Takashi kaiseki: where marriage of French and Japanese is a match made in heaven

I gotta say: I was a bit disappointed after trying Slurping Turtle. So much so I lost confidence in Chef Takashi. So much so I dragged my feet about redeeming my Groupon, until it was the week before it expires, and, you guessed it: they were all booked. Fortunately, the hostess told me they decided to extend the Groupon for the Sunday Kaiseki dinners into January, so here I am, in Takashi, on the first Sunday of 2013.

Perhaps due to the Kaiseki craze stirred up by Next's most recent menu, Takashi decided to start offering this on Sundays around the same time. There are two options: 7 courses for $73 or 11 courses for $100. Given that I'm not feeling ravenous and the Groupon's only good for $80, I opted for the 7 courses option. Thank GOD for that. They'd have to carry me out in an ambulance if I had the 11 courses, because I was SO full after at the end of my meal, I could barely squeeze through the tiny space between tables.

 

Amuse Bouche: house-made black sesame tofu, braised duck breast, nori, soy sauce

Maybe I was hallucinating, but I swear this tofu had a texture and taste that's reminiscent of the sweetest uni (sea urchin)! The duck breast was beautifully pink and had a hint of smokiness. There was a small dollop of yellow horseradish on top that cuts through the fattiness and complements the duck.

Crudo of hamachi wrapped around herring roe, soy braised eggplant and broccolini

 This was a lovely dish: the fish rich and buttery, while the roe it was wrapped around was crunchy, providing perfect juxtaposition to each other. The broccolini was merely blanched but pulled out at the right moment so it still had enough crunch but totally cooked through. It had a hint of sweetness I never knew broccolini had. Eggplant was melt-in-mouth tender.

Braised pork belly with winter melon and kabocha, snow peas, grilled shishiso pepper and shredded ginger

This was an overall sweet dish. The pork was not quite fork tender: I had to attack it with knife and fork before picking up with my chopsticks (yes, I made use of all the utensils provided to me). Nevertheless it was full of flavor, just as the winter melon and kabocha squash. The simply blanched snow peas add a refreshing crunch. I was curious about the shishiso pepper as I've seen it numerous times at Green City Market but never dared to buy it. I overheard the waiter say there's a 1 in 6 chance to get a hot one...well, I'm that 1. This one's got a kick! That little squiggle of mustard on the side of the shallow bowl really blended well with the sweet broth.

Fried seafood dish (left to right): panko crusted West Coast oyster with tonkatsu sauce, sardines wrapped in nori and rice paper, bad hair day Madagascar prawn

  

 This was my least favorite dish of the night. In fact, I sort of lost my appetite and my stomach was all uncomfortable. I guess I'm just not a big fried food fan. But I will say my favorite of the 3 was the sardine...it was very juicy. Actually so juicy when I bit into it, it squirted all the way across my tiny table. Fortunately it was so dark nobody noticed (I hope).

Broiled sake curd marinated sea trout with pickled vegetables (lotus root, cauliflower and daikon) and seaweed

This was another success, easily one of my favorite savory dishes of the night. You can see the fish has some nice caramelization on the surface, but inside it's so flaky and juicy it was sublime. The pickled veggies were on the sweet side, I wish they had a bit more vinegar to counter the sweetness of the fish. The seaweed was sweet too. Guess my sweet tooth is evident given how much I enjoyed this dish.

ken-chin inaniwa: soba noodles with Amish chicken, rice cakes, burdock, shimeiji mushrooms

I enjoyed this one, even though it's a very simple dish. The noodle was toothsome, the broth light but flavorful and piping hot. It soothed my stomach, which has been unhappy ever since the fried dish. Amish chicken was cooked to perfection.

Dessert: sheep's milk yuzu curd panna cotta with candied yuzu & raspberry wasabi macaron

I was BLOWN AWAY by the desserts. The panna cotta was so silky smooth I savored every mouthful, letting it coat my tongue before sliding it down my throat. I wanted to LICK this cup. But I think I've embarrassed myself enough by whipping out a giant camera in such a romantic restaurant. (Given the proximity of the tables, I'll bet my neighbors hated my incessant shutter clicks. And I really did have to take a lot of shots because of the lighting.) The tartness of yuzu really shines through the richness of the dessert. And that piece of candied yuzu was TO DIE FOR.

And finally, ever since trying macarons for the first time in Paris in 2005, I've found one I actually enjoyed. All the others I've tried were cloyingly sweet. This one was not. The beautiful color only hints at the fresh, intense raspberry flavor, and the texture was perfect: crispy outside, just a tad sticky inside. I didn't catch any wasabi flavors but I didn't care. This was divine. Upon inquiring the waiter, he told me their pastry chef is Courtney Joseph. I'll remember this name.

So there you go. Although I lost heart in Chef Takashi along the way, this kaiseki dinner made me fall in love with him all over again. I was a bit unsure about the marriage of French and Japanese cuisines when I first heard about it as the two cuisines seem to be on opposite ends of a spectrum - French is super-rich and buttery, while Japanese uses subtle flavors to showcase the food. But now I realize this is really a match made in heaven. The two extremes blend beautifully to yield a sophisticated & refined taste. And the food certainly is even more beautiful visually.

The best part of my meal was bumping into Chef Takashi at the door. I was so star-struck I stammered (duh!). But it was a really cool experience. He was very friendly and throughout my meal I saw him come out a few times to chat up with guests. The second best part of the meal was my final bill: $0.30. Granted, I prepaid the Groupon months ago. Still, after such a fantastic meal, how could this bill not make anyone feel like it's an unbelievable bargain? I loved the dinner so much I'm ready to come back even without a Groupon. I'm a believer now.

P.S. One tiny nitpick: I asked for hot water instead of iced because it was freezing out. The server gave me a beautiful glass teapot and coffee cup/saucer...and never came back to check on the water temperature. A very very big difference from my experience at Jeans-George, where the server repeatedly came back to give me fresh hot water.

P.P.S. My waiter Chris reminded me of Tyler the werewolf in Vampire Diaries. (Before anyone starts poopooing, this is a compliment. Tyler's hot.)

P.P.P.S. Lots of free parking around Takashi. I was able to find a spot half a block away on Damen. But there's valet if you're too lazy or you don't know how to parallel park. Wuss. (just kidding :P)

Takashi

1952 N Damen Ave.

Chicago, IL 60647

(773) 772-6170