May 18, 2024

Sushi in Skokie

Highly Recommended ***** We are living in a world as we have never been before. Dining out, a part of our lives , is now a memory and day by day becomes fainter and fainter. Jane and I are used to dining out and of course, reviewing new spots so we can tell you about them. This “Covid-19” has put a damper on this as now the only way to “dine-out” is to pick-up your meal or have it delivered. About a month ago, I heard about a new sushi lounge and grill, Makisu Sushi Lounge & Grill in Skokie and had planned to make arrangements to do a review. With the events that we started to experience, this was put on hold and each day, I thought about what I might be missing. I had heard some great things about the menu at Makisu, located at 7150 Carpenter Road in Skokie, but in truth serving the surrounding area that includes Lincolnwood, Edgebrook, Sauganash, Niles and even Morton Grove.

From time t time, I get e-mails and calls from people in those communities searching for a sushi spot close to home. With the current situation, close to home is of greater importance. Tonight, Jane and I made the trip to Makisu. We pre-ordered which is easy to do on their website www.MakisuSushiTogo.com. Tell them when you will arrive and they will bring the food out, curbside. They follow every health guide asked for during this time of special needs and we even wiped it all down as we got home and brought it into our home. By the way, they use paper bags.

We began our dinner with Miso soup. This truly was a great start for our evening ( a Saturday night home with Net Flix) and we followed that with Shumai (steamed shrimp dumplings with a spicy soy sauce). Very tangy!

While they have a large choice of small plates and entree’s ( things like Chicken Teriyaki, Braised Short Rib, Steak and seafood, including a seafood feats that appears to be remarkable), we were truly UP for Sushi and so we ordered several rolls, both classic and specialty. From the classic menu, Boston ( tuna and avocado) and Spider ( soft shell crab, cucumber, avocado and spicy mayo) and from the specialty, Kink Kong ( shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, snow crab, and avocado lightly battered and served with spicy mayo and sweet soy sauce) TO DIE FOR! We also had the California Crunch (snow crab mix and avocado lightly fried as well). The Crunch is a shrimp tempura with cucumber and avocado with eel sauce on top adding a great deal of flavor.

We also enjoyed the special VOLCANO roll. This is shrimp tempura, salmon tempura, cucumbers,avocado, octopus, spicy mayo, eel sauce and red tobiko and last but certainly not least, the Louis Vuitton, lobster , shrimp tempura, smoked salmon, cream cheese and of course avocado, spicy mayo, eel sauce and tabiko.

What a fantastic evening and dining experience. Of course, dining in their plush dining room(s) would be a greater experience, but with conditions being as they are, for the time being, know that you can pick up  ( or in some areas have quick delivery) a wonderful lunch or dinner that will please the entire household.

They do have a nice assortment of Vegetarian rolls as well as small plates, salads, soups, rice and noodle dishes. The restaurant features cocktails ( when they have seating, of course) and they have some extraordinary combo platters. The Makisu Supreme is amazing. A chef’s choice of 12 pieces nigri, 12 pieces sashimi, rainbow roll, dragon roll and a spicy tuna roll served with miso soup and salad. Pretty as a picture and based on the flavorfull dinner Jane and I enjoyed, I would have to say, we will do this next trip, if not inside, then back at home. Worth the trip and then I realized they have a warm double chocolate layer cake on the menu- oh well, I said we were going back!

Makisu Sushi Lounge & Grill is located at 7150 N. Carpenter ( at Touhy) in Skokie with plenty of parking. The phone number is 847-677-9030 and website www.MakisuSushiTogo.com

By the way, they are a very charitable organization so when ordering online ( from the website) pick one of the charities listed and they will donate an amount equal to 5% of your bill.  Makisu, welcome to Skokie!

HOURS:

Future reference: when they are open for dining IN, Monday-Friday  Happy Hour 5 p.m.- 7 p.m. all drinks half off

Monday-Thursday  11:15 a.m.- 2:15 p.m.  5 p.m.- 9:30 p.m.

Friday                      11:15 a.m.- 2:15 p.m.  5 p.m.-10 p.m.

Saturday                  1 p.m.- 10:15 p.m.

Sunday                    4 p.m.- 9 p.m.