Menu Redo

Red Violet Taps Gene Kato To Revamp Menu

Come sit in Mr. Nightclub Face.
Come sit in Mr. Nightclub Face. Photo: courtesy Red Violet

The other day we made a cryptic reference to “midscale pan-Asian [not being] a category we necessarily view with enthusiasm.” Exhibit A in the mediocre results of offering higher-end versions of Asian standards would seem to be downtown’s glitzy Red Violet, and Michael Nagrant in the Sun-Times diagnosed its problem in his review three months ago: “Foie gras wonton soup at 10 bucks a bowl tastes like every wonton soup I’ve ever had… Red Violet also charges $40 for the pleasure of one past-its-prime King crab leg featuring a sauce of mandarin orange essence and onion-ginger.” Shockingly, customers didn’t seem to want to pay for so-so takeout at insanely inflated prices, and Eater reports that Gene Kato, whose own Sumi Robata Bar at 702 N. Wells is coming in the fall, has taken a whack at improving the menu with dishes that at least can better justify the prices through use of ingredients like scallops or halibut. Still, we were intrigued about Sumi by Kato’s pledges of doing Japanese food like it’s never been done before here, and just a little of our excitement about that is diminished by seeing him consult on a place that seems to be everything we hope Sumi won’t be. At least now the foie-gras-less won-ton soup is only $6 now. [Eater]

Red Violet Taps Gene Kato To Revamp Menu