Vettel Says Katana is a Sharp Newcomer and More Reviews

Katana is an out-of-town import that manages to be “accessible to novice and sophisticate alike,” writes Phil Vettel. The new sushi and robata barstaurant offers a “dizzying array of options” such as foagura, foie gras and asparagus wrapped in filet mignon. Miso-marinated cod is “done as well here as anywhere else,” and the 40-day prime New York strip is likewise “excellent.” Big spenders can order the $175 omakase—“it’s an expensive way to go but the rewards are considerable.” Those dishes include fresh uni and hearts of palm in bonito dashi; and crab meat tartare with quail egg, caviar, and truffle. To finish, a yuzu bar made with yuzu curd, yuzu mousse, and shiso syrup on nori-shortbread crust is “terrific.” Overall, Katana is a three-star experience and Vettel thinks Chicagoans shouldn’t hesitate to show the Los Angeles-based spot some love. [Tribune]

Skeptics might scoff at a caviar bar in Humboldt Park but Mike Sula thinks Heritage is a “broad, imaginative, largely well-executed, and affordable concept that ought to be appreciated by all.” While white sturgeon roe “pop on the tongue with a seductive creaminess that will leave you sad you can’t afford more,” there’s also a lot more on the “financially accessible” menu beyond fish eggs. “Pleasantly dry” sturgeon cured with black pepper, lemon, and horseradish is a fine starter and “velvety” potato soup topped with a smidge of bowfin caviar is a “critical order.” An “impossibly juicy” pork chop is equally impressive and followed by a “depthlessly rich” pot de crème for dessert. The jury is still out on whether Heritage can “sustain that highly perishable aspect of its business model,” but it definitely “deserves its place in the neighborhood.” [Reader]

The culinary dream team behind Giant has made the Ace Hotel’s City Mouse “worth a visit whether you call our fair city home for a night or indefinitely.” Though service can be a bit slow, Maggie Hennessy says the food makes up for the wait. A “delightful” peach kohlrabi salad “smacks of an instant signature item” and fried baby artichokes in a meaty pork ragu is a “savory and satisfying encapsulation of what [she] dream[s] Italian-American Sunday dinners to be like.” Pastas are similarly must-try dishes—al dente spaghetti “mingle[s] beautifully” with feta, bacon, and Calabrian chiles. For dessert, the sugar plum torte is a “late-summer triumph” that’s “moist and harmonious from hanging out overnight.” The menu is paired with “playfully local-leaning” cocktails such as the Dead Work, an Old Fashion-esque drink steeped in cinnamon and ancho chiles that's ideal for sweater weather. [Time Out]