Eats
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Oh, the weather outside may be frightful, but the fire and food is so delightful at Koi.
I’ll admit it. I’m not a huge sushi fan.
But before you roll your eyes and write me off as a “fake foodie” who has no real taste, hear me out.
There’s your typical, Anytown, USA sushi restaurant with the glass cats, dolphins and otherwise generally strange décor – and then there’s Koi. When you walk (no strut) into the Evanston sushi/Chinese/sake lounge it feels like you have been suddenly transported to the chicest of downtown destinations. The fireplace lounge is a perfect location for daintily sipping one of Koi’s signature cocktails while being utterly and fabulously flirtatious with a Friday night date.
For starters, be sure to try the edamame (of course) and the Shanghai spare ribs. Marinated in sweet honey sauce, these ribs are a great appitizer for sharing and can even be a small meal by themselves.
On the sushi side of things, the shrimp tempura maki was simply delectable. The avocado, cucumber and shrimp combined with a sizeable portion of tempura (come on, what kind of Cheeky girl doesn’t like a bit of fried seafood) were sigh-with-happiness good. Yes, I do believe I actually sighed a little bit when I ate the first bite with the perfect proportions of wasabi and soy sauce.
On the Chinese side, the chicken fried rice was hardly your standard delivery fare. In addition to the traditional veggies, rice and egg, this dish had a little extra butter and a little extra soy sauce that greatly boosted the flavor of the entire meal. Think your favorite pasta dish, the one that you can never stop eating, never have enough of. Yeah, the fried rice at Koi is kind of like that.
In addition to all the fabulous food, the prices are pretty agreeable with your wallet as well. An appetizer runs about three dollars and the average entrée is around 12. But there is a way to experience Koi for even less. Every Cheeky girl loves a good coupon, and Koi does coupons right. Simply sign up for their email newsletters, and you will receive a $20 gift certificate on your birthday and every couple of months after that. The saying for Koi goes, the more often you go, the more gift certificates you get!
Coupons, Chinese, fireplace lounges and, I’ll admit it, even the sushi. Koi is one destination you should definitely check off your holiday (food) wish list.
