MICHELIN Guide’s Point Of View Despite doubling its space a few years ago, Kai Zan is still the kind of place that needs a reservation well in advance. Located on an otherwise solitary stretch of Humboldt Park, the space is particularly charming and makes you feel like you are stepping into a cozy neighborhood izakaya tucked away in a remote Japanese fishing hamlet.
With precision and technique, brothers Melvin and Carlo Vizconde create non-traditional, neighborhood izakaya at Humboldt Park’s Kai Zan. The sophisticated Japanese-style dishes and marble countertops -- (continue)
You don’t come to Kai Zan for a spicy tuna roll. You come to Kai Zan to let brothers Melvin and Carlo Vizconde gently guide you through a rarefied sushi galaxy.
In the 2015 edition, 59 Chicago area restaurants made the list. There are 11 new comers to the list. The establishments are located throughout Chicago’s downtown neighborhoods and represent a diverse range of different cuisines.
Chicago 2014 Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand Restaurants:
While the Michelin Guide is unleashing the 2014 star ratings on November 12 (a day prior to the on sale date), today marks the reveal of the Bib Gourmands. The restaurants included in the Bib Gourmands are meant for those looking to dine on a tighter budget, which the guide defines as two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less. Michelin also says that the inspectors personally frequent these restaurants. Read through the full Bib Gourmand list below.
Chicago 2014 Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand Restaurants:
Best New Sushi | Eat Out Awards 2013 In the mid-aughties, a sushi joint in River North called Kizoku was best known for serving sushi upon the flesh of nearly naked women. It tanked. What it should have touted is the Vizconde brothers, twin sushi chefs who quietly worked the line there and at Kamehachi before chasing their dream to the western edge of Ukrainian Village. Last year they opened this tiny jewel box of a sushi restaurant. Signatures like the Orange Rush—citrusy salmon-wrapped scallops—have legions of loyalists, but to understand the allure, go omakase and put yourself in the hands of the Vizcondes. They’re the show now. 2557 W Chicago Ave (773-278-5776). Read more
The City's Best Restaurants At Kai Zan, the savviest diners follow suit, letting the Vizcondes guide their feast with one of the best deals in town: a $50 omakase menu showcasing their finesse with piquant oyster shooters, truffle-oil-soaked escolar pearls (delicate seared escolar atop rice spheres), ultrafresh madai (snapper) carpaccio, and maki cloaked in creamy avocado. Read more
After stints at some of the city's bigger name sushi restaurants, a pair of brothers decided to strike out on their own at Kai Zan, which occupies a tiny sliver of real estate on the cusp of Humboldt Park and West Town. Read more
Tucked away in the smallest, most demure little nook of a shopping strip along west Chicago Avenue, the space is hard to spot. But when you enter the cozy little restaurant – dominated by the tall sushi bar – you’ll instantly feel transported. Read more
Twins Melvin and Carlo Vizconde—late of the Kamehachi chain and Lincoln Park's Kyoto—opened this tiny BYO in early June, and its renown is snowballing. I'm not going to say it's matched the erstwhile Arami in exquisiteness—for one thing, the rice they're using isn't as fine. But they are putting together some really nice stuff, including a modest and thoughtful selection of specialty sushi with none of the cream cheese and Krab-stuffed hoo-ha that passes for makimono on nearly every block these days.** I mean stuff like the pictured orange rush sushi, two pieces of lightly cooked salmon-enrobed scallop, topped with a subtle, not-too-sweet citrus glaze. Read more
The most charming Japanese spot you've never heard of And few places deserve as fervent praise as this charming Ukrainian Village jewel box. Kai Zan has an ample sushi list, plus playful compositions like the orange rush, a bay scallop wrapped with salmon and brushed with citrus glaze. There’s an omakase (tasting) menu, too, starting at $50 and tailored to each guest. Melvin and Carlo Vizconde, twin brothers who have spent nearly two decades working in Japanese restaurants, own the 22-seat BYOB. Melvin’s wife is Japanese; “She critiques me a lot,” he says. Read more