Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Hooray sushi -- Kyoto, Downers Grove

Shhh. I found a gem of a sushi place, hidden in a strip mall. It's surrounded by Best Buy and Disc Replay, but inside is a little oasis of calm and tastiness.

This is Kyoto, 1408 Butterfield Road, Downers Grove. Besides sushi, they also feature cooked Japanese and Chinese dishes.

I visited with my sushi partner-in-crime (not the husband, since he's not so much into the fish). The service was attentive and friendly, the food was fresh and delightful, and the atmosphere is cozy and comfortable.

We ordered:
- edamame
- 2 super white tuna, 2 red snapper
- California roll
- Mexican roll (tuna, salmon, avocado, jalapeno, fish egg & cilantro with hot mayo)
- Spicy Girl roll (tempura shrimp & cucumber topped with spicy tuna & tempura)
- a glass each of sake
- tempura fried red bean ice cream

Lotta food, right? And yet, pretty reasonably priced -- not wallet emptying! It was pretty much all delicious -- the Mexican roll was probably the most out-of-the-ordinary and had great flavors, but even the California roll managed to be special.  The white tuna completely melted in my mouth, and the snapper tasted like... the ocean. Not "fishy," just fresh and with a subtle but distinct taste.

The sake I ordered was apple flavored, and it tasted like wine with a jolly rancher melted in -- but it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. The red bean ice cream was great for desert -- subtle and a little fruity, a little sweet, not too rich or heavy. Just the right ending to a delicious meal.

While my sushi p-i-c and I have new frontiers to explore, I would definitely return to Kyoto.

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