if there were any sushi houses on the way back home. She told me to check out “Sushi House” (MOST GENERIC NAME EVAR), so I 411′ed it and got directions from the friendly restaurant hostess.

I parked the car and decided I wasn’t particularly hungry, so I walked around the quaint little shops of Downtown Naperville in the brisk cold weather. Its the same layout of Rice University’s student laden “shopping district”, just without the fabulous tapas restaurant. Three pfunks later, I had a hankerin’ for some gin so I walked across the promenade and entered the Sushi House.

Cute place. They had the rooms with the tatami mats and semi-comfortable pillows filled with families and double-daters (wince). I sat @ the sushi bar, grabbed their order sheet (see above picture) and went to town. The waitress stopped long enough for me to give me a hot towel and take my order of a tall tanqueray ten on ice sans tonic and a miso soup. Here’s what else I got:

2 Sake/Salmon (They were out of Beni Toro/Fatty Salmon)
2 Hokkigai/Surf Clam
2 Hotate/Scallop (Spicy + Green Onions)
1 #3 Roll “Deep-Fried Spicy Tuna Roll w/mayo service w/ Ponzo Sauce”

I also received a small plate of squid and pickled veggies while I waited. The #3 Roll was oh so crispy on the outside and rich and fresh on the inside. It also came with shredded hicama and soaked seaweed.

I was satisfied 100% and I even taught people in my proximity some basic sushi information so they could enjoy their meal just as much as I did. My meal was on the pricey side, but it was worth it. It was damn delicious and I’d recommend it as a great date spot for anyone in that area.

How’d my test run go? I can’t say that it was better than any other time that I have gone out with friends, but I noticed a greater appreciation for the food and paid great attention to the artful preparation. Great way to top off the weekend.

Damn. I want sushi again.

~Spec

This entry was posted on Monday, January 31st, 2005 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Cuisine, Streaming Conciousness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.