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Brazilian-sushi ??!!??
From Zagat online:
A Brazilian-sushi place called Sushisamba rio, will open in mid-June at 504 N. Wells St. I can't even begin to imagine what Brazilian sushi would be like! http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...orum/smile.gif |
Oh my! This sounds wild!! Maybe we'll have to put Cuban on the 18th on hold in favor of uncharted territory ...
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Maybe we will!
But to be honest, I am leary of going to a restaurant right after they open. It usually takes awhile for the kinks to get out. |
if it is truly brazilian then the sushi shoule be really good.
lots of japanese in brasil (mostly in sao paolo) good sushi down there...gives me another reason to go back |
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Sweet Willie: ... at 504 N. Wells St. </font> |
I just noticed that there are already 3 Sushisambas in existence (2 in NYC, and 1 in Miami.) Their website is www.sushisamba.com
Their menu is also available at this site, and it looks like Sushi will not be the only thing on the menu. I noticed several beef entree's and short ribs too! |
I ate at Sushi Samba in NYC twice--enjoyed it both times. A bit pricey, but nice selection of sake, and innovative fare.
--bc |
both quotes below from Metormix.com
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Update: SushiSamba Rio executive chef Jason Paskewitz has resigned his position, just nine days after the eagerly awaited Japanese-Peruvian-Brazilian eatery opened for business. The restaurant has named Michael Schwartz as his replacement. Schwartz was previously the executive chef and co-owner of Nemo in Miami Beach, named by Esquire as one of the best new restaurants in America in 1995. He also cooked at Wolfgang Puck's Chinois in Los Angeles. Schwartz will take over the kitchen, working in tandem with sushi chef Takanori Wada. Paskewitz has taken a position at Gabriel's in Highwood.</font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> The bar menu features a ton of exotic cocktails, sushi and appetizers. The caipirinha and sambarita were tasty, but the chintzy sambatini ($10), served in white wine glass overflowing with ice cubes, was more like a snow cone. We spent the next three hours sipping and staring at the fashionistas. At one point three feathered samba dancers attempted to congo through the already crowded bar. The crowd was not amused. Of the five appetizers we ordered, only three ever arrived. The spicy tuna maki and salmon-avocado maki were fine, but the grilled skewers were a mixed bag: We ordered shrimp, but got the combination (beef, shrimp, chicken and liver) instead. We complained (the liver was gooey and harsh-tasting) and our server took it off the bill despite the fact that we had eaten most of it anyway. The dishes we really wanted to try--including the sawagani, tiny fried river crabs you eat whole--never arrived. So how's the food? We can't say, but the amazing people-watching and atmosphere made this visit worthwhile. Next time we'll make reservations.</font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">But to be honest, I am leary of going to a restaurant right after they open. It usually takes awhile for the kinks to get out.</font> |
This River North hot spot's all-weather rooftop garden is scheduled to open this month.
from Zagat.com |
Had lunch yesterday at Sushi Samba.
Sushi Samba is one of the ultra hip dining spots in Chicago now. I’m not hip and certainly not ultra so I’m not sure what I was doing there. But I had heard mixed things about it and wanted to see for myself what it was all about. To be sure, the décor is quite unique and cool. It would be way cool at night for sure due to the various lighting/textures used in the restaurant and even I felt a little hip while dining here. Started out with the flash-fried Japanese river crabs, Sawagani $9.00. Five little crabs beautifully laid out in a line on a piece of leaf. I’ve had these as a dried snack before from Mitsuwa so I knew what to expect. My dining companion made the comment like he felt he was on the TV show Fear Factor. http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...um/biggrin.gif Certainly more of a gimmicky dish rather than anything substantive. Very visual. Next arrived my two Kumamoto Oysters at $2.50 apiece. I had first had these out in Vancouver and they are some tasty oysters. I have never seen them before in Chicagoland. They were good, but quite pricey. The two rolls arrived next; South American Beef Maki Roll $10.00 and Spicy Shrimp Tempura Roll $9.00. The beef roll consisted of thin grilled sliced beef used to hold together the ingredients of the roll: heart of palm and carrot. Served with three pieces of grilled asparagus covered by a sweet thick teriyaki like sauce. Good, but not as good as I envisioned in my mind. The shrimp roll consisted of tempura shrimp in a rice roll w/a blood orange, chive oil & barbeque mayonnaise. The shrimp roll was the highlight for me, no doubt, terrific dish. A carpaccio like dish was served next, I believe it was the Kanpachi $17.00 yuzu, black truffle oil & sea salt. I am not a truffle fan and this did not excite me. We also had a ceviche of yellowtail I think. I appreciate freshness and the ceviches are made when one orders it. However (and this is just my personal opinion) I like the lime/lemon juice to cook the fish more than was the case here. The few minutes of interaction does not provide enough citrus kick. The beautiful yellowtail ceviche also contained celery (WAY overpowering taste element for a ceviche) and red/yellow peppers (again too strong a component in a ceviche IMO). My dining companion had a various array of sushi and a roll. While good, there is better to be had at 1/3 of the price in Chicago. Will I go back? Yeah, if my wife and I were in the area at night, wanted to go for a quick bite (not a meal) and have a drink in a cool setting as my wife is quite cool. Sushi Samba 504 North Wells Chicago 312.595.2300 http://www.sushisamba.com/top.html |
Part 2
I have a mantra of “Happy Wife, Happy Life”, she is a sushi lover and was a little disappointed that I had gone to Sushi Samba without her. Normally she does not mind at all if I go someplace without her, but this time for some reason she did. I mentioned I did not think it was that good but she still wanted to go. We showed up at 5:30 to be greeted by a “hey-ho” leather sport coat clad, hair raised/slicked up host who could not stop clapping, sometimes one clap, sometimes a few, you know hey-ho sort of. This went on the whole evening, much to the enjoyment of my wife and I. We sit in the bar area and I have a mojito, the wife a vodka/cranberry. After we sat at the sushi bar to watch the chefs at work. $18 for two drinks. Stumbled upon something that seems to be a trend but pisses me off, you must settle your bill at the bar instead of just being able to walk to your table and have the bar bill transferred with you. This practice sucks! We ordered the duck roll, chi town roll, and assortment of ceviche (4). I ordered the fatty tuna as well. As reported before, the ceviche just do not do it for me at all. A real waste of sushi IMO. The flavors I like, but they overpower the sushi. The fatty tuna I’ve decided I’m not a fan of, just the regular which I adore (I make a great poke with regular tuna) The Chi-town roll consisted of The duck roll was sublime, but then again, my wife and I rarely have met a duck dish we did not think was sublime. We also ordered kobe “sushi”. True Japanese kobe beef was served either sushi style (with rice underneath) or sashimi style (simply sliced, nothing else). It was a special and was described by our waitress as being slightly warmed so the fat/marbling would melt in our mouths. Having had and cooked both American and Japanese Kobe, I was really looking forward to these. I had sushi style and my wife the sashimi style. Both were too cold to enjoy the rich flavor, tasted like a good leftover steak. I brought this to our server’s attention who immediately offered to provide us with two more that had been heated properly at no cost. Sadly again, both were served too cold. Total bill w/two beers (minus drinks at bar) was just under $100. Even though I did not really enjoy the sushi all that much more this time, it was a much better quality and fresher than the last time I visited, however Sushi Samba is still not a place I will go back to, wife agrees. Afterwards we walked to Sugar, the dessert bar, see separate report. Sushi Samba 504 North Wells Chicago 312.595.2300 |
Been to this place. Inside is very cool, chic, hip, trendy, urban. Perfect place to wear those $200 jeans.
Would not return for the food as my meal was mediocre (not bad, not great), and I really hate this trend of "dining with thy neighbor." Basically, tables are smashed in. The bar, however, is very cool...and would certainly stop by for a drink or two. But if I want sushi, there are MUCH better places in the city like Kamahachi, Green Tea, and Bob Sans. |
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Sweet Willie: True Japanese kobe beef.....</font> |
this Saturday
Learn to roll your own. No, not that. Roll your own sushi, and taste five different sakes at the SUSHI AND SAKE CLASS at the 12,000-square-foot SUSHISAMBA rio restaurant. The chef's primers will include how to buy raw fish and make the perfect sticky rice. Handouts will be given, in case the sake impairs your note-taking skills. Saturday Feb. 19,2005 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Class is $60 per person. 504 N. Wells, 312-595-2300, http://www.sushisamba.com
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