Chicago, it seems, can’t get enough sushi. Established concepts such as Kamehachi continue to add locations, and new operators spring up in the city and suburbs with regularity. Starfish, which opened a few months ago along the restaurant-rich Randolph Street corridor, shows enough flash to merit attention, and enough substance to be taken seriously.
Owner Andy Park was one of the original partners in Blue Fin, a low-key neighborhood hangout in Bucktown. Starfish (no relation to the now-closed Bucktown seafood restaurant by the same name) is a much more ambitious project, and a good thing too; Randolph Street is a very competitive restaurant market, and already has a very good sushi restaurant in Sushi Wabi.
Starfish presents a mysterious face to passersby, its glass doors tinted an impenetrable black. It’s not even obvious where the front door is, as there are two sets of doors with handles (one set, locked for the season, connects the restaurant to its summertime sidewalk cafe). Inside, low lighting and dark hardwood floors contrast with bursts of vibrant color from electric-celadon walls and orange-red ceilings. Gleaming wood tables are small, set with a couple of utilitarian plates and flatfish-shaped chopstick rests. Pulsing urban-beat music plays constantly, though at volumes permiting easy conversation.
The various food and beverage items are listed on individual, unbound pieces of paper, no two the same size. The long, legal-sized sheet lists the appetizer, salad and sushi/sashimi choices; a letter-sized sheet contains the wine and sake offerings, and a still-smaller piece of paper lists the eight or so entrees. There are separate cards for the handful of desserts and the bar’s signature cocktails. It can be a little confusing at first, but soon you get the hang of it.
Starfish isn’t yet at the level of Chicago’s best sushi specialists, but already it’s well above average.
The sushi list is fairly straightforward, though Park brings in a few interesting choices, including white shrimp, white (albacore) tuna and the so-called “super white” tuna, which is the fattiest albacore cut and offers a buttery richness that’s almost overwhelming.
Maki rolls are a lot of fun, most of them “piggyback” creations that place, say, smidgens of seared tuna over raw spicy tuna (tataki maki), or fatty tuna over shredded crabmeat (totoro kani). The dragon maki pairs cooked eel over tempura shrimp, a nice blend of soft and crispy textures, while the black dragon pairs the assertive eel with tiny pieces of delicate scallop.
If there’s a consistent disappointment, it’s that most dishes billed as spicy have little discernible heat. The marked exception is the Dynamite in Shell appetizer, a large shell containing baked scallops and crunchy bell-pepper slivers blanketed in a creamy sauce accented with togarashi (a lively spice blend). This dish is at once spicy and indulgently rich, and I loved it.
Other good starters include a simple salad of King crab and grilled asparagus, tossed with mixed greens in a lemon-ponzu vinaigrette, and the negi hama roll, chopped yellowtail rolled in Japanese mint leaves and an outer layer of thinly sliced cucumber, each individual roll topped with a dab of wasabi mayonnaise. White tuna makes an appearance as a tartare, lightly seasoned and mixed with chopped scallions. The Seastar spring roll is a rice-paper wrap stuffed with scallops and shrimp, though the blend in my sample was so finely minced that nothing was recognizable, and the flavor was lacking as well.
Entree options change every few weeks; our samples included yellowfin tuna, crusted with black pepper and sesame seeds and served cold (much too cold, actually) over greens with little dots of ponzu sauce. Better was the phyllo-wrapped salmon, a challenge for chopsticks but otherwise a fine cooked fish, paired with a delicious smoked-molasses reduction that contributes a muted sweetness.
Chirashi, an entree from the sushi bar, is an assortment of sashimi cuts on a bed of sushi rice. It looks like the World’s Largest Nigiri, but the collection of tuna, yellowtail, snapper, mackerel and white tuna is first-rate.
Not surprisingly, dessert is not a priority here. There is mochi, a sweet, sticky rice paste wrapped around ice cream, along with a few imported desserts, including a capable, if incongruous, chocolate tartufo.
Service can vary widely. On our first visit we had an experienced waitress who offered knowledgeable suggestions and explanations; we experienced the other extreme on our third visit, with a waiter who responded to our inquiries by repeating the dish’s Japanese name, only more slowly. The popularity of the restaurant’s martini variations can overwhelm the bartenders, and the resulting delays slow down wine and sake service as well. Management might want to accelerate its training program just a bit.
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Starfish
(star)(star)
804 W. Randolph St. 312-997-2433
Open: Dinner Tue.-Sun., lunch Tue.-Fri.
Entree prices: $14-$22
Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V
Reservations: Recommended
Noise: Conversation-friendly
Other: Wheelchair accessible; Valet parking; Smoking in bar only
OUTSTANDING (star)(star)(star)(star)
EXCELLENT (star)(star)(star)
VERY GOOD (star)(star)
GOOD (star)
Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
