3736 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60613-4105
(773) 404-0555
Type: Sushi/Asian
Fancy Shmancy Factor: 1/5
Price: $5 per roll, $3-5 per piece for sushi, $7-12 for Specialty Rolls
Quality for price: 4/5
Ambiance: Casual
Since our first official date was going out for sushi, it only seemed appropriate to choose a sushi restaurant for our first review. A few Sundays ago was one of our first days off together in quite some time. After spending Saturday night at the Windy City Wine Festival consuming the equivalent of about six bottles of wine between the two of us and then heading to Lincoln Square to meet friends at the German Fest, we woke up Sunday morning (earlier than we should have, as is our custom) craving what all reasonable hangover victims crave: IHOP breakfast. Before you stop reading, NO, this review is not about the International House of Pancakes. Because, really, what negative thing could you ever say about IHOP? Four kinds of syrup right on the table and your own personal fake metallic coffee pot! And, in addition to the promised pancakes in the restaurant name, you can get BELGIAN waffles or FRENCH toast, lending the chain its "International" billing. And as for the "house" part, doesn’t that grease-stained handprint on the pleather booth make the restaurant feel curiously like home? Okay, this really is turning into a review of IHOP, so let’s get back to the present.
It’s Sunday at 5:30. We have tickets to see a friend in Taming of the Shrew at No Exit Theatre (great show, by the way). We’re looking for something elegant to match our feeling of sophistication (two tickets to Shakespeare and we get delusions of refinement). Unfortunately, our wallets don’t share our delusions and can’t support anything in the way of fine dining tonight. Compromise: Sushi at Jai Yen.
[Dan's Take]: I’m always a bit nervous taking Kristen to sushi places (see the food profile on her in the previous post), but I’m also trying to groom her to be a sushi connoisseur as I frequently crave the raw little buggers and it’s nice to share it with someone. We brought a bottle of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, which is a great wine for the price if you get it on sale at Jewel. With sushi, I usually like my wines to be on the sweeter side, but hey, it’s all that was in my fridge.
When we arrived, there were about three other tables between the dining room and the modest outdoor seating. Apparently, we were there before the dinner rush. We decided to sit inside and were seated promptly just off the main part of the dining room in an area that would have been perfect for a larger party, but was also nice since we were the only two people there. About halfway through the meal, they did seat a three-person birthday party in the same room, which was unfortunate. Not so much for us, but more for the girl who only had two people show up for her birthday party.
[Kristen's Take]: The thoughtful staff at Jai Yen must have felt sorry for her, too, and decided to help liven up the party because the relaxing, subtle house music we enjoyed with our wine and appetizer were replaced with classics such as The Macarena and no less than two songs by Shaggy. For the sake of keeping this entry only moderately long instead of intolerably so, I will choose not to comment on the fact that Shaggy has managed to have more than one hit song and that the Macarena has achieved such transcendent status.
Are we the only ones that get the feeling at some of the smaller-operation ethnic restaurants that there isn’t a clear person who is ‘the server’? There was someone who sat us, someone who filled our water glasses, and someone who graciously opened our wine for us. We ordered the Crab Rangoon from a couple of different people hoping that one of them was the designated person to put in the order to the kitchen. We were relieved when it came out to the table and only once. Crab Rangoon is a hard one to mess up, but this one stood out even from a very standard appetizer. The four pieces were hot and crunchy with just the right amount of filling and made us forget about the initial confusion. One of the great things about Jai Yen is that it's very reasonable and the sushi is quality. We ordered Spicy Tuna and Philly Maki rolls as well as one of their specialty rolls and four pieces of Sushi. With tax and tip our bill was still under $50 (not including the wine we brought). We both agree that Jai Yen is a good place to bring a date for a casual, good sushi meal if you're not looking to break the bank. Maybe not for a first date if you're really looking to impress someone with ambiance, but if you've been together for a while and aren't looking for the white glove treatment it's a great place for reasonably-priced sushi (and a bizzare music scene).
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