To Blog or not to blog, plus a Takashi review.

So I haven't posted for awhile but I have received "feedback" from people commenting on the topics on my blog, some saying less baby talk, some saying bring back the restaurant reviews. I just found it amusing that people were telling me what to blog about, isn't the point of a blog that you post on whatever you're thinking about or intersted in at the moment? For example, a few things that popped into my mind this week 1) you know those drop down menus you have to use when completing order forms online, my pet peeve is that when you have to select country you scroll all the way down to the bottom to pull up "United States", I know it's petty but really are there that many people in the Ivory Coast or Madacasgar purchasing books online or ordering Laura Mercier blush? I highly doubt it, so can we just get it moved up to the top? I'm just asking.
Another one of my "critics" wanted me to go back to purely restaurant reviews, I am totally happy to do restaurant reviews I commented but that means I need to go out to new restaurants! During the busy holiday months and this past, cold depressing January I didn't have too many reservations on the calendar but I am now booking up the calendar so that I can again comment on our Chicago dining.
This past Friday I went and checked out the new Takashi, a Japanese/French inspired Chicago newbie located in the old Scylla space in Bucktown. I was a big Scylla fan and sad to see it go but I had heard nothing but raves about the new Takashi so a visit was due. The former cozy and cramped decor is gone and while the space is still a bit small, it is much sleeker and modern than it's former occupant, complete with a tiny but inviting bar to sit at while you wait. Takashi's menu is a number of cold and hot small plates along with a shorter "large plates" aka entrees selection. A number of the small plates looked delicious, fluke, bluefin tuna tartare, scallops, pork belly, the of the moment dish, and many others, in fact, I had a bit of struggle deciding upon the small selection, I think I could have been happy with three small and forgone the large selection altogether. I finally settled on the pork belly for a starter and was happy with the selection (although I did suffer from a little jealous after having a nibble of the scallops). The pork belly came with several steamed buns, a pungent mustard and little greens which allowed you to combine all four elements for a tasty bite or mini Asian sandwich combo. The belly perfectly prepared, not too crispy, not too fatty (ridiculous I know!) a definite recommend if you go, my fellow diners were also big fans of the scallops and duck. The large selections with the exception of the duck didn't really "wow" our table, fish dominated the selections with cod, bass, and salmon all making an appearance along with some claypot chicken and a wasabi steak selection. I split the salmon and the chicken with a friend and while both were tasty and fine, I wasn't wowed but that's not a criticism, not every meal is wow-worthy and there's nothing wrong with that - I was happy to find in Takashi another enjoyable and quality dining experience and in one of my favorite hoods to boot! The service is still new and not as steady as it could be but not at enough of a level to detract from the dinner. I am positive once real spring comes to Chicago (read: late May) I will make a visit to Takashi again for some fresh, spring flavors and maybe a spot on the patio.