With a name whose literal translation means "a wish fulfilled," Nozumi Japanese Cuisine has its work cut out. But so far, this recently opened upscale restaurant in the Arboretum of South Barrington shopping complex seems headed in the right direction.
Its sleek space, with muted tones and subdued lighting, is nicely segmented to create a sense of privacy. Seating is at tables and booths in the main dining room, bar area, sushi bar and a couple of tatami rooms. Even more important, we found the fare innovative and the service friendly, if still unpolished.
Nozumi executive chefs Andy Park (sushi) and Sang Lee (kitchen) turn out impressive fare, with enough variety to keep diners coming back for more, even with the average per-person dinner tab topping $30, excluding drinks.
There's plenty of fish, as one would expect at a sushi restaurant (flown in daily, according to the menu), but also such cooked entrees as shiso pesto lamb, muscat ginger duck and seared scallops with saffron cream couscous, asparagus and tomato confit in a soy balsamic reduction.
Two signature rolls we sampled attested to the culinary artistry that goes into the preparation. Black Widow and Kabocha Unagi were both pleasing to the eye and the palate. The former starred soft-shell crab tempura, Mascarpone-lime-cilantro-seven-spice filling, avocado and pickled red onion in mamenori (a thin soybean wrap), topped with mildly seasoned snow crab and black tobiko (fish roe). The latter roll featured butter-toasted freshwater eel, a tempura-cucumber crunch and a mango-scallion topping drizzled with unagi sauce and kobacha (squash) puree.
Calamari fries made an excellent, unusual appetizer two can easily share. Prior to cooking, the squid was cut into french fry shape and rubbed with seven-spice powder. They came with a small, thinly shredded cucumber salad and mildly spicy citrus-based ponzu dipping sauce.
A hearty bowl of shiro miso soup replete with tofu, seaweed and scallions made a pleasant bridge between that starter and an entree roll.
Nozumi also makes available omakase-style dining, in which guests put decisions on each course in the hands of the chef.
Atypically, a handful of desserts are on offer, including Shokora Dream, designed to entice chocolate lovers. It's a flavorful treat, but this chocolate-glazed layer cake with bittersweet mousse, cocoa ganache, prune jam and brandy lacked the intensity one might expect from such an amalgamation of ingredients.
Nozumi is off to a good start, but our "wish list" includes a few suggestions where it might get even better.
For example, the menu, currently spread out in five separate, color-coded books, ought to be consolidated into something more manageable; otherwise, many of the restaurant's appealing options get lost in the shuffle. The waitstaff needs to be brought up to speed; bits of detritus that had fallen onto the table were left uncleared even as dessert was served. We also found the background pop-rock music out of sync with the environment. And, given the hefty prices, would it hurt to include a cup of miso soup in the price of the meal instead of tagging on a $2 charge?
Thomas Witom is a local freelance writer.
