On a Sunday night at 6:15, you will usually find me procrastinating on the homework that I had multiple days to do yet still saved until the last minute. Last week, surprisingly, I actually was doing something else at this time. I was approaching the hostess stand at Blue Sushi Sake Grill perfectly on time to check in for my reservation. 

Sushi expert and close friend Eden Stranahan asked to come along with me to evaluate the newest addition to Lincoln Park, and I knew her expertise would be helpful. As we walked in, we were immediately greeted by a lively environment full of fast, upbeat music, loud conversations, and compelling lights.

We were warmly greeted by the host, taken to a table, and handed menus. While it is nice to finally be back in the world where it’s normal to hold a physical menu, the restaurant also has barcodes on the table to scan if you prefer to look at the menu on your phone. 

I would be lying if I said I didn’t look at the menu beforehand (although who doesn’t?), and I was extremely appreciative of the restaurant having a “gluten sensitive” menu, as I have celiac. For the record, I am fully aware that “gluten sensitive” is just a way of saying ‘gluten-free but don’t get mad if we mess up.’ Either way, just the menu itself was a big win for me. It also had vegan items marked, making the menu very friendly to all eaters. 

Our out-going server approached us, explained the menu, and asked about any allergies to be aware of. He seemed to be very informed about the menu which is always promising. 

What happened next made me feel all of the feelings: confused, happy, impressed, confused again, and then curious. Eden and I ordered all of the food at once. We started by telling our waiter what appetizers we wanted and then  ordered rolls. We were in the middle of naming which rolls we wanted when someone started bringing the appetizers out. Our waiter hadn’t even left the table yet, and the food was already coming. I spoke the words into existence, and then 45 seconds later, the food was right in front of me. When I say my jaw dropped, I mean it. 

After our appetizers arrived in record time, I may have set the bar a little too high for the actual main, sushi. I was expecting it to come five minutes later, maybe ten. I was thinking that it would come around the pace that the other items came out–it would only make sense. Right? Wrong. Very wrong. Around 45 minutes went by before the rest of our order came. At other restaurants, this could be slow or it could be fast, but I wouldn’t think much of it at all. The problem was that I was spoiled by the timing of the appetizers and became more impatient than ever while waiting for the mains.

Enough with the storytime… I should probably say something about the actual food, shouldn’t I? It was good. It wasn’t insane, probably landing somewhere in between the two, slightly closer to good. The appetizers were better than the rolls, but that’s not particularly unusual. 

First, we ordered the “cucumber sunomono” which was great to start out with. It came in 45 seconds and was refreshing, sweet, simple, came in 45 seconds, and not overly expensive. Did I mention how quickly it came? It was unbelievable. 

We also started with the river rock beef as well as the truffle salmon sashimi. The beef came over a hot sizzling rock which, shockingly, neither of us burned ourselves on. It was very entertaining to cook the beef myself and it tasted really good, too. The sashimi was also great. It was presented very nicely and immediately was disassembled by our eager chopsticks.

As we were waiting for the rest of our order, we ordered a side of sushi rice in addition to another cucumber sunomono to keep us content while we were waiting. The cucumber sunomono was great and so was the sushi rice. That is, until Eden pointed out that it wasn’t quite as sticky as sushi rice usually is. This observation turned out to be relevant again a few eternities later when the sushi finally came because it was on the verge of falling apart. 

We ordered two rolls and some nigiri, and it was all pretty good, but I prefered the appetizers over the rest of what we ate that night. Eden said that to be honest, “the quality of the sushi wasn’t that good.” My knowledge of sushi isn’t as rich as it could be, so I likely wouldn’t even be able to tell the difference between a piece of sushi from the gas station from a piece of sushi from Nobu.

On second thought, I revoke that last thought, but hopefully I got the idea across.

All together, everything I just talked about plus a couple of drinks came out to a total of $89.39 before tip. I would call almost $45 each expensive for the experience we had, but I also understand that Lincoln Park is a popular neighborhood and the restaurant is trying to get up on its feet. 

Ultimately, aside from the over-exaggerated negativity of my writing, I really did enjoy eating from the neighborhood’s newest addition. The staff was amazing, the ambiance was great, the food was pretty good yet overpriced, and the timing was a rollercoaster. I will definitely return, but plan on switching my main course order up for next time.