CheekyChicago

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of sushi joints. There are the bare bones, stripped down, super casual, more literal sushi “bars” that serve simple and expected Japanese fare. (These are usually the best.) Then there are the trendy, fancier venues – boasting a stylish, fashion forward crowd and even more stylish, fashion forward rolls. But once in a while, there’s a hybrid fusion of the two that tops them all. Case in point: South Coast.

Located in the beating heart of the South Loop, South Coast is the sister restaurant to the Bucktown original. But with no long waits and no overflowing crowds, it may be worth the drive to Michigan and 16^th Street. (Main difference, South Coast is not BYOB.) But it is down-to-earth in vibe, upscale in décor and utterly refined in cuisine. Another case in point: South Coast serves an amuse bouche (find me any sushi joint doing this) of fried seaweed and two dipping sauces of wasabi and ginger mayos. An appetizer to try is the Super White Tuna Ponzu: some of the buttery-est, most delectable raw fish I’ve had in a long while, sided with a scallion and jalapeno ponzu sauce. South Coast twists up traditional Goma Ae (a sushi staple for this foodie) by serving the green leafs raw instead of steamed and dressing it in an uber light sesame dressing as opposed to the creamier kind.

Yet it’s not the décor or the lighting or the soundtrack booming (or not booming) in the background that we drove an additional 48 blocks for: it’s the rolls. The White Dragon gets exotic (and exquisite) with shrimp tempura, wasabi tobiko, cream cheese, avocado, scallion, topped with tempura crumb and drizzled with a spicy sauce comprised of wasabi mayo and eel sauce. I coulda’, woulda’, shoulda’ ordered two. The next best sushi roll step was the Salmon Poke, with salmon marinated in seaweed, scallion, sesame soy, cucumber and crushed cashew.

If you like spicy, as in “Spicy Tuna”, “Spicy Hamachi” or “Spicy Salmon”, be forewarned: South Coast doesn’t mess around. They take their spice very seriously and so will your taste buds. Wash it down with a chilled glass of sparkling sake and you are good to move on to your a la carte pieces of nigiri and sashimi. The portions of fish here are cut so generously, you could make a meal of just pieces. And most impressively, blue fin tuna, namesake and hamachi had the quality in texture and freshness we sushi lovers expect to find at Mirai or Japonais. This is a huge compliment.

Speaking of compliments, no meal is completely complemented unless dessert is brought to the table. (Hello? We are Cheeky.) You could go for the fancy shmancy Banana Maki: a bananas foster “roll”, topped with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. Or you could keep it simple like we did and go for the green tea mochi balls. Proving yet, my final case in point: whether you go simple or extravagant, it doesn’t matter. South Coast is in a class of its own.