I finally got a chance to get some sushi again yesterday. My good friend, Martin, who pretty much introduced me to sushi many years ago, invited me to check out Hakuya in Buffalo Grove.

It was lunchtime, so we started off with two combo plates and some ala carte unagi. They brought out complimentary miso soup and ginger house salad. The soup was standard, but the salad offered a nice variety. My plate was a four piece nigiri and spicy salmon roll. Martin had the six piece with a spicy tuna roll and a shrimp tempura roll. All the nigiri was flavorful and tender, the white tuna was especially delicate, while the red snapper was a bit chewy for my tastes. The unagi was great, nicely prepared and topped with just a smidge of scallions.

After that, we ordered two signature rolls. One was the house signature Hakuya roll, which was excellent, packed with flavor and generously portioned. The citrus vinaigrette added a nice creaminess. The other roll was a new one, called the Valentine. This one came out with each pair of nigiri prepared in such a way so that the two halves formed a heart. The flavors on this one were exceptional as well, and the presentation was better, but the cilantro was a bit dominant on the Valentine, so it didn’t have as diverse a flavor profile. I was still torn as to which roll to make my last bite but settled on the Hakuya to finish out an awesome and reasonably priced meal.

So if you’re looking for a new sushi place to try, Hakuya is worth the trip. Enjoy!