has Matsuya on Clark closed?

anyone have any recommendations for something similar?

The first Japanese restaurant I truly liked after moving to Chicago more than 10 years ago is gone and I can't find any information about what happened. Does anyone know?

Matsuya
3469 N Clark Street

Been closed for remodling for a while. I hope that's truly the case. They put a bunch of money into the exterior recently, and it seems they are re-doing the inside now. But who knows for sure.

I think of Itto Sushi on Halsted near Wrightwood as being in the same vein as Matsuya.

chgoeditor wrote:I think of Itto Sushi on Halsted near Wrightwood as being in the same vein as Matsuya.

It's funny you mention Itto. Those two restaurants are responsible for introducing me to Japanese food. Itto, when they were at Clark & Deming, started me on sushi and Mitsuya showed me the wonders of cooked food; both on a regular basis.

kanin wrote:The first Japanese restaurant I truly liked after moving to Chicago more than 10 years ago is gone and I can't find any information about what happened. Does anyone know?

Matsuya
3469 N Clark Street

I was told by a local bartender that the family that owned it got one of those too good to be true offers and the kids didn't really want to continue in the restaurant business. The bartender said a friend of his bought the building and was building a small hotel there. I noticed the building is partially gone so that part is true. Matsuya was my introduction to Japanese food, I first ate there while in grammar school with a Japanese friend and her parents. They've always reminded me more of Sunshine Cafe, while they had sushi it wasn't their speciality. I would always see Japanese families having noodle dishes, tempura and salt grilled mackerel.

Damn. If true, this will be up there with Stefani's as one of my most sorely missed places, largely for sentimental reasons.

Similar places in important ways -- neighborhood family-friendly gems that were ahead of the curve in the "authenticity" department. Solid to the end even if the best days were in the past.

There was one brilliant sushi man at Matsuya who would come in very late, mid-week, randomly and not often to take the apron from the workmanlike Mexican guy who was usually in charge. Sort of a rakish Koizumi looking guy in his 50's or 60's with the angles and long streaked hair. Usually seemed to be 1 or 2 sheets into the night and was happy to see someone ordering Osaka style box pressed sushi and natto. Mr. Matsuya (never got the name) and Mario, the big, basso profondo, handlebar-mustached Milanese waiter from Stefani's are tough characters to come by these days. Sure, tatooed smarty pants youngsters can study and learn the old ways, but living links to the good old days (people and places) are important and dwindling.

It would be a shame if they never come back. Way too many fun post college exam nights were spent in those booths. I've always thought that Matsuya was as good as Renga-Tei.

Combination C will be sorely missed.

End of an era. I lived around the corner from Matsuya circa 1979 to 1984. One of my strong sources of Japanese food early on. Not expensive, really good. Another indication of passing time and increasing age.

I understand Matsuya has reopened in the old Shiro Hana space. Has anyone eaten there yet?

Yes.

Most (not all) of the old menu is there (alas, not my Osaka-style battera), and the regular mustached Mexican dude is behind the counter. No word on the mystical and supremely talented Koizumi lookalike gent (owner?) who used to appear late nite from time.

What I had was fine, maybe a 1/2 step off, but I stuck to my core old-school sushi standards - saba, natto, fried oysters. I did also try the interesting sun-dried herring roe, kazunoko, which I thought tasted like a milder bottarga and is not something I remember from the old menu - nor is it something much seen on sushi menus here.

The narrow Shiroi space is not nearly as pleasant as the old spot, and it doesn't look as if the Matsuya crew did anything with the place other than change the sign. The cluttered room could use some polish, and the turnover would have been a good opportunity.

When I was there midweek, plenty of nostalgic Matsuya faithful seemed to be on hand.

Is 3242 N Clark St. the new address?

Guess I'm in the opposite boat from you guys... I had been eating at Shiroi Hana for YEARS. This Friday I dialed them up from my phone contacts, ordered my usual, got it and literally couldn't tell the difference (besides a lack of tofu in the miso soup). I only realized that I had ordered from somewhere else when I went to throw out the bag it was delivered in and saw that it was a different menu.

Really going to miss Shiroi, they were good people.

claypoolfan wrote:
Really going to miss Shiroi, they were good people.

I too have fond memories of Shiroi Hana, dating back many years. Weren't they part of the Moonie sushi empire?

trpt2345 wrote:

claypoolfan wrote:
Really going to miss Shiroi, they were good people.

I too have fond memories of Shiroi Hana, dating back many years. Weren't they part of the Moonie sushi empire?

Same here. They used to have the all you can eat for $1/each sushi deal.

How long ago were you guys eating there? The last time I ate there was probably 7 or 8 years ago and I was terrified that the fish was going to make me sick.

..very similar places with similar menus. I'm just happy some remnants from the old Nisei neighborhood remain, along with Hamburger King and Toguri Mercantile.

jesteinf wrote:How long ago were you guys eating there? The last time I ate there was probably 7 or 8 years ago and I was terrified that the fish was going to make me sick.

It's been at least 15 years since I stopped going when I moved out of the neighborhood. They had just switched from real Japanese sushi chefs with one or two Hispanic guys to all Hispanic sushi chefs.

stevez wrote:all Hispanic sushi chefs.

I was recently at a Korean owned Japanese restaurant where the head sushi chef is Hispanic. Fish, both nigiri and sashimi, were fine but the sushi rice was wet, dense and mealy, a Japanese grandmother would throw herself out a window before serving this rice. When I mentioned something about the rice to the itamae he tasted said it was overcooked and went back to chatting with his buddy at the end of the sushi bar. Disappointing, to say the least.

chgoeditor wrote:Is 3242 N Clark St. the new address?

I really don't know much about the reopening/relocation of Matsuya, but sure enough, it's there. The menu seems the same or similar to the Matsuya I used to enjoy visiting in Lakeview years ago, but unfortunately the sushi bore no resemblance to the sushi I used to enjoy. Where to begin: fish cut too large and cut so poorly such that a couple looked like jigsaw puzzles on the rice; unevenly seasoned rice that was disgracefully dry in some spots, too sticky in others, but clumpy throughout; wasabi very unevenly applied, some pieces had too much, others none at all; a couple of slimy pieces, led by the slimiest scallop I've ever met; and bones in my dining companion's maki (in at least a few of the pieces).

So if you decide to go and seek out some of your previous favorites at Matsuya, that's fine. But if you order nigiri or maki, don't say you weren't warned.