Kim wrote:We tried to have dinner at Mitsuwa on Thursday , but they close the foodcourt at 7:00.
We ended up at the Japanese Bowl House on Algonquin in Rolling Meadows. I ordered a California roll which was ok but served in a large salad bowl , very odd. I tried the chef special , one shrimp tempura that tasted like it was deep fried in very old oil, salmon with the tail on that was very fatty and Korean pcs of beef that was pre cooked and dry and a couple pcs of tuna and salmon, did not taste fresh. My husband had the tonkatsu , large portion but it wasn't panko bread crumbs. I can't remember the last time I left most of my meal on the plate. Was never asked if everything was ok or if we needed anything. It was the worst dinner we had out in a very long time. Has anyone tried Nikko's Japanese Restaurant down the block from Mitsuwa , I was sorry we chose the Bowl House instead.
At one time Bowl House was really good... But this was back when they were on Arlington Heights and Golf. Once they moved it seems as of the quality had completely tanked.
The best sushi in the area is a closely held secret that I am going to share with the board. I found out about it after going to Sushi Station one night after they first opened... I was complaining to the manager about the quality of the food and he said they were not geared toward the sushi purist, they were targeting the person who wanted a lot for their money (by the way, to be fair they really seemed to have since changed focus, and the food there is much better now... When they first opened they didn't even have a trained sushi chef, just people in the back who would place the pre-cut fist onto pre-made rice balls).
Anyways, he told me about Tensuke in Elk Grove. It is a small grocery store (no, not Mitsuwa) that is owned by True World that has a full service sushi counter in the back (with all of four tables to sit at), sells packaged sushi from a small case, and sells fillets of sushi grade fish. The manager of Sushi Station told me that is where he grandmother buys sushi/fish when they want to serve it to their own family. Well, good enough for me!
Anyways, their food is absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend going there if you can get over the whole True World connection. It is on the corner of Arlington Heights rd and Higgins in the same shopping center as the Elk Grove Bowl. The sushi is the case is ok, but if the counter is open, order it fresh. Also, make sure not to miss their home made "hot" or "mild" spicy sauce which is absolutely to die for.