A cold winter weekend in Chicago, the snow trickles down in a blustery gale through the streets of Lakeview. The sun retreating westward at an ever earlier hour, leaving nothing but the streetlights lining Halsted to light your way. As the cold city winds beat against your reddened face you consider turning back and heading home. This thought of surrender is quickly plucked from your mind as you remember that you are on a mission. A mission for Edamame! You soldier on through the forces of nature until finally, you arrive at the corner of Belmont to find your party waiting for you in front of a hip urban Ramen restaurant. Furious Spoon.

Entering Furious Spoon, you notice that this place has an ambiance that is in your face! Old school hip-hop shakes your eardrums as you’re enthralled by the graffiti stained brick walls behind a long wooden bar that stretches to the back of the room. Your host waves you over and tells you to sit wherever you are comfortable. The choices being the aforementioned bar, a long window-facing counter-top peering out eastward onto Halsted Street, or a few large wooden tables running down the middle of the restaurant. Perfect. Your party decides to claim one of the tables in the central area of the restaurant. You nearly throw your back out pulling out one of the bar stools that weigh no less than 100 pounds each. But, no pain no gain they say, and here we are looking to gain some sweet Edamame. However, you quickly notice that Edamame isn’t the only thing on the menu here!

The menu that your waiter sets in front of you isn’t very intimidating, a simple single-sided laminated page lists only three types of dish here. First at the top is the starters, some things that stand out are the dumplings, the Japanese lettuce wraps, and, you guessed it: Edamame! Center stage on this menu is the five different kinds of Ramen. A veggie option for anyone not interested in meat, a spicy Dynamo Shrimp option for the thrill seekers, and their namesake “The Furious” just to name a few. Further down the menu you see some rice bowls in case you are looking for something a bit lighter that won’t sit as heavy as a bowl of Ramen.

The waiter approaches your table to take your order. The party is hungry tonight and this will be no small order. After your companions hurl a flurry of drink, appetizer and course selections at the employee it comes to your turn. “I would like to start with a Kirin Ichiban to drink, and one of the veggie rice bowls with some added grilled mushrooms please.” Your server then informs you that they are all out of marinated mushrooms at the moment, “Perhaps you would like to add the Pickled Shimeji Mushrooms instead?” gross. “Nah, I’m not a big fan of pickle. The only thing worse than pickle is cucumber.” you chime in. “Let’s just go with the fried tofu instead please!” “And sir? Can we also get a bowl of Edamame for the table please?” There it is. The order has been placed. The server is off. Now all that’s left to do is wait for the soybeans to hit the table!

Your party babbles on with each other about general chit-chat, current events, politics… but there is only one thing on your mind and no amount of conversation, no matter how engaging can shake your mind from the goal at hand. The Edamame. And suddenly, there he is, like a golden angel sent down by the gods themselves, your server makes his triumphant return to your table. Bearing a tray filled with drinks, appetizers and of course the Edamame. Though, with a bit of observation you quickly notice that this is no ordinary Edamame. For this, is Togarashi Spice Edamame! 

Just taking a quick whiff of this Edamame tells you all you need to know about it, it is SPICY. After bugging your friends to take several pictures for your ridiculous food blog, you are now ready to dig in. Not soon enough either, you ready your now salivating taste buds to journey with you on this presumably spice filled ride. And it hits you, that first bite into the succulent pod, and out pops the first bean into your mouth, but with it comes something else, some spice from the shell. And what a spice it is, the togarashi spice in fact adds a whole new depth to the dish that you previously thought impossible. The peppery but somewhat fruity kick of the 7 ingredient jumble has you quickly reaching for your drink between pods in order to douse the fire coming from your mouth. Once you finally get past the game-changing spice you realize that this Edamame stands up on it’s own without simply relying on flavor. Each pod is cooked to that perfect tender but firm consistency, no pods pre-cracked, no loose beans at the bottom of the bowl. Perfection! 

Lost in the bowl of spicy soybean delight, suddenly you are caught off-guard. The main course has arrived. You look up from your bowl to the inquisitive faces of your dinner party who have apparently been trying to talk to you for the last three minutes while you were captivated in your mess of soybean and spices. Never mind them, you move onto your main course, The veggie rice bowl. Filled with Cabbage, Carrots, green beans, shallots, tofu and a poached egg, this bowl was hearty and easy to stomach. The poached egg and ponzu sauce add a bit of thickness that hold the ingredients together well. As you notice your party slurping down the last remains of their Ramen and realize this dining adventure is coming to an end your mind races back to the Edamame with only a few pods still left out you quickly engorge yourself on these last remnants of what was one of the best bowls of Edamame you have ever tasted. In a total all-star move, one of your most trusted party members, Branden, reaches for the check and offers to pay for the meal. A true Edamame MVP. With the bill paid for and the Edamame depleted, you gather your things and head back out into the cold tundra-esque lands of the windy city and begin your journey home. A return journey that is a little warmer thanks to the spicy-hot bowl of Edamame that will be forever in your mind.

Furious spoon gets a triple pod rating on Edamamaster.com and is hereby known as the spiciest Edamame in Chicago!

Gyu-Kaku is a Japanese barbecue restaurant located in one of Chicago’s finest neighborhoods: Lakeview East. Right off of Broadway and Diversey, this popular restaurant is a perfect spot for a party of friends looking for some high end Japanese cuisine.

The tables feature a stove top in the center so you can cook the dishes right in front of you. The restaurant features a wide array of meats to barbecue on the aforementioned stoves including different types of beef, pork, poultry, seafood or vegetables with all sorts of seasonings and sauces to choose from. They also have packages of recommended items for various party sizes.

The atmosphere is warm and inviting with around 14 tables in it’s main dining area each able to fit 4 occupants each. At the front of the restaurant is a long bar area able to accommodate around 12 guests. Perfect if you don’t wish to get involved with the self cook tables and are just stopping in for a quick beer and a bowl of delicious edamame! Speaking of which…

The edamame comes in a thick oval shaped bowl with a shallow side dish to discard your shells into. They are perfectly cooked, firm to the bite, but easy to de-shell with minimal effort. This is a more traditional edamame experience, in that they only serve the traditional style of edamame: lightly sprinkled with sea salt. The salt distribution gets a bit thin towards the bottom of the bowl. But is well distributed among the top and mid layers.

🚨Redamame alert!🚨The elusive quadra-pod edamame has been sighted at this restaurant.

Halfway through my bowl I discover the mythical QUADRAPOD edamame. A shell consisting of FOUR whole edamame beans inside of it! A momentous occasion for any edamame enthusiast!

Overall, gyu Kaku is a very fun, very engaging restaurant. Whether you are looking for a place to get some solid Japanese barbecue, or just looking for a restaurant that lets you interact with and have a little more control over your meal. This restaurant will have you covered! While the salt distribution was a bit lacking, the edamame was perfectly cooked. Plus the inclusion of a quadra-pod shell means that Gyu Kaku takes it’s edamame seriously. And for that, I’m going to leave them with a solid triple pod rating!

         Hub 51 is an upscale restaurant with a wide variety of foods on it’s menu. It’s located in downtown Chicago at 51 W. Hubbard street, hence the clever name Hub 51.

         My party and I arrived at 8 pm on a brisk autumn Sunday and were greeted by a full house. Almost every table as well as the entire bar had been occupied. A surprising sight for a Sunday night especially given the size of the restaurant. This large size is broken down into three separate dining areas, giving each room a more cozy feel perfect for relaxing over a plate of steamy edamame. The foremost area you find yourself in upon entering the restaurant is furnished with many pub tables and bar stools to match. In addition there also sits a long full liquor bar on the southern side of this room that separates the bar area from the main dining area. If bar seating is not preferred you can then walk into the main dining room, or past that to the more closed off back part of the restaurant featuring tons of tables and booths to ensure that this place always has the perfect seat available for you. The west wall of this restaurant is taken up by large garage style doors that can be opened on warmer days exposing a patio seating area. On colder nights these glass-paned garage doors also provide a great view of the historic courthouse building which sits right across Hubbard Street. It’s also worth noting that there is a basement level here that can be rented out for events like work parties or private edamame tastings.

        The atmosphere in all three areas has a modern decor, but still manages to remain cozy and inviting with dim lighting and low pop music playing to set a calming ambiance even among a restaurant brimming with patrons. There are two separate bars here, which means there is no shortage of drink selections including around 20 beers on tap, a tasteful wine selection of both whites and reds, and several cocktails to compliment your edamame dining experience. Upon exploring the menu further, you may notice several things, the first being that there is a wide variety of food types served here. Everything from burgers, to tacos, to sushi and salads make an appearance on this menu. Meaning no matter what food you are looking for, almost everyone will be satisfied. The second thing you may notice is that edamame is not specifically listed on the menu. Instead it is listed under an item called “Two Green Bites” Which includes Shishito and Edamame. Now, I know what you are all thinking here, “Kyle, I only care about the edamame, if I wanted to hear about Shishito I would visit Shishitalk, Chicago’s #1 shishito podcast!”. But worry not my avid readers, upon speaking with my server I was informed that the edamame can be ordered by itself, without any unnecessary east Asian green peppers sullying the dish.

         Now, Let’s take a look at the edamame, it comes on a round porcelain plate, garnished with a lemon, that can be utilized add even more flavor to an already delectable taste. The first thing you will notice here is that it is well cooked with toast marks lining the shell. The flavor is bursting with fruity aromas, a far cry from the traditional sea salt covered norm. This dish comes out swinging by hitting your palate hard with a fruity tang then leaving you with a mild edamame aftertaste that makes you crave more with each bite. These pods are cooked to perfection, being both tender to the bite and easy to break out of the shell.

         The oil it’s coated in has an extremely zesty taste to it making it among the most flavorful edamame I have ever tasted. The cooking style is highly unique shying away from the steamed option and going instead towards a bold pan fried style. This leaves the outer shell looking a bit singed, while some may mistake this as being burnt, it leaves no aftertaste of burned soybean on your palate and is done intentionally. This brings Hub 51’s edamame to a completely unique category of edamame. Overall with the daring pan-fried cooking style, coupled with the fruity robust flavor, this edamame stands in a league all of its own.

         Hub 51 is an absolute delight to dine at. From it’s modern inviting atmosphere, to it’s truly unique take on edamame. This restaurant is a must-visit for any Chicago native or visiting tourist. While the menu may make it a bit difficult to order, the edamame here is truly unlike any I have ever experienced, and therefore Hub 51 locks in a solid triple pod rating from this satisfied blogger!

Chicago’s gay pride parade will be vibrantly dominating the streets of Chicago today with it’s colorful flags and floats. What better way to celebrate the LGBT community than by stopping by one of Chicago’s greatest edamame restaurants located in the heart of boystown, Diva Thai.

Diva Thai is an exquisite restaurant located right off of Halsted street. It’s elevated dining area has filled my edamame craving far more than any other restaurant in the city. Largely in thanks to it’s closing time at 4am. This makes it one of the only places in the city to get edamame after midnight. So whether you are a night owl looking for a late-night meal or just shut the bar down at last call on a night out, Diva Thai will be there ready to give you a steaming hot bowl of fresh edamame. A perfect end to any night.

If you are in the mood for some side dishes with your edamame I could not recommend Diva Thai’s sushi menu enough. Diva is also a BYOB restaurant with no uncorking fee. So feel free to bring any booze you or your party may be carrying.

The edamame comes served in a simple but effective plastic bowl with a removable red top for throwing out empty shells.

The edamame has been consistent every time I have come to this establishment. From the moment the first succulent pod hits your tongue you will instantly be assured that this spot is going to become one of your most frequented edamame establishments.

This low-key sushi restaurant will come through in almost any situation and stands tall as one of Edamamaster’s favorite spots in the city.  It earns a respectable triple pod rating, but more importantly enters the edamame hall of fame by being the first recipient of the Editormame’s choice award!

          Sushi Burrito is a new Chicago restaurant that is gaining a lot of attention by offering a completely unique and unprecedented sushi experience.  Instead of a traditional sushi roll which comes sliced up into 5-7 pieces, sushi burrito offers up exactly what the name implies.  They provide a longer and much fatter roll of sushi that is not sliced into sections, but rather cut in half with the flour tortilla of the traditional burrito being replaced by rolled seaweed.  This idea seems good on paper, but in practice it had some drawbacks that I will elaborate more on later in the article.

When I arrived I was surprised by the overall setup of the restaurant.  From the talk surrounding Chicago’s exclusive sushi burrito restaurant I was expecting a bit more ambiance.   However, I was greeted with a plain white rectangular room with 4 tables.  Each table was set up with nothing more than a bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce, and the room contained only a refrigerator stocked with sodas and an empty fish tank without any water or fish in it, which I found odd.  Whatever though, I was here for the one of a kind food items.  I guess I can look past the relatively dull scenery.  Ordering your food is handled in a take-out manner by approaching the back counter manned by 1 cashier and 3 sushi chefs, there is no waiting staff here to serve.

          I ordered the Ganzo “Spicy” burrito (with a Side of Edamame of course), I did not order anything to drink because drink prices and options were not listed on the menu.  This lead me to wonder if the cooler full of cans was any more functional than the empty fishtank across the room.  I eventually grabbed a plastic cup to fill from the pitcher of warm water next to the cooler.  It’s worth noting here that there is no alcohol served at this location either, fitting for the “get your food and get out” vibe that I got from the place.  Me and my party then selected one of the few tables at the restaurant to sit at, and began waiting for our food to the tune of outdated pop music blaring over the speakers.

          When our long wait was finally over and our number was called, I approached the back counter and was handed a plastic cafeteria tray stacked with the burritos and Edamame.  The Edamame was served in a disposable plastic container that you would expect to get from ordering delivery, the burritos came in cardboard rectangular bowls and wrapped in tin foil.  No utensils were served with the meal, you are left to get those yourself from the same stand you get your lukewarm tap water from.

          The Edamame, served in the aforementioned delivery-style plastic container, came poorly and unevenly salted.  Upon taking my first bite I discovered that the shell was grossly overcooked and limp to the bite.  I thought maybe I had just picked a bad pod at first, but it turned out the entire serving of Edamame was poorly prepared. The skimpy, uneven salt distribution coupled with the overcooked, soggy texture made a mockery of Edamame. It tasted as though it were prepared in a microwave.

          I understand full well that Edamame is not a top priority to this establishment, and therefore I tried to remain open minded and hopeful that perhaps the namesake of this restaurant would redeem it: onto the Sushi Burrito.

I do not consider myself to be a sushi connoisseur by any means.  Nor a burrito expert. That being said, I felt the sushi burrito didn’t hold up well as either a burrito or as sushi. The outer seaweed wrapping of the burrito may seem like a suitable alternative to a tortilla, but in practice it failed to contain all the ingredients and started coming apart and spilling everywhere after only a few bites.  Seeing as the burrito is much wider than a normal piece of sushi, you do not get an even amount of all the ingredients in every bite.  Some bites were all rice while others were just a chunk of fish.  The ends of the burrito are also not closed, so you need to leave the tin foil on while eating.  This can be a pain, as you have to constantly peel back the foil between bites.  Overall I feel like the sushi burrito can be summed up nicely by the popular quote “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”.  Sushi was fine to begin with.  Making it into a burrito might be a fun idea but it comes out horribly in practice.

         Overall I was very displeased with almost everything about Sushi Burrito.  The environment of the restraint was boring and drab, their namesake food turned out to be a cheap gimmick that was difficult to eat, and the Edamame was a soggy disgrace to the food.  I’m leaving Sushi Burrito with a single pod rating.  Sure, you can get Edamame here, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

The cubs are playing in the world series for the first time since 1945. Wrigleyville is packed with fans from all over the city, and they are all wondering one thing: Where can I get some edamame? The answer? Sushi Mura, a local sushi restaurant about two blocks west of Wrigley field.

As soon as you walk into Sushi Mura you are welcomed by a friendly, at-home feeling  restaurant. The place is slim but spacious with a rather subdued atmosphere. Around 10 tables and booths lining the dining area and a sushi bar with a chest high window view into the kitchen and plenty of nic-nacs on the bar counter, like a lucky cat and a few samurai statues. The restaurant also features several kitschy Halloween decorations for the season.

My friend Vianney and I arrived at around 9 PM on Thursday night. We were seated immediately at a table set with napkins, disposable chopsticks, and a jar of soy sauce. After taking a few moments to look over the menu we were greeted by our waitress who set in front of us a complimentary dish of edamame to eat while deciding what to order! It’s almost as if the staff knew why we were coming here.

The menu consists of a satisfying amount of sushi items (almost too many to choose from), however, the alternative options to the sushi are a little on the light side. So if you are not a fan of sushi you will have limited other options. You cannot really hold that against Sushi Mura though, as my friend pointed out “If you’re going to a sushi restaurant, you should get sushi”. The drink menu is satisfying with a few imports as well as domestic beers in addition to the wine and saki selections.

We decided to start off our dinner by ordering a couple bottles of Sapporo which is a staple in all sushi restaurants. After placing our order for more edamame we decided on a few maki rolls The Negi Hamachi Maki, which was Yellowtail and scallions, The Salmon Baiko Age which came deep fried. Of course in honor of our favorite baseball team, we also ordered a roll of the Cub’s Maki.

Our appetizer and food were both served quickly with little waiting time, not surprising as the restaurant was not very busy considering the time and day.

Now let’s talk about the legume in the room: the edamame! The edamame came served in a square shaped porcelain bowl. No fancy embellishments, but being that it was our second serving with the first one being free who are we to complain? freshly cooked and of appropriate temperature. Lightly salted and perfectly tender but still firm once broken from the pod. The serving size was a great appetizer portion that left us satisfied but still hungry enough to look forward to the sushi.

The sushi comes served with ginger, wasabi, and a slice of lime on two separate plates with additional personal plates to add soy sauce or wasabi to your liking on. The waitress clearly pointed out which rolls were which and explained the ingredients and flavors of each roll before we dove into them. I found the Cub’s roll to be my favorite as it came wrapped in a rather thick chunk of Salmon. The Salmon Baiko Age roll is also a great choice because of the deep fried bits throughout the roll it has a bit of a crunch to it. Overall the rolls were prepared very well and held together perfectly even after being soaked in soy sauce.

The meal ran around $50 for two people which is very affordable for such a pleasant dining experience. Upon leaving the establishment our eyes caught sight of a basket filled with free lollipops of various flavors in the door way vestibule. This finishing touch of parting me with a free cherry flavored candy secured Sushi Mura a triple pod rating on Chicago’s #1 edamame blog! While all of you cubs fans are in Wrigleyville for the next few nights be sure to stop on by this great restaurant if you are in the mood for some edamame!

      Today marks a monumental day for Edamamaster, because today I am reviewing Samurai Sushi. What makes this particular restaurant of interest is the fact that it is located in Orlando, Florida. For the first time, Edamamaster is breaking out of the Chicago edamame scene and into the exotic lands of Florida.

       Samurai Sushi is a Japanese themed sushi restaurant in Orlando.  It is a very relaxed environment with some themed artwork hanging on the walls and a bar located immediately at the front of the restaurant. Several booths line the outside of the restaurant with oriental paper lanterns sitting on a mantle above each booth.  The tables are set with chopsticks and individual trays for personal soy sauce. My favorite touch was that each table was set with a basket of hot towels.

      The menu is very standard for a sushi restaurant, but I’m very excited to see how the sushi compares to that of Chicago.  Seeing as Florida is much closer to the ocean, I’m expecting it to be extremely fresh.

       For alcohol there are 10-15 wines and about 10 beers to choose from, including domestics and a few Japanese imports  I selected the Sapporo, one of the more popular Japanese import beers and one of my personal favorites.

       Me and my party ordered about 7 rolls of various styles including yellow tail, salmon, crab and a few others to go along with our edamame.

        After a rather lengthy wait, The edamame came served in a steep plastic bowl, and a second bowl to discard empty shells into.  Despite the long wait the edamame came a little under cooked. Some pieces were too firm while others were already broken open. The salt distribution was extremely light for my taste.  In fact, most pieces had no salt at all on them. The portion size was moderate and quickly consumed. Between the lengthy wait, the uneven cooking and the barely existent salt I was left wondering if maybe we had just caught the restaurant at a bad time.

      The sushi came served with all 7 rolls on a giant party platter, the display was very nice and the waitress pointed out and explained all the different rolls we had ordered so we would know what we were getting into. All 7 rolls were delicious and tasted as well as they were presented. For such a large party we had expected the rolls to go fast but the portions were very generous and left us all fulfilled. While the portion of the sushi was great, the wasabi and ginger servings were brought out with only enough for a single person. We informed the waitress of this and were given a much larger chunk of Wasabi at no additional price.

     Overall Samurai Sushi was a great place to go for sushi.  There were tons of options and each of them was delicious. The price was also extremely nice for the amount of food we got, so if you are in a large party this place is great. However, the edamame left me a little disappointed. Between being unevenly cooked and lacking in salt, it makes me wonder if Florida just might not be ready for edamame yet. I’m leaving Samurai Sushi with a double pod rating.