Friday, February 5, 2016

Lure Izakaya Pub

-Grubbing in Chicago 
Japanese Bar Food

When Lure Izakaya Pub closed down I was sad to have never gotten to try the place. There were some genuinely irritated people and their anger spoke to me. With so many great restaurants in this town it means something when people are upset that one didn't make it. So it was with great surprise when I read that Lure would be attempting a comeback. I made sure to get over there this time.

Back on the Scene in Lakeview

The menu here is broken down into a couple handfuls of different sections, each one being one of the major forms of cooking in Japan. Sections like fried, grilled, and Steamed make up your options. You can also count on quite a few specials on any given day. One of those was a shrimp scampi dish that didnt quite click like I had hoped it too. The butter was fantastic but the shrimp meat itself felt a little old. Nothing I'm not used to in this city nowhere near the ocean that we live in.

Shrimp Scampi 

I don't know what it is but the Japanese do mushrooms as good as anyone. So when I saw a mushroom option under the grilled section it was a must for me. No letdown here as a few different types of shroom go into a makeshift aluminum bowl that they're cooked in. My only qualm with this dish was it was hard to get every last bite out of the makeshift bowl. It was too good to leave any.

Kinoko (Mushroom)

My favorite thing on the menu is a dish I'll most definitely be back for. I haven't been able to verify if the udon is made in-house but it sure tasted that way. The options list a seafood version served in a clay hotpot as well as a shrimp tempura offering and also a karaage which is Japanese style fried chicken. We went with the chicken option and got a top notch bowl of soup with tons of noodles swimming underneath. The chicken almost tasted like bacon and held up quite well in the broth.

Karaage Udon

Lure offers a handful of different fish options fried in whole form. They're listed under the specials which are presented on an iPad. First time I've seen this but I really appreciated it due to the fact I could see what each dish looked like in a picture underneath its description. You can be the best wordsmith in the world, but a picture will always speak to me more than a description. All of the fried fish options looked legit but we settled on a red snapper that was presented in fish nugget form. Pieces of the fish were cut off the bone and then fried and served alongside the carcass which still had some good meat hidden in different spots. The dipping sauce was also pleasant. I'll be back.

Fried Red Snapper

Lure Izakaya Pub
2925 N Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 360-8816
Website

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