LTHForum.com

LTHForum,

It is my pleasure to nominate Tampopo for an LTHForum Great Neighborhood Restaurant Award. Tampopo, named after the Juzo itami movie of the same name, is on a short list of places my wife and I dine on a regular basis, which I attribute to care and quality of the food and conviviality of chef/owner Daniel.

Best AgiDashidofu in Chicagoland, terrific Ramen, udon, a variety of homestyle dishes to solid sushi offerings ranging from tarted up fashion rolls to pristinely fresh nigiri, sashimi and traditional maki. A recent meal at Tampopo yielded buttery beautifully striated salmon that rivaled anything I've had at twice the price. Which brings up another point, price point, Tampopo is in the lower end of sushi joint pricing, an excellent value for ones dining dollar.

In answer to prevailing unofficial GNR criteria, would you take or recommend the nominee to an out of town visitor, in Tampopo's case the answer is a resounding Yes! Over the years I have taken out of town friends, relatives, arranged impromptu group dinners and even set up a Purple Asparagus Family Dinner.

The main Tampopo thread is shared with a now defunct Middle Eastern restaurant, and there are numerous mentions scattered about the board. Tampopo has long been in the LTHForum culinary consciousness, even going back to Chowhound days, and is an old friend to many on the board.

I highly recommend Tampopo, not hip, no saketinis, consistently delicious food served in a comfortable setting for reasonable prices by one of the nicer owner/chefs in Chicago.

Thank you for your consideration of Tampopo as an LTHForum Great Neighborhood Restaurant.

AgiDashiDofu



Cold Soba Noodles w/tempura



Enjoy,
Gary

Tampopo Japanese Restaurant
5665 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
773-561-2277

Oooh! An enthusiastic second to this nomination! Mellonhubby love the Ramen and Katsu Curry. The Agadashi tofu is 'to die'. The sushi is lovely - some of the maki is a bit on the Americanized side (lots of 'crunch' and 'spicyness' but I love this kind of 'Utility Sushi') but if you're going for something more traditional, the freshness of the fish is nothing to sneeze at.

It's a great little spot when we want a casual, inexpensive dinner. Thank you Mr. Gary for thinking of this!

An enthusiastic third. It has become our go to sushi place, exquisitely fresh and not expensive Japanese cuisine. And it is definitely a "neighborhood" place on a non-descript section of north Lincoln Avenue, luckily very near us. This is one of the very best places that the LTH Forum has alerted us to.

I definitely support this nomination. Tampopo is just a few blocks from my house and my family goes for dinner often. Everything we've had has been great, but for us, the real draw is the udon and ramen. They're some of the best I've ever had, especially the Nabeyaki Udon. I tend to go to Tampopo more in the winter than in the summer because the soups are so great for a cold winter day. They're also really accommodating of my 4 year old, which is a big plus for me.

Like others have said above, Tampopo has turned into my go-to sushi place. Daniel is a generous and friendly host, remembering my husband and I whenever we come in and even giving us a complimentary bottle of sake as a small wedding gift (we got married in June). Daniel is very accommodating of my vegetarian husband, creating some of the best thoughtful vegetarian sushi we have ever eaten (if you don't believe me, just try anything he has with shiitake mushrooms, I believe they are house-marinated and delicious). And he also makes me fantastically creative rolls (when asking for a super spicy roll, I said to Daniel, "Make me cry and make my nose run". He didn't disappoint). Tampopo was also the last place we dined in Chicago 2 weeks ago before we packed up and moved to Central Illinois (to B-N, or Blormal as my friends call it). It was a wonderful, yet bittersweet send off. And it will be the first place we visit whenever we come back into town. I would love to see our favorite joint be a GNR.

Sharona

N.B. Daniel mentioned to us that he was filming for Check Please sometime in the near future, with the episode airing later this fall. You have been warned.

Based on my initial visit to Tampopo last weekend, I definitely endorse this nomination.

I think that Tampopo is a textbook GNR candidate because it's a small, family-run, neighborhood spot, which serves fantastic food (far greater than how it might appear from the outside looking in) at an extremely reasonable price. Service is welcoming, friendly and helpful. After just one visit, I completely see the appeal and look forwarding to returning -- and recommending it to friends.

=R=

Ditto what Ronnie said. I went last night for the first time and had a thoroughly enjoyable meal, especially enjoying the hot dishes.

Ronna

Count me in with the ranks of Tampopo fans. For all the edible reasons previously mentioned (oh, that agedashi tofu!), but also for the odds and ends of unexpected treats, like crisp and charry broiled yellowtail or salmon collar. Although it's a different genre of Japanese, Tampopo has all the great qualities, and has always reminded me of another GNR--Sunshine Cafe. A welcoming owner and friendly (not necessarily speedy) staff, a simple, straightforward place to eat good, reliable sushi. Great nomination!

My impressions are based on my first and only visit, yesterday, as part of an LTH group lunch. As others have noted, Tampopo is a very welcoming restaurant. The owner appears to honestly care about his customers and their experience. The space is small, comfortable and family friendly.



From what I understand, the owner knows his regulars and sends them tasty, fried amuse bouche morsels - today consisting of tempura green beans and pork.





The agedashi tofu.



As GAF pointed out, the thickness of the sushi was notable. The freshness, flavor and texture of the salmon, tuna and yellow tail we had yesterday was top-notch.



The eel was comparable to the best I've had.



I must admit, this was my first time trying sea urchin and, well... I'll take the word of others' who claim that it was very good.



We also had ramen, cold soba noodles with tempura, a mushroom maki and a spicy tuna roll. I thought the mushroom maki was the standout of this group, though everything else was good. The tempura was crisp and light.









Even though I've only been to Tampopo once, I've been to many good Japanese restaurants and some that were less than stellar. In my book, Tampopo goes near the top. It reminds me somewhat of Renga-Tei ... and that is very good company. I support this nomination based on my limited experience.

I think that the comparison with Renga Tei is apt. Tampopo serves an array of Japanese food well at a very reasonable price point, and with a greater range than Sunshine Cafe. I believe that it does enough things exceptionally well (including a very gregarious owner) that justifies its nomination as a GNR. I was very taken with the mushroom maki and the tempura green beans. The salmon was as buttery as I can possibly imagine.