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A Unique Grilling Style at a Great Price at Sushi Samba rio

By Anthony Todd in Food on Aug 23, 2011 4:00PM

If you haven't tried Robata-style food yet, it's time. "Eating true robata is like having sex for the first time; you can't tell someone about it," explains Sushi Samba rio chef Dan Tucker. After watching him and tasting it for ourselves, we'll certainly try to tell, but the best option is for you to go yourself. Even better, there's a special lunch deal that lets you try this unique food at a notably low price.

It takes more than half an hour to fire up the Robata grill, which Tucker and his staff built out of parts lying around the kitchen. They bent the backstop around a telephone pole in the back alley - this is not a trendy piece of equipment, but it shows off the chef's enthusiasm and gets the job done. Sushi Samba Rio has been grilling on the Robata for over a year (at which point they were the only one in Chicago, according to Tucker) but now a couple of other robata joints have opened. However, Sushi Samba rio is the only one to use the rare binchotan charcoal. This Japanese charcoal comes in perfect, cylindrical sticks, and when knocked together clinks like a musical instrument.

Tucker explains why Binchotan matters with a mental diagram: if you think about your home charcoal grill, the heat level goes in a curve - it increase fast, and then it dies. Binchotan takes a while to get going, but then stays hot (and evenly hot) for a very, very long time. If they fire up the grill for lunch, it's still going when dinner service ends. Which is great, because a box of charcoal sticks costs more than $100. The advantage of the even temperature? It's easier to cook over, and you get the char of BBQ without the overwhelming campfire taste. It's a more delicate grill.

On the other hand, this charcoal isn't started with lighter fluid. It takes 30 minutes under the broiler to get the stuff ignited, followed by some careful work with a rather incongruous (for a kitchen) hair dryer hanging next to the grill. The restaurant will grill almost anything for you on the robata - from steak to octopus - and even some... special items, if you seem up for them and ask the waiters. Try the tuna "collar," or the whole lobster robata - not on the menu, but you just have to ask.

Let's say you want to try this stuff, but not pay very much. Go to Sushi Samba rio for lunch! Though it doesn't say so on the menu, their Bento Box specials include robata-grilled meats. For about $15, you get your choice of meat, a salad, a tuna sushi roll, miso soup and rice. Hard to beat that in River North - and it's even a balanced meal.

Sushi Samba rio is located at 504 N. Wells Street.