As it's mere feet from my old neighborhood gin mill, we ended up (again) at Sushi Doraku. It's a Benihana-owned sushi place that has a bright, high-energy decor. It screams "Power-Puff Girls" more than "sushi joint." They have a kaiten that you can pick-and-choose from, but it has been pretty sparse the few time we've been there. They total up the bill at the end of the meal based on the number and color of the empty plates in front of you. They also have an "attention getter," a cylinder that's red on one end, green on the other. When you need a waiter you turn it over. The edamame were a little chilly from riding around in circles- I've had them cold, but I prefer them steaming. They were yummy, though they lacked the crystallized salt on the outside. We did the standard tuna and salmon and found them more than adequate, with slightly larger than "standard" portions. Their rainbow preparation was beautiful, but the Cali-roll base wasn't as tasty as the sushi on top. The unagi was prepared in a similar manner with the unagi wrapped around a California roll, the unagi was (as usual) delicious. The girls had some beef teriyaki that was tasty but small, I don't know why I still expect the cooked items to come in Chinese food portions. We had two delicious spicy-tuna rolls off of the kaiten, this is my favorite thing (other than unagi in general) on their menu- very tasty. We finished up with four pieces of Unagi and totalled out. Four people with Sake was eighty dollar, plus ten to the chef and ten to the "waiter." I'm not sure what the proper tip-ratio is, but the chef was working hard so he got a half-share. Four people, about an hour, and a hundred bucks- very fair deal. I'd say 2.5/4, good but not great. It's worth a trip, but not a long trip. trent Sushi Doraku 1139 N. State St. Chicago, IL Phone: (312) 867-7772
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