Could this be the place? http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...ML/000010.html

i went to todai for lunch once ... the woodfield mall location ... and i didnt find it particularly nice.

then again i get snobby when it gets to asian food (chinese and japanese in particular). so long as u guys enjoyed urselves http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...orum/smile.gif

YES TOJO's!

I went twice in three days! It was THAT good.

This was back in 1998 - we had some awesome TORO which were precisely C$3.25 apiece. What a steal. I might have had a dozen, or more! Melts in your mouth. Absolutely amazing.

Can't wait to go again.

------------------
When once you have experienced being a 1K, you will forever fly the friendly skies with your eyes set on 100% mileage bonus and SWUs, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return, every year!

Any updates for this place? Thinking on stopping by here again.

Stopped by here with my wife on Sunday night around 5:15 pm. Although the place was pretty full, had no problems finding a place to sit and there were no lines for the food areas. They had the usual crab legs and had large baked shrimp and large crabs cut in half where the lobster tails used to once flow. This was my wife's first time there and she thought it was OK. I thought the sushi was pretty bland but they had a big tub of spicy tuna sauce so that helped down my wide variety of maki on my plate. They now have green tea ice cream in the dessert area. Even as we left, there was a very short line to get in. I would now have trouble recommending this place to people that love seafood. If you are interested in quantity over quality, this is the place for you.

Looks like they are also planning to open another location in Skokie.

My family likes Todai's better than I do. They seem to love the sheer quantity of food. Sushi is borderline awful. However, beware! They have changed their birthday deal. Used to give you a free meal on your birthday. Now give you a coupon for a free meal NEXT time you go. At the transition point of the promo, we had an ad in hand for my daughter's birthday just printed in the newspaper with the old deal. They did honor it but with a lot of fussing. That was July. We have not been back.

Any recent reports on this place?

Thanks.

I have been a few times with co-workers as I work less than a mile away from the woodfield mall location. quality is the same as posted above, items seem to be hit or miss, overall quality is medium.

After a recent visit, this place is now on my "stay away" list. I got sick the last time and I got sick again this time so it can't be a fluke. I realized it wasn't very cheap anymore for the quality of food you are getting.

As a glutton for punishment, I went again because my Mom likes the place and we went for her birthday. The spread has not changed much and I still got sick. The desserts seems to have gotten better.

There's something fishy going on here
 

This place sounds EXACTLY like Minado's www.minado.com - right down to them advertising lobster but rarely/never having it!

That being said, for the price, I think it's a good value - especially in NYC. Service is exceptionally good for a restaurant of this type. Good place to take out-of-towners.

Todai's

I haven't been to Todai's in a few months, but I still enjoy this place. Contrary to korea71 experiences, I've never gotten sick from the place.

I think Todai's fits me because I love large quantities of food. In order for me to really enjoy the amount of sushi I can eat at Todai's, I'd have to spend over $80. I'd rather put in a few extra bucks and hit Charlie Trotters or Tru for that price. Either that, or subtract a few bucks and get a steak at Gibson's or Ruth's Chris.

I'm not a very taste discerning person so perhaps that's another reason why this place works for me. If you gave me a piece from Todai's a piece from a great sushi place, I probably wouldn't notice the difference.

To show how much sushi I eat, let me just say that I eat at least 30 pieces when I go there.

One thing that does bother me about the place is they no longer have my favorite variety. Well, I have only gone during luch in the past 9 months, so perhaps they still offer it at dinner, but I've noticed that they no longer have the freshwater eal (Unagi). Also, if you go there when it's busy, you have to wait in line, and often several varieties are out of stock. You then have to sit there and wait for them to make more or just satisfy yourself with a different variety.

Sidenote: I like the Green Tea Ice Cream, and the Iced Green Tea (I don't know what brand they use, but the iced green tea that I make doesn't taste like their variety).

Another seafood pigout (Lobsters!)

Pappdeux Seafood Kitchen, which is on the corner of Golf and Algonquin Roads (which I believe is in Arlington Heights, or possibly Rolling Meadows), offered all-you-can-eat lobsters on Thursdays for like $32. I don't know if they still have this deal as I only went once. I'm sure people might complain about the quality of the lobsters, but I personally enjoyed eating 5 whole lobsters.

Getting sick of the food

On thing I must say about these two places is that I can only appreciate the experience every 4-5 months. I eat so much that I don't feel like eating sushi until the next quarter.

Conclusions:

As you might have gathered from the other threads, if you are picky, you probably won't like these places. If you have the "buffet" mentality, then you'll probably love these places, as I do.

They still have this deal, it either just started or just ended.

So they still do the lobster buffet? Willie, you up for this?