I don’t know how many visits it would take to truly feel comfortable ordering in a place like Momotaro, the triple-decker Japanese behemoth from the Boka group (which seems incapable of opening an unsuccessful restaurant). I visited a few times, and when I go back again I’ll still probably dither anxiously over the seven-page menu. It’s a lot to take in, divided among snacks, cold and hot appetizers, skewers from the robata grill, items brought to the table on live hibachi grills, a seasonal category titled (for now) “autumn,” and, from the sushi side of the operation, donburi, sashimi, makimono, nigiri, and a separate “chef selection nigiri.”
The Japanese obsession with itameshi, or Italian food, results in two superb mashups. One, a spool of spaghetti enriched with the egg of the free-range Jidori chicken, is tossed with tiny, spicy pollock roe that act as a delicate abrasive on the tongue. The other, a risotto-like pool of creamy, vividly orange-colored uni rice, is topped with a generous application of black truffle slices that perfumes the table’s orbit with a fungal ambrosia. Uni appears on the menu seven times in similarly luxurious capacities.
Makimono are similarly restrained and not unlikably adorned. Chopped yellowtail is given textural variety with a sprinkle of puffed rice that doesn’t interfere with the fish. A strong specimen like mackerel is sprinkled with a bracing herbal mix that includes wasabi root and leaf, shiso, sesame seeds, and mint. A shiny, jewel-like square of tuna shelters a roll filled with chopped octopus, crowned with a pinky-nail-size circle of pickled lotus root—it’s cute, and it doesn’t get in the way.
820 W. Lake 312-733-4848momotarochicago.com
