YUM! YUM! YUM!
I love the play on of Lolla in Rollapalooza's name, creative!
So my favorite sushi restaurant closed and I'm on a mission to find a new fave. We happened to be in the city on a Monday, which does not happen often and thought hey maybe this would be a good time to find a new love. I was torn between Rolla and Sushi Mura since they both have great reviews on Yelp and Ultimately choose Rollapalooza for it's name (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rollapalooza-chicago?select=xbYkYKmB5MlksfPFuX7JtA#dDLhCng2zE8b85TdJnbdBQ).
Upon arriving we were greeted and seated next to the cooler. Not a big deal, but not really a pleasant view. Our server friendly and we got our waters quickly. We've eaten sushi for a long time now and know what we like and what really works well with each other so after we placed our order the server goes, " you must come here often. You ordered all the best rolls." After telling him it was our first time he was a bit shocked. We like to just think it's our expertise on knowing our likes and dislike in a maki.
We started off with Shu Mai:steamed Japanese dumpling; (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rollapalooza-chicago?select=xbYkYKmB5MlksfPFuX7JtA#B2AOnFY2CNNGHp2Ko1tpSw), although quite flavorful and a nice chunk of shrimp I wouldn't order it seeing as we got 4 pieces for $4.
The server rave that his favorite is the Spicy Tataki: spicy tuna topped on shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber crab stick. then lightly seared spicy tuna & drizzle with crunchy; (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rollapalooza-chicago?select=xbYkYKmB5MlksfPFuX7JtA#0hD5b3uKtwqKoKV7pEDNKg), which had a great performance with the fire, but fell short of expectations, it was our least favorite.
If you're a scallop lover and like heavy maki definitely get the Dynamite: crab mix, avocado, cucumber topped with super white tuna, scallop, mozzarella cheese, spicy mayo, unagi sauce finish with bonito flake; (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rollapalooza-chicago?select=xbYkYKmB5MlksfPFuX7JtA#L0zQmmEPcz53r7W-JvDeGA), the name suits it well because it was DYNAMITE! The maki was packed with flavorful and the scallops were cooked perfect that we made sure we ate every little piece.
They have tequila? Oh sure, Tequila maki that is: tuna, yellowtail, avocado, cilantro, jalapeno & house mayo wrapped in green soybean sheet. then squeezed fresh lime & chilli oil; (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rollapalooza-chicago?select=xbYkYKmB5MlksfPFuX7JtA#vZ8WkHQaPSYhGn-XYJM2Tw). I love this spin off of a Mexican roll, the little touch of the lime juice added a great flavorful to this already refreshing roll. Yum. Anything with cilantro I'm game! My favorite of the night.
I'm not a big fan of cream cheese in my maki, but the boyfriend couldn't resist on passing up on the Crunchy Melt: melted mozzarella cheese on unagi over shrimp tempura, cucumber, crunchy & cream cheese drizzled with unagi sauce; (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rollapalooza-chicago?select=xbYkYKmB5MlksfPFuX7JtA#L3Xft4chVcNBOYFSxhtsIw), which was a lot better than I expected, a little heavy on the cream cheese, but he enjoyed all the gooeyness of it.
Rollapalooza definitely hit the sushi crave for us and can become a potential favorite after a few more visits, but thank goodness it's in the city because we paid $80 total with tax and tip for 4 rolls and an appetizer, holy cow! But man can I go for some Tequila right now! read more