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I've been swayed by the glowing reviews on LTHforum to drive an hour out to the suburbs on a holiday shopping Saturday. What should I absolutely not miss while there? Anything I should absolutely avoid? Since I'm making the trip, any other must-go destinations out in that general area?

Also, do they have a good selection of oshinko? I'm not that knowledgeable about Japanese food, so I only know to call them "assorted Japanese pickles - oshinko moriwase", restaurant-menu style.

This is a difficult question to answer. Personally, I find a great number of things at Mitsuwa to be of tremendous value. Others disagree.

I shop the produce, fish, and meat departments on impulse. The quality of many of these items is unmatched in the city.

Yes, you will find a range of freshly packaged pickles.

With the possible exception of Chicago Food Corp., you won't find a wider selection of savoury and sweet snacks, drinks, rice, bottled sauces and condiments, noodles, etc. They have some housewares and kitchen appliances, too, if that is of any interest.

Not being much of a baked goods person, others, here, can speak more to the bakery department, I am sure. The same with the food court. I have only eaten there a few times. There is a small counter dispensing freshly made maki, nigiri sushi, sashimi and such. I have never made any purchases, though.

I can hardly imagine you being disappointed with the experience. It is a neat place.

While in the area, you may want to visit True World Market, just down the road. I know a number of folks that actually pefer this shop to Mitsuwa. Here is a Chowhound post from GWiv on True World.

Regards,
Erik M.

What a coincidence... I am going there this afternoon....

Mitsuwa has an "oshinko" department, where you can find a varierty of pickles, some of which you may have never seen in a restaurant before. Their produce and meat departments are good, but some may find slightly higher prices, but in opinion, it is generally worth it. It just seems like it is of higher quality than that of most grocery stores.

I usually get snacks and drinks that I am unable to find elsewhere. I grew up eating certain brands and flavors of potato chips, and other tidbits, so it is a nostalgic trip back to my childhood for me.

Try to get there with a small appetite, so you can try the food at the foodcourt. Okonomiyaki (Japanese vegetable pancake with bacon) is a good deal: like $3-4 each. I am a huge fan of the bakery, and my friends make fun of me since I used to drive out there every weekend just for a loaf of sliced white bread.

There is a Japanese bookstore, a liquor store, a tableware/deco store and a knicknack store in the building. The toy store had moved elsewhere (check the board, I believe somebody found it).

True World is down the street on Arlington Heights road on the other side of the expressway. I think the 2nd light down (gas station on that intersection, on the left). I go to True World for fish. I like their sashimi selection and prices.

Well, CrazyC, if you see a redhead pushing a giant stroller, say hello!

CrazyC, is the sashimi grade fish better/a better deal at True World Market than at Mitsuwa? I keep going to Mitsuwa and never seem to get to True World.

Advice? Take a cooler so you can buy fish!

My musts are: The specials table near the front. They sometimes have pretty drastic markdowns on expensive things. The produce aisle often has pretty good deals on those Asian pears. There are some vegetables I don't see in other stores. The pickles and little salads and things are good too. I don't get much into the custard/dumpling/egg continuum and I don't buy much tofu there either, for no clear reason.

In the fish section, I always buy a couple of pieces of the sashimi-grade fish that's individually wrapped in the cooler. I also sometimes buy slices of black cod and salmon that come marinating in a miso glaze or a leek glaze. Yes, you can make it at home but black cod is the best fish to marinate and it is not available in the other stores a lot. You wipe off the excess glaze and throw it in the frying pan. I sometimes experiment with other fish too; they often have a lot of good-looking stuff.

In the instant soups and sauces I buy a lot, especially the instant miso soups (so good for traveling or when you are sick).

The snacks, candy and cookies are great. People here have raved about the Kasugai gummies, with reason. You can't buy enough of the snacks, in my opinion. When you put them out at parties they disappear very fast, but a lot of them are not too fattening or unhealthy.

Those are my main stops. I enjoy the sushi in the food court and it's easy to judge for yourself whether you would like it because it's all out on display. Unlike at some buffets, they keep it rotating pretty well, I think.

Alcohol is sold in a separate department near the front door. I'm not a sake maven but I have bought bottles of a brand I like that I had previously sampled somewhere else. I forget the name but it comes in blue bottles and in a number of flavors called things like "Pearl" and "Honeydew." I have used it to make glazes for fish and in cocktails.

A few notes from a recent visit:

J1 Toys has indeed moved to the SW corner of Golf and Arlington Heights.

Sadly, the gelato shop is also gone (I don't know if they've relocated or just gone out of business). I loved their unusual flavors (black sesame with honey, blueberry/orange) with tapioca bubbles in milkshakes. The place at the west end that used to be generic stir-fried japanese/chinese is now dim sum, and does bubble fruit smoothies, but it's not gelato.

While the front table does have some great specials on occasion, they've been hawking these same big bowls of ramen on the back side of the specials area for most of a year. We bought a couple, and they're awful.

Overall, their ramen selection is excellent, but some of it is very expensive. If you like the spicier varieties, the korean aisle (near the back of the store) has some very inexpensive ones. My personal favorite (but not spicy) is Chajang Myun, which has a dark, sweet soybean paste served on drained chewy noodles.

I wish I had time to go out there this afternoon. I could use some tobikko (flying fish roe) to decorate wasabi deviled eggs.

Wasabi devilied eggs sound amazing!

Speaking of wasabi, I bought the fresh wasabi from the produce section last time I was there. For $6 I got more than enough for 4 servings. If you have ever been interested in cooking with the fresh root, I recommend it.

Hi,

I love visiting Mitsuwa. Upon entering I really do feel I left the United States, and by the magic of having a large Japanese ex-pat community in the area, I am suddenly in Japan. Mitsuwa exists for the ex-pat community, they are serving Japanese customers by Japanese standards. If there are any doubts about this, then read this thread where an alleged Mitsuwa employee complains about Americans who visit their store.

I like the food court very much. I was there in October for breakfast. I especially like going on the dreariest day of winter, because I just feel so refreshed after a prolonged visit and meal.

BTW - I used the site search engine and typed in 'Mitsuwa,' I got 25 threads back to review. We have a lot of information at our fingertips.

Looking forward to your report on your visit.

Regards,

I like True World, because the prices seem to be more reasonable, and the portions are smaller. This allows me to buy a greater variety for one or two people. Mitsuwa's fish does look good, but sometimes I come across partially frozen fish (which is ok, since most of the sushi grade fish is frozen at one point or another).



My favorite sake is Otokoyama ("boy mountain"). I don't see it often in Chicago's sushi restaurant, tho I have seen it at Katsu.

Unfortunately, I was unable to make it up there today. So I might have it head up there tomorrow.

Thanks for the CH link,C2.There was a link in that thread to "Picking Out Tofu..." that apparently was moved or deleted.

I had an excellent visit yesterday, so much so that I'm going back today! (Well, to be totally honest, I'm going at the behest of a friend, but I was impressed).
I was starving by the time I arrived, so we started in the food court, where I had a small bowl of tempura udon, a plate of nigiri and 2 pieces of Japanese pumpkin (I think - some sort of orange gourd). It was good - the flavor of the udon soup was a little flat, but the tempura was quite good, as was the udon itself. The nigiri was cold, but good - I was half-expecting that fishy taste you sometimes get with older, pre-prepared stuff, but it was certainly servicable fish. The gourd was eaten by my 8 month old, who seemed to enjoy it.
We then went to the market, where I proceeded to spend about 3x what I had planned on spending. I picked up some "flavor sponges" (fried tofu) for my husband, a package of fresh udon, some ramen, soba noodles and the base, some seaweeds, a good number of pickled things (which I'm going to be putting in my morning congee in about 15 minutes), an addictive Indonesian grape-flavored drink, and of course a selection of sweet and savory snacks. I stopped quickly at the bakery (the goods of which were pretty depleted - next time, I'll try to get there earlier) and got 2 very good red bean paste-filled buns. I didn't get any meat or fish, as I was (justifiably, it turns out) worried that traffic would be bad on the way back to Chicago, and I had not brought a cooler.
By the time we checked out, I was hungry enough to go back to the food court, but decided against it, as it was quite full (of teenagers - a big Saturday night hangout?), and I had a huge tub of green tea ice cream melting.
All in all, my trip was great, and has inspired me to learn more about Japanese cooking. I felt very lost in most of the store, but in a good way; the aisle of rice flavoring packets, for instance, piqued my curiosity, and I'm looking forward to preparing many a flavored rice this winter. I'm taking a friend who lived in Japan for a few years today, so I'm hoping he can shed some further light on some of the available goods, and how one might use them.

(One of my only complaints about the place, really, is that there was no good place to change my son. This surprised me, as there were a good number of families with babies there (and this is at 6 pm on a Saturday evening). However, it's a very small, and in no way food-related, complaint.)

Thanks for the report. I'm glad you had a good time!

Wow, Cathy2, I see you linked to my diatribe about tofu salad! I'm flattered. Interestingly enough, I never see that particular salad at Whole Foods any more. I also feel as if they have cleaned up their act somewhat about letting obnoxious shoppers clog up the works. I was at the meat counter the other day, and one of those shoppers was asking the guy a lot of stupid (actually, unintelligible) questions, and while he remained dealing with her, another guy came from the back to help me. It used to seem inevitable that one would be taken hostage by demanding customers.

That earlier post by the supposed employee was weird. One thing I have *never* encountered at Mitsuwa is any kind of rudeness from the employees, Japanese or not. I also don't notice a lot of rude customers the way I do in Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, which similarly attract a lot of "tourist" type shoppers. Part of this may simply be that Mitsuwa is one of the few supermarkets around that actually has decent space in the aisles and the back, so that even if some ding-dong parks their cart diagonally and then stands next to it for maximum blockage, you can still make your way around them.

Hi,

Links on CH work if you remember they broke the board into different pages. Sometimes it means experimenting, for instance I added '5' to Chicago on this link and instantly got the famous 'pick the tofu out' thread:

http://www.chowhound.com/midwest/boards/chicago5/messages/28964.html

Bibi - that was one of the more memorable threads. Given the hostile behavior of the alleged Mitsuwa employee, I expected him or her to go nuts over the tofu picker. I use alleged because I really don't quite believe this person is for real or there is a lot of anger under the veil of Japanese tranquility. I have always had polite service at Mitsuwa.

I hope AnneVdV learns something new today. If this person provides lots of interesting information, then perhaps some of us could come for a learning experience in the future?

Sometime ago, Gary and Seth brought someone to Chicago Food Corp hoping to learn more about the products offered. Apparently this person did not shed new light as her favorite comment, used frequently, was, "It's all good!" I have learned in some cases where English is a second language, they may have mastered vocabulary for their jobs and social interactions, for food they have very little. I suppose when it is time to eat, they are back in their native language comfort zone. I taught our Russian interpreter all her food vocabulary over time. I also taught her how to cook, though that's another story.

Actually, I found the thread Cathy linked to most interesting as an example of overmoderation in action. I forgot how it was...

To the point about Mitsuwa serving an expat community, I first heard of it when I lived here but did not yet have a car, from a book called Edge City, which is about the growth of new suburbs and the ways in which they're different from older suburbs and the city (not merely offering escape during the hours outside 9 to 5, which was the original purpose of suburb built on a rail line leading to downtown, but having their own destinations, incorporating considerable amounts of wilderness within development, etc.)

At the time Mitsuwa was called Yaohan Plaza, and the author called attention to the Yaohan chain as an example of the way that suburbs, far from being lily-white, were developing their own forms of cultural diversity. Interestingly, however, when I asked local (white) Arlington Heightsers about Yaohan Plaza, they either had no idea this alternative Japanese universe existed among them, or vaguely knew it was there but had certainly never been there. Anyway, the book, and my first visits, opened my eyes (at a time when I was even more the implacable disparager of the burbs than I am today) to the fact that while some suburbs did indeed do everything they could to live up to the stereotype of an Applebee's on every corner, others were as rich in immigrant entrepreneurship and cultural diversity as the city (and with parking!)

totally non food related but.... Mitsuwa has THEE cheapest Japanese "air freshner in a can" jobbers. they fit into most cup holders perfectly and smells better than anything produced on this side of the Pacific.

Two notes about Mitsuwa -

1) A lot of locals don't know much about it. It sits back from the road away and there is nothing much around it other than a Greek restaurant. It is not a place that you might just wonder into unless you are the curious type.

2) It is a destination market. Drive through the lot and you will see a number of license plates from quite a distance. On my last trip, I think I saw ten different states.

They came out pretty good: to 13 egg yolks (always make an extra in case one breaks apart, as it is only about 8 were eaten -- about average on my total feast for leftovers):

1/3 cup mayo
about 2 tsp wasabi powder to taste
3 tbs soy
juice and zest of one lime
salt to taste
1 or 2 drops blue food coloring

Pipe back into halved hard-boiled eggs, sprinkle with sesame seeds, put on platter lined with pickled ginger

Joel, thanks! That recipe looks great.

Joel, Using wasabi in deviled eggs sounds great...but why the blue food coloring? What am I missing here?

Hammond

The wasabi powder I'd bought was whitish, and didn't color the egg yolks at all. The little bit of blue food coloring combined with the yellow yolks nearly exactly reproduced the color of the wasabi paste at sushi restaurants.

JoelF,

Ha! That makes perfect sense. I was actually thinking, why not use green food coloring? -- I was forgetting yellow + blue = green. I mentioned your wasabi deviled eggs to The Wife, and she thought they sounded great, plus now I have a good excuse to procure some of the white wasabi powder from Penzey's.

Hammond

White wasabi powder ...

Deviled eggs ...

Have been dreaming up a devilish practical joke to play on soneone ...

One of the truly masterpiece scenes from what may be remembered as the 21st century's finest cinematic work -- I'm referring, of course, to Jackass: The Movie -- is when the merry pranksters snort wasabi. They retch violently and stuff and it's pretty cool.

Hammond

I'm curious-- are you not a fan of the Spice House? I go to the one in Evanston a lot. (In fact I was just there on Thursday, pondered over the wasabi powder but didn't buy any.) I feel like it's about the same quality as Penzey's.

Bibirose,

Penzey's is within walking distance of my house, and there's a clerk there who I enjoy sharing spice tips with, so that's the store I go to. I would guess the quality at both locations is comparable (though I understand the Spice House has some varieties of smoked paprika not available at Penzey's which, come to think of it, would be an excellent reason to go there).

I also like "Spice it Up" on Maxwell Street, which has pretty good spice at tremendously good prices.

Hammond

I slightly prefer The Spice House, mostly due to the fact that they sell spices in bulk.

I occasionally make fairly large quantities of my 'Soon to be Famous' Big Time BBQ Rub and the Wells street Spice House is always quite pleasant about accommodating my 1-lb of this, 7-oz of that, and 9-oz of 3-of-those. There's 12-14 separate ingredients which they mix into one of the large bags their spices get delivered.

I also appreciate the fact that Patty Erd is active in local culinary activities and Slow Food. For example, she donated all the spices for me to make my rub and sauce for the Slow Food/City BBQ I did this summer for 50-people.

Slow Food/City Farm BBQ 8/11/04


Don't misinterpret, Penzey's is a fine company, with a good product, just that I have a slight preference for The Spice House.

Enjoy,
Gary

Hi,

In Gary's picture, the blond in the orange shirt is Patti Erd.

As much as I like Patti, who is also a Culinary Historian member, and I do patronize their stores. As Hammond illustrated, you buy where it is convenient to your home. Let's Spice It Up may be on Maxwell Street once a week, their brick and mortar location is in Highwood less than 10 minutes away from Chez Cathy. On my spice shelves, I have just as many Spice It Up containers as I do from The Spice House plus a bunch of others.

On Thanksgiving eve, I was at Spice It Up to buy juniper berries because mine had become stale. To test, I bit into one berry which tasted exactly like nothing. I knew this Tuesday night so I tried to satisfy my need via McCormick spices at Jewel. Where many years ago, they always had juniper berries there was none. There are so many specialized spice blends now, the basic herbs and spices are no longer being granted as much shelf space. So simply by default, I will be buying more at either spice shop.

That's a lovely photo!

I didn't realize there was a Penzey's so nearby. I totally go to The Spice House in Evanston because it's along my beaten trail. Since my family moved away from Glencoe, across the street from there is also my only convenient Foodstuffs location. They have a few things that I really like.

Ronnie_suburban's great photos from the LTHForum 1,000-Recipe Potluck, June 22, 2008, appear here, including this shot of JoelF's wasabi-deviled eggs, as prepared by jazzfood.

I'm so excited! As a carless city dweller I read about places like Mitsuwa & they make me contemplate Zipcar or something. Then I remember: I hate to drive. So I only get to places like this if someone generously offers to take me.

Which they have!!!!!!

After what seems like a lifetime (or a few years; whichever) of lusting over going to Mitsuwa I'm finally going next month! I've read all the related threads on LTH & it's a ton of great info; but I have the same question as the original poster had 5 years ago. What are the musts on your virgin Mitsuwa trip? I can only imagine a lot has changed since this was originally discussed. So anyone who has a favorite thing; a must do; a must DON'T; please pass it along.

Aside from starving myself in advance to be ready for the food court & bringing a small cooler with ice for some fresh fish; I don't really know what to do. I know I'd like to pick up some stone bowls or a tea set of some sort. More importantly I'm interested in good quality staples to have around—I've never really cooked Japanese; Chinese; or Korean foods (which is really odd as those are my favorites) & I'd like to start. I'm going through recipes now & trying to make a shopping list. But any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!