The Other Critics

Sula Slams Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar and Yuzu Sushi & Robata Grill

Sula thinks you should step away from the sushi.
Sula thinks you should step away from the sushi. Photo: Galdones Photography

• Mike Sula wishes the izakaya trend “sweeping the city,” could be “nipped in the bud until someone can do it right,” as he is not impressed by either Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar or Yuzu Sushi & Robata Grill. While Union Sushi sometimes shows a “few flashes of brilliance,” including the agedashi sweet-potato tater tots, many dishes are “subject to disastrous execution.” The sushi is the big problem, as most of the makimono feature “incomprehensibly clashing textures, and muddled flavors that represent the worst excesses of the nonpurist school of fish.” Sula is a slightly kinder about Yuzu Sushi, which has “a few more things going for it than the far more audacious Union.” Still, many of the makmono contain “the dreaded cream cheese,” and feature ingredients that “harmonize about as well as a chorus of sharks and porpoises.” [Chicago Reader]

• Though “slightly odd” and a “little too precious in places,” Phil Vettel still thinks that iNG is “work-ing.” The restaurant manages to “explore Asian flavors, in traditional and creative ways.” That includes the “wonderful” traditional hand-pulled noodles and the “pork-filled baozi buns.” Desserts are, unfortunately, “playful to the extreme.” Still, most of the time the food “delivers on the taste front.” [Trib]

• There are things Pat Bruno likes about Rustic House, and things he does not. Luckily, the menu is a “ravishingly good read,” the room is “casual yet vibrant,” and the “flavor combinations” show “creativity” and good “execution.” He particularly loved the gnocchi, which was “numbingly good.” Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the crust of the cherry pie, which was “dull, dry and boring.” [Sun Times]

Sula Slams Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar and Yuzu Sushi & Robata Grill