Fujiyama Japanese Restaurant

Decor:
Japanese style decor with standard bamboo type tables and sushi bar.

Wait Staff:
The staff really seems to want to make sure you don't get any surprises. Upon ordering the "lettuce with special dressing" the waitress confirmed that I really wanted the "big salad." When I asked how big it was she said, "Not that big...just wanted to be sure." She also confirmed that the caviar on the outside of the california rolls was going to be ok with everyone. Definitely wanted to manage everyone's expectations.

Drinks:
N/A

Food:
Salad -- Lettuce and vegetables with ginger sauce dressing. Dressing not as good as the measuring stick of Benihana, and definitely not as good as at Wakaba Sushi.
Spicy Tuna Roll -- Average. I like spicy tuna rolls hot, and these didn't have much of a kick.
Soft Shell Crab Roll -- Very good.
California Roll -- Good. I liked the caviar on the outside. A nice treat as they explode in your mouth when you bite into them.

Total Bill with Tip:
$23.00

Overall:
Nothing too exciting here, but it definitely is better in many ways than Wakaba Sushi. The wait staff definitely was very interesting though. Not sure exactly what their deal was....but what can you expect in Northbrook.

Fujiyama Japanese Restaurant
(847) 714-1319
3057 Dundee Rd
Northbrook, IL 60062

LuxBar

Decor:

LuxBar's interior decor is warm, dark wood with old style, traditional furnishings. The floors are black and white tiles, and the atmosphere is very busy, exhibiting the hustle and bustle of the city.

Wait Staff:
The wait staff here is spectacular. They go above and beyond with whatever you need.

Drinks:
Pim's Cup
Pimm’s No.1, Gin, Lemon juice, Ginger and Soda

I've ordered this drink here twice and have had it prepared two completely different ways. The first time seemed to be the more traditional, Wimbeldon style Pim's, 7Up, and fruit slices. The second was prepared as listed above. I prefer the first way to what is listed above, but nevertheless both are very good.

Food:
Buttermilk Fried Chicken Club Sandwich -- A boneless chicken breast deep battered and fried, then placed on a bun with lettuce and tomato. The size of the breast is huge, and it takes quite a bit of effort to eat is all. The batter recipe is wonderful and has that buttery, milky hint to it. Comes standard with thin french fries.

Soft Shell Sandwich -- Angie had a soft shell crab sandwich on a thick bun that was infused with butter. I had approximately 1/4 of it, and it was the most unbelievable sandwich I've had in memory. A full soft shell crab, the bun 'o butter perfectly complemented the crab meat. Amazing! Accompanied by cole slaw, which was rather good.

Hamburger Slider -- Jackson had one of the hamburger sliders. He didn't comment on how it was, but did eat it all.

Total Bill with Tip:
$46.17

Overall:
LuxBar is so good because of the quality service, consistency of good meals, and more than anything, the variety of the types of food you can get. You can get traditional bar food, or top notch seafood and fish any day of the week. They always have something that will pique your interest no matter what mood you are in.

LuxBar
18 E. Bellevue
Chicago 60611
Tel: (312) 642-3400
www.luxbar.com

City Tavern

Decor:
Very contemporary....especially for Culver, IN. Definitely the nicest restaurant in town. Very much like something you would find in an actual city, rather than in a summer home town like Culver.

Wait Staff:
Very nice and accomodating. The owner came over and offered to fashion a make-shift little bed for a sleeping Jackson. He also quickly adjusted the volume of the overhead music when we commented it was slightly too loud.

Drinks:
Bombay Sapphire Gin Martini -- Way too much vermouth. A little overpowering.
Bloody Mary -- Perfect. Not too spicy, but with just enough kick.

Food:
Tempura crusted spicy tuna roll -- Very interesting because of the tempura crusting. Very good, but each piece was so large it would barely fit in your mouth without a struggle. I would have preferred it to be a little spicier.
Ceasar Salad -- Adequate
Shanghai Sampler -- Three tempura shrimp, one large lump crab cake, one medium sized piece of grouper over a bed of sticky rice and vegetables. The tempura shrimp was very good, as well as the grouper. The crab cakes were fine, albiet a little heavy. I would have liked a little more vegetables, however, as the emphasis was on the rice, not the veggies. It would have balanced such a heavy meal a little better if something lighter was there with it.

Total Bill with Tip:
Unknown....

Overall:
Above average to very good. The important comment about the City Tavern is that because of it's location, with nothing like it in a 100 mile radius, it automatically gets higher marks than it normally would. I'm hesitant to comment even slightly negatively about anything there because I'm thankful that it even exists. Sushi in Culver, IN....previously unimaginable!

City Tavern
415 Lakeshore
Culver, IN 46511
1-574-842-3300

X/O

Decor:
Very trendy restaurant decor. Lots of colored lights that line the muted, earthy toned walls to light the restaurant. Rather dark, but they have placed the tables directly under the lights in the ceiling perfectly to light the tables. The bar/lounge looked very active.

Wait Staff:
Unbelievably attentive. Asked us upon arrival and the other tables he was servicing if they had dined at X/O before and followed up with a full description of the restaurant. Recommended various dishes, recommended how much food was too much, even going as far to say that he recommended ordering slightly less than expected because he could always bring more food, but couldn't take it away. When Angie appeared to shiver towards the beginning of the meal, asked if he could turn down the air conditioning so it wasn't so cold in the restaurant.

Drinks:
The "Sleek and Structured" flight
-Coltibuono Cancelli, Tuscany, Italy 2004 --Bold, strong taste, but not harsh. Recommended.
-Panther Creek, Willamette Valley --A very sweet, mild tast. Also recommended.
-Clos La Chance Syrah, Central Coast, CA 2003 --A little harsh. Hints of licorice, which I'm not a fan of.
-Artazuri Garnacha, Navarra, Spain 2004 --Surprisingly spicy but not harsh. Definitely came with a kick to it.

Food:
-Spicy stir-fried Shitake Mushrooms with fresh lotus root and lemon-poached leek.
-Pan seared Foie Gras with fresh strawberries and rhubarb.
-Soft Shelled Crab topped with a garnish of corn and dried onions.
-Coast Style Lump Crabmeat Cakes. “X”: Zucchini, roasted red peppers & parsley with roasted red pepper rouile. “O”: Shallot citrus zest & chives with a spicy roasted red & green pepper relish & cilantro

The mushrooms were spectacular, and the foie gras was the best I have ever had. It literally melted in your mouth. The soft shelled crab was also spectacular, and left me wanting more. I'm not a fan of crabcakes, but these were also very good, with the "O" being my favorite, but Angie favoring the "X" version instead.

Total Bill with Tip:
$109.00

Overall:
This meal was amazing. To this point, it has been the best restaurant we have eaten at since moving to Chicago. There's a patio in the back with outdoor seating, and we'll have to try that.

X/O - 3441 N. Halsted - Chicago - 773/348.9696
www.xochicago.com

Wakaba Sushi

Decor:
Japanese style decor as expected. Good sized seating area with sushi bar seating available. Large 7 or 8 foot water fall sculpture. Appears very clean and tidy.

Wait Staff:














Very nice wait staff. Sometimes not completely aware of when you are ready to go and need to pay.

Drinks:
Standard soft-drinks available. I had a lemonade, and it was fine.

Food:

--Salad with vegetables. Ginger salad dressing.
Very good. I think the ginger dressing was as good or even slightly better than my gold standard Japanese salad dressing at Benihana.
--California Roll
Just average. Not bad, but not anything to get excited about either.
--Spicy Tuna Roll
Same as above. Not bad, but just not anything that great either. The spicy mayo sauce mixed in the tuna roll just didn't have enough "kick" for my taste.

Total Bill with Tip:
$22.00

Overall:
Nothing exciting about this place. I probably wouldn't go back if there was another sushi place closer to work. Unfortunately there isn't. The only other one takes a lot longer to get to. I'll have to fight the traffic to try it because this just wasn't too great. That being said, I'll probably be back due to the proximity.

20506 Milwaukee Ave
Deerfield, IL 60015

(847) 541-7777

Intro

Many times during the day I eat. As a matter of fact, I do it at least twice a day. Here I'll post my comments about where I eat. I'll try to describe what I had, how it was, the general atmosphere, and how the wait staff was.

I plan to keep it to this format:
Decor:

Wait Staff:

Drinks:

Food:

Total Bill with Tip:

Overall: