Explore Japanese-style pub food at Arlington Heights' Yakitori Boogytori
When I read the press release for a new Japanese restaurant touting a dozen different chicken skewers, I thought I'd finally found a place where I could bring my 13-year-old for a review dinner. He's not my adventurous one, but he does like grilled chicken. So on a recent Saturday night we picked up another mom-son duo and headed to Yakitori Boogytori in Arlington Heights.
Yakitori Boogytori opened in February and is the third restaurant from chef/partner Satoko Takeyama and partner Jee H. Kim; Wasabi in Chicago's Logan Square and Ramen Takeya in the Fulton Market District being the first two, respectively. With Yakitori Boogytori, the pair brings traditional Japanese skewers called yakitori, as well as ramen bowls, to the suburbs. The skewers grill over imported binchotan charcoal.
The space shows no signs of its former life as a Jewish deli/diner. It's sparsely, but thoughtfully, decorated with lanterns, dark wooden tables and two intimate dining spaces with curtains that can be drawn for privacy. A service bar shows off an impressive selection of sake and shochu, as well as Japanese beers and the kid-friendly Ramune soda.
The menu is not very user-friendly for those not of Japanese background, and I wish our waitress had been more helpful in acquainting us with the yakitori dining tradition. The menu didn't fall into typical categories of appetizers and entrees but did list a couple of salads (potato with bacon, onion, carrot, cucumber and Japanese mayo sounded promising) and fried stuff.
For starters we selected octopus puff from the fried stuff category. I envisioned something like hush puppies filled with chopped octopus, and I wasn't too far off. The strangest thing about this dish is that the fried ball came covered with wispy bonito flakes that seemed to come to life as heat radiated from the hot sphere.
We also picked something called umeboshi tataki, which we were told was sour plum. I like plums, and since honey also was listed in the description, we went for it. The chutney-ish concoction was so sour it left us wondering if we ate it correctly. I'm not even sure if a creamy cheese and a water cracker would have made it more palatable.
We figured out quickly enough that 12 different kinds of chicken skewers did not mean 12 different seasoning and sauce combos, but 12 different parts of a chicken. We stayed away from the heart, ventricle and skin skewers (the promise of cage-free local birds wasn't enough to sway us) and opted for the thighs and scallions (our favorite) brushed with a bit of sweet marinade, as well as breast (nice and moist and tender) and meatballs, which were on the bland side. Some extra sauce would have been appreciated.
The thick, smoky chunks of Berkshire pork belly were fantastic. Yes, I'll gladly bite into a slab of grilled pig fat but not a lean chicken gizzard, go figure. Bacon-wrapped asparagus pieces and grilled shiitakes were pleasing as well but nothing over the moon. We ordered a few skewers, and then a few more. We enjoyed the tapas-like pacing of the meal.
I caught a glimpse of a couple slurping up Spicy Miso Paitan Ramen, a brothy bowl of pork belly, bamboo shoots, soft-boiled egg, scallions and chile spice that cemented Ramen Takeya's place as a popular noodle house. I pledged to order that next time.
Besides the ramen, the restaurant also offers takoyaki, yaki-onigiri (grilled rice balls) and ochazuke (rice with seaweed broth with toppings).
Green tea and black sesame ice cream comprise the dessert menu, but we passed.
In looking back over our visit, we agreed that despite the pucker-worthy plum dish, we enjoyed the culinary adventure. We just wish we had a better guide book or tour guide to help us along the way.
Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. The Daily Herald does not publish reviews of restaurants it cannot recommend.
Yakitori Boogytori
932 W. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights, (847) 262-5914,
Cuisine: Japanese pub food
Setting: Contemporary room with minimal, but thoughtful, decor
Shareable skewers and entrees: $2.50 to $13.50
Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 5 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday