Amazing experience, phenomenal sushi!. My wife and I brought our 6- and 10-year-old daughters to Chicago for spring break. We decided to check out AraOn because it's right across the street from the JW Marriott where we're staying.
When we first walked in, the hostess came across as ever so slightly condescending when she asked if we had reservations - it was Monday night at about 8, and the place was *maybe* half full. She seated us, and she came back to take our order a few minutes later. I asked my wife if she was getting a weird vibe from the hostess/waitress, and my wife had the same impression I did. Nothing overt, but definitely a weird sort of "looking down her nose" feeling.
We started with edamame for us, miso soup for my oldest daughter. The owner of the place came out to bring the edamame, and he was incredibly kind and gracious. The edamame was salted with the standard sea salt, and also spiced with a red crushed pepper. They were very good.
I ordered the Sushi Combo Platter ($26) listed as "chef's selection of 6 pieces
of nigiri and a spicy tuna maki." My wife ordered the Miso Yaki salmon bento box ($23). My 10-year-old daughter asked for crab rangoon for her entree, and my 6-year-old just wanted mac and cheese, so we ordered the smoked cheddar and bacon mac and cheese.
The owner came out again to deliver the crab rangoon, and he brought an extra plate for my youngest - great touch to keep the kids from fussing. He was effusive in his welcome, and really nice to all of us.
Then he came out and gave my wife and me a squid salad (not on the menu) to try. The squid was smoky and perfectly prepared, both of us were really impressed.
When our meals came out, I was really blown away by the size of my plate. There was some really beautiful sashimi, tuna, salmon and (I think) yellowtail. There was also a really nice tempura shrimp roll, an eel roll, and five pieces of sushi (salmon, tuna, yellowtail, squid, and I can't remember the 5th piece, sorry). I was not expecting any sashimi at all, and only one roll.
I was amazed at how light and flavorful the sashimi was, and how rich the sushi was. The tempura shrimp roll was perfect, and the eel roll was just... jaw dropping. A lovely touch was that they used sprinkles of real gold leaf on the tuna sashimi. My daughters were fascinated, and I will admit it impressed me. He claimed that eating the gold would purify me. No science to that, but it sounded great.
Now, I am certainly not a sushi connoisseur, but I've had really good sushi all over the globe. This was easily in the top five places at which I've ever eaten sushi & sashimi.
The owner came over a couple of times during the meal to check on us, and he chatted with my daughters easily, bringing them to laughter several times. He really, really did a great job of making us feel welcome.
To top the meal off, he brought us a really unique dessert - an Asian pear sherbet in a bed of ground fresh ginger, resting in a shallow pool of pomegranate juice. He said that it would cleanse the mouth and aid in digestion. It was also really amazing. I've never had a dessert like it before, and it was a beautiful end to a fantastic meal.
When the check came, I finally put it together - I had ordered the "Sushi combo platter ($26)," but they had brought me (and charged me for) the "Ara-On Deluxe Platter ($46)." Normally, I'd have been plenty upset that they brought me a meal almost twice the price of the one I'd ordered, but between the comped squid salad, comped crab rangoon, comped desserts, and personal attention from the owner, I was really not upset about it at all. I choose to believe that it was an honest mistake. Even at nearly twice the price, the Ara-On Deluxe is absolutely worth it. All four of us walked away raving about the place.
I'll definitely be back when I travel here next!
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