Ginza Japanese Restaurant: Neil Continues to Turn Japanese

Those of you who know Neil know that he has some unique interests and hobbies.  Of course he loves puttering around in his aquariums and jogging, and a podcast and food blog aren't uncommon at all these days, either.  But once you get into the tiki and Elvis, some people might start to wonder.  And that doesn't even touch on his fandom of pro wrestling, the greatest of sports, and how it has introduced him to his love of Japanese culture (now even Beth is starting to wonder).  Yes, Japanese wrestling is one of his favorites (and the root of his wish to visit Japan for his 40th birthday) and this love of the land of the rising sun extends to the food.  From eating udon at Tokyo Box Lunch to munching on delicious rice cake with bean paste candies, he has a definite fondness for Japan. So when Beth suggested some hole in the wall Japanese restaurant not far from the Magnificent Mile (aka Michigan Avenue), there wasn't much convincing required.  Ginza is a place you've probably walked by a bunch if you live in Chicago, and you might have even wandered by as a tourist due to the proximity to a number of tourist favorites and hotels.  From the outside, it and the attached Tokyo Hotel aren't much to look at.  The terms "hole in the wall" and "dive" may come to mind, as this place sticks out a bit amongst the shiny newness of much of the River North neighborhood.  However, once you get past the front door and pass through the curtains, you're transported to what I imagine (and many Yelp reviewers confirm) a small restaurant in Tokyo might look like.  Buy the ticket, take the ride, and off to Japan we go!

Drinks
Since we were eating Japanese food, some sake seemed like the logical direction to go.  It was hot out, so we decided to go with a cold sake and the patient waitress pointed us to the ad in the table top stand for Ozeki Karatamba sake.  This was a dry, lighter sake with a mild flavor.  It was refreshing after the heat outside and had a sake meter value of +7 according to the bottle, not that it meant a thing to us.  Being a more Japanese than American restaurant, we got smaller glasses of water than we were used to, but the waitress quickly figured out that Neil drinks lots of water and our glasses were never empty.

Karatamba Ozeki Sake

Food
The food at Ginza appears to our untrained eyes to be pretty traditional.  There is no fusion here, just straight up Japanese food without the bells and whistles.  I've heard that there is even a special menu for Japanese speakers with the really good, homestyle stuff.  Maybe if Neil starts talking loudly about Japanese wrestling they'll offer it to us one day (or usher us discreetly out the front door).  We started with a couple of appetizers while we perused the menu.  The first was gyoza, a broiled dumpling.  It was similar to a Chinese potsticker, but with a thinner, more delicate exterior and a lighter flavor.  We couldn't pin down the meat inside, but with scallions and a nice dipping sauce that was like a more potent soy sauce, it was a great start.

Gyoza

Next up came an appetizer that we were both excited to try, a fried soft shell crab!  It came in a light tempura batter and was fried to a crunchy perfection.  Dipping it in the saltiness of the soy sauce really went well with the sweetness of the crab.  It was served chopped down the middle in two and made a great appetizer.

Soft Shell Crab

Before the entree came out, we were treated to a bowl of miso soup.  It was wonderfully simple in its presentation, but had that great flavor that only a good miso soup has, mixing tofu with seaweed and scallions.

Miso Soup

For the entree we went with the Chef's Special Sushi.  It was a mix of maki and nigiri, which we still aren't sure of the meaning.  After consulting with the waitress (and her limited English skills), the menu posted outside, and each other, we think this is what we got:
Spicy Tuna Roll
White Tuna
Fluke
Yellow Tail Tuna
Tuna Belly
Salmon
Scallop
Sea Bass
Abalone
Roe (salmon & another)
All of them were good, but the scallop was a bit on the tough side to try to bite in two so we could each try.  The abalone looked a little scary to look at, but tasted fine.  Hidden between the fish and the rice that it rode upon was a dab of wasabi to bring a little heat to each.  We weren't sure whether the roe was just for garnish (our first guess) or an actual piece of sushi.  Upon later menu review, we determined that it was a piece of sushi. Beth was glad that Neil helped out and ate them, as those things stick in your teeth in an unpleasant way.

Chef's Special Sushi

Neil rounded off the meal with some green tea ice cream, which was the perfect end to dinner on a hot day.

Overall
Ginza is a quaint little place.  Outside it doesn't look like much and the inside is a bit threadbare.  The space is narrow but goes back and back with multiple rooms hidden away in almost homey space.  The service is patient and attentive for lumbering Americans like us and the food came out quickly.  This place isn't fancy, but it's overall a pleasant place for an affordable, low key Japanese meal that doesn't feel like a trendy sushi place that you would see on almost every other corner in Chicago.

Foreign Factor
8 out 10  When we arrived, the place wasn't busy and there were a couple of western faces.  By the time we left, the restaurant was filling up and we were the only western faces in there.  The staff all speak Japanese to each other, they have a Japanese language menu, and the decor makes no accommodations for non-Japanese sensibilities.  The portions are smaller than we were used to in Chicago (which is not a bad thing), but that fits in with the more authentic Japanese style.  If this isn't similar to a meal in the old country, I would be awfully surprised, especially since many of the diners appeared and sounded like they were coming in for a taste of home.

What We Learned
We learned that sushi is more complicated than we knew, but I think we expected that.  So is soy sauce.  Do not expect to find Kikkoman on the table here.  Were were served three different types of soy sauce just for our modest meal.  It was a learning experience to taste the nuances of each.The biggest take away may have been that a Japanese hole in the wall can exist in River North, a neighborhood defined by fancy places and tourist traps and everything shiny and new.  It's hard to find authentic here, let alone authentic ethnic cuisine that would be more at home in a suburban enclave.

More
The Japanese community in Chicago has their own society to promote cultural understanding.  And since they seem to leave out Japanese wrestling for some reason, you can read all about the important stuff here.  As if that wasn't enough, here are a few of Neil's favorite Japanese wrestling matches (1, 2, 3) and a show he's psyched to check out in July!