-
-
Ad Space
(728 x 90)
-
-
Twitter
TOCEatOut
-
4:39pm
Follow us, send us tips, ask us for recommendations, share your thoughts, DM us with secrets, etc.
-
Ad Space
(120 x 240)
-
-
Restaurant review
Blue Ocean
4650 N Clark St (773-334-6288). El: Red to Lawrence. Bus: 9, 22, 81. Dinner. Average nigiri: $2.50. BYOB.
My companion Zach was fumbling on his iPhone in the middle of dinner. “You’re not going to believe this,” he said. “This place has four stars on Yelp.”
“Yeah, but it’s new,” I countered. “How many reviews are there?”
“Eighteen.”
We both sat dumbfounded for a moment.
“You’re kidding me.”
That was when the waitress came over, surveyed our barely touched plates, and asked whether everything was okay. She was a wonderful server—attentive, sweet and watchful. The room itself is pretty pleasant, too: The drab carpet looks as if it came straight from an office building, but the rest of the spacious restaurant is airy and at least tries to feel contemporary and designed. But aside from the excellent service, things were definitely not okay. Things hadn’t been okay for a while.
It started when the appetizer our waitress recommended (phyllo-wrapped ahi) in place of a dish the restaurant was out of (phyllo-wrapped whitefish) turned out to be mealy, warmish ground tuna stuffed into fried phyllo dough with warm, slimy cream cheese. This was the first time in my life I felt relieved when a plate was cleared from in front of me.
But my relief was premature. The next thing that came out was the signature Blue Ocean roll, which was stuffed with the same grainy tuna, the same smooth cream cheese. My only consolation was that this time, the cheese wasn’t warm.
My generosity, as well, was premature. The chefs’ selection of sushi and nigiri—an unimaginative, nonsustainable collection of tuna, yellowtail, salmon and red snapper—was served way too cold and may as well have come from a grocery-store freezer section considering how tasteless the fish was. The only items worth eating on the $23 sampler were a couple of avocado-shrimp maki.
So I was left to pick at the small-plate of roasted duck. It was cloyingly sweet, but at least it tasted like something. Zach, meanwhile, was deep into the Yelp reviews. The dishes that the Yelpers yelped about were mostly the ones we ordered. It was baffling. The Heat Roll is not “EFFING AMAZING.” The sashimi can not possibly be described as “top notch.” I could talk as loud as I wanted to into that tiny screen. But somehow, I don’t think the Yelpers will hear me.
Time Out Chicago / Issue 244 : Oct 29, 2009–Nov 6, 2010
Leave a comment
-
-
- Subscribe now and save 87%!
- For just $19.99 a year, you'll get hundreds of listings and free events each week, plus our special issues and guides, including Cheap Eats, Great Spas, Fall Preview, Holiday Gift Guide and more!
-
- Time Out Chicago respects your privacy. We will only use your e-mail address in order to contact you regarding to your subscription and to send you our weekly e-newsletter. We will not share this information with anyone.
-
-
Ad Space
(320 x 53)
Ad Space
(300 x 250)
-
Top stories
-
Most viewed in Restaurants & Bars
-
Chicago's best restaurants
Food and drink trends
Chef Interviews
Local artisans
-
Ad Space
(160 x 600)
Ad Space
(160 x 600)
-
- Visit our sister sites:
- Time Out Chicago Kids
- Time Out New York
- Time Out New York Kids
- Time Out London
- Time Out Worldwide
you people need to chilll. i went to blue ocean and it was not great. why all the craziness about a critics opinion?
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA Food critic trying to argue with Yelp HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAH AHA AHAHAH dhashahahshashshsfasdfasuhgph
The gripes against Yelpers are unjustified. It's a site for "Real People. Real Reviews." whether or not the reviews are in agreement with your experience. Nothing wrong with some third party input, but always use discernment and make up your own decision about a place. Speak up about poor food or service. Don't blame it on Yelpers. And Julia, you might want to take a look at this thread. http://www.yelp.com/topic/chicago-are-your-tastes-based-on-canned-spaghetti#luweNFZ3OxXUa2z1iGdK7g
18 reviews on Yelp is not a lot. But if you actually did your research, you would know that.
Bitter, underpaid "food critics" - seem to just be scared about their jobs being on the line because people would rather read concensus opinions for free than pay a few dollars for an uneducated opinion.
it's all about personal choice. You write for a magazine that wants to be the go to source for reviews so of course you don't think Yelp is reliable
the great thing about yelp is it's the opinion of MANY (24 currently for the restaurant you're referring to--and not all of them are positive, 4* is the average), versus your two opinions. clearly you had non-standard experience at this restaurant, chalk it up to that. don't blame others that you weren't happy and they were, though.
I went here a week ago and had an OK experience--both Heat roll and Blue Ocean roll had some nice spice, and I would order again. BYOB too, so can't complain about that. I agree with Sushi Lover--who would ever order sushi in phyllo dough?? Not sure that I will race to go back--especially when Sushi Mike is rockin' the house at Tanoshii a mile up the road on Clark--but I don't think the place deserved such a snarky review. And the whole yelp thing--come on, everybody knows that website is bogus.
Remember 99.9% of Yelpers grew up eating spaghetti out of a can...and slurped up every last noodle in delight. They still do.
Wow, this is a harsh review! Both times when I went to Blue Ocean it was excellent and the fish was very fresh. I did not order the phyllo-dough items, but who would? It is a sushi restaurant, remember? I am curious how many restaurant visits the TOC reviewer made. I would give it another try. It is write ups like these that really hurt new restaurant openings. What is the point of skewering a place? I understand her point, but it could be said in a much more constructive tone.
I was going to add this place to my list of places to try, but now I think I will avoid it!
Yowch -- they better step it up. We need more "EFFING AMAZING" restaurants in Uptown.