Fresh, striking, fun: Vernon Hills' Blufish Sushi a complete dining experience
As the newest location of popular Glenview and Park Ridge's Blufish sushi bistro, the Vernon Hills restaurant has a lot to live up to - and it succeeds, both in the quality of food and the posh atmosphere. The interior design is striking, half organic nature-inspired and half downtown cocktail lounge. Fresh colors and chandeliers round out the visual experience.
Sushi dominates the mostly Japanese menu, with a secondary selection of kitchen entrees, noodle dishes, bento box specials for lunch, and a few riffs on traditionally Korean meals, like bibimbop and bulgogi beef. The food menu is paired with an extensive cocktail, sake and wine selection, along with both imported and domestic beers.
Our appetizers included the bacon scallop and pork belly robatayakis, bulgogi kimchee egg rolls, panko scallops and asparagus beef.
Robatayakis are basically kebabs, two skewers to an order, cooked over an open grill. The bacon scallop version had one gigantic scallop wrapped in applewood-smoked bacon per skewer. Although the bacon could have been slightly crispier, it added a good depth to the well-cooked scallop. The pork belly skewers had four pieces of pork belly each, sitting on a bed of kimchee puree. Cooking pork belly on an open grill is not always easy, but at Blufish, it had a really nice char, albeit a slightly bit chewy. The puree was pretty spicy, so if you like milder foods, ask for it on the side.
I've had a soft spot for bulgogi beef since the first time I tried it in an Atlanta dive, and Blufish doesn't disappoint. Crispy egg roll wrappers hold the beef and a mixture of mushrooms, carrots, onions, yam noodles and kimchee, and a creamy avocado sauce comes on the side to even out the spiciness. These egg rolls brought me right back to Atlanta - they were exactly for what I hoped.
The three panko scallops are smaller and breaded, with teriyaki and tomato basil sauce on top of each. These were also exceptionally cooked, and the two-sauce combination is surprisingly sweet and satisfying. We found the beef in the asparagus beef rolls overcooked, but it still had a great charred meat flavor, and worked well with crunchy tempura asparagus.
We ordered two kitchen entrees, the bibimbop and sea bass, plus several sushi rolls: the Black Dragon (eel, spicy scallops, cucumber, avocado, spicy mayo, eel sauce, black tobiko), California Sunset (salmon, snow crab, cucumber, avocado, spicy mayo), Spicy Cajun (spicy crawfish, avocado, seared tuna, Cajun spice, sweet soy, chipotle mayo, crispy red onion) and Golden Dragon (eel, lobster tempura, cucumber, avocado, spicy mayo, eel sauce, citrus tobiko).
The bibimbop is a combination of spinach, carrots, mung bean sprouts, nori, shiitake, onion, zucchini and rice with an egg cracked on top. It's served in a hot stone bowl and has chili sauce on the side that has a satisfying sizzle when you pour it in. Keep in mind that the standard bibimbop doesn't come with meat; you can add beef for $2.
The Chilean sea bass came broiled in a miso beurre blanc sauce with hibachi vegetables, spinach and a spicy ponzu seaweed salad on the side. It was a pretty big portion, and the sauce reminded us of an eggy golden sauce common to teppanyaki restaurants. The fish itself was cooked perfectly, flaky and robust. Most local Japanese restaurants serve a small garden salad with peanut-ginger dressing along with the entrees, and Blufish was no exception - but the salad here is a more gourmet take on the standard with a creamier dressing that isn't overly gingered and with crunchy tempura bits on top.
All of the sushi rolls come in two sizes, short and long. The short rolls come with six pieces each - but they are on the large size, and thankfully the size is because of a lot of fish and not too much rice. All of the fish was incredibly tender and fresh - it didn't seem like it had ever been frozen. If you're feeling extra adventurous, the restaurant gives you an option of white rice or the nonstandard black, a nuttier tasting rice with less starch, but still sticky enough to keep the rolls together. It pairs particularly well with the Black Dragon roll.
Aside from the food and atmosphere, the staff at Blufish is top-notch. We were never left wanting for anything, the food was delivered quickly and empty plates cleared just as fast, and our waiter offered insightful ingredient and pairing suggestions.
Going to Blufish was more than just dinner - it was a complete dining experience, paced well and lots of fun. We will definitely be back.
<i>Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. The Daily Herald does not publish reviews of restaurants it cannot recommend.</i>
Blufish Sushi
700 N. Milwaukee Ave., Suite 128, Vernon Hills, (847) 549-3620,
Cuisine: Japanese
Setting: Elevated modern
Entrees: $8-$10 for rolls; $10-$39 for entrees
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 10:30 p.m. Friday; 5 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday; 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday