Has Andersonville reached sushi saturation? No-frills Tokyo Marina, serving sushi and tempura to the ‘hood since ’86, and the 9-year-old Sunshine Cafe, offering home-style Japanese cooking, have both gotten some serious competition. Japanese and Korean eatery Hama Matsu, which just celebrated birthday No. 1, scored a lot of regulars because of chatty “Sushi Mike,” who entertained diners with his on-the-spot custom creations (chef/co-owner Kyung Bang is still the top toque). So naturally, we were excited when Mike recently jumped ship to open Tanoshii (5547 N. Clark St., 773-878-6886). On our visit, though, Mike didn’t work the entire sushi bar (or even offer us a suggestion), there were several timing guffaws, and we opened and poured our own wine and paid a corkage fee on top of it. OK, they’re new, so we’ll cut ’em some slack. Look for Sushi Luxe, with a sleek decor, extensive menu and full liquor license, to intensify the competition in late January. Let the yanagi knife wars begin!
