Mark, Mat and Ted of Oishii Sushi Lounge and Chanoso’s Restaurant have sent in another report from Chicago along with some (not the greatest quality…sorry Mark!) photos. Now mind you, I have no clue what the photos are as Mark didn’t leave any descriptions. Also, don’t mind the finger blocking a portion of the one photo… Here is their roundup of day two in the Windy City:
It’s not that we intended to nullify the healing benefits of the Ruby Inn, which I highly recommend (no phones, no TVs, just all goodness) but Mat, Ted and I just had to experience breakfast at the Bongo Room.
Ted and Mat succumbed to the Pumpkin Zucchini & Chocolate Velvet Pancakes and Vegetarian Sandwiches, like no other. Thereafter, Ted was off to his first day while Mat took to the streets exploring.
Our first stop was to Sticky Rice, which we were told offered the best Thai food in Chicago. The Sticky Rice lived up to its reputation. Mat and I shared the Pad Thai (I want to improve ours), the Crab Rangoon; Shrimp in a Blanket; and some Gang Mussamun (Duck Thai curry in coconut milk with potato, peanut, and onion).
What I hope to bring home to Windsor
The Pad Thai had the perfect balance between sweet and savoury (in Windsor, I find that you frequently must
From there, we spent the afternoon evaluation and appraising all 18 Chanoso’s employees. I also set a new record, by spending the next two hours enjoying the many benefits of the Ruby Inn, which I highly recommend for the following reasons:
- A helpful, knowledgeable and caring staff
- No phones and TVs in the room
- Amazingly comfortable rooms that exude relaxation
- A wide array of healing and spa treatments, in addition to the vast selection of cosmetics for women
So then we attempted to go to Blue Coral Sushi but found it closed for four days for renovations. This became a blessing in disguise as we found ourselves at Mirai Sushi, which was one of my best sushi experiences
At Mirai Sushi, we had to keep reminding ourselves not to take the impeccable service we received for granted. Again, everyone who approached our table willingly imparted knowledge of their cuisine and offered guidance with menu selection. In addition to a tuna sampler nigiri selection (tuna, medium otoro and fatty otoro) we tried the shrimp seven spice togarashi sauce, and a tuna tuna roll which had albacore inside a square of pressed rice with tuna over it topped with a great sauce.
Dessert was a a selection of mochi ice cream is a Japanese confection made from mochi (decimated sticky rice) with an ice cream filling.
What we will bring back to Windsor
A renewed search for better service and hopefully experiment until we can make our own mochi
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Ted “Tiki” here
What an amazing first day to this experience
I’m sitting here at a French Restaurant with a Japanese chef and Ignacio from Buenos Aires and Alfredo from Mexico, everyone’s speaking spanish. Talk about a truly international experience.
My first task was to debone Duck confit after which the Restaurant decided to change an ingredient in a dish from quince to kumquat which put me in a position where my job was to seed kumquats for 5 hours. It was a great day.
For a break I was invited to join the staff for what they called “Family Meal” where one person was designated to cook with any leftover ingredients from lunch. This was the most important part of the day where camaraderie is born. I thought of our own Jennifer Hillis who brings the staff food and baked goods each day.
Everyone here is so relaxed while at the same time it goes without saying how much they care about what they are doing. Watching chef Takashi cutting the hamachi and just being around him was great.
Chef Takashi has to be simply the nicest and most amazing man I’ve ever met. After only a short time with him, when telling him that we were staying at the Ruby Inn (which I highly recommend for anyone who wants a healthy experience in chicago) Chef Takashi told me “next time you come you stay at my house”
I don’t think I can describe how it felt to see Takashi stay right to the end of the night and wash dishes with all of us. When discussing where the best fish could be purchased, he recommended arlington which is an hour drive and then told me I should take his car Friday and go see it myself.
Its eye opening to see Takashi so happy in moving from a large Las Vegas Restaurant at The Wynn to a neighborhood restaurant where the dishwasher is in a basement that has a 5 foot ceiling. I lost count how many times I hit my head on it but having Takashi next to me and talking with me made every bump a pleasure
