Sushi Wabi

Sushi Wabi is a great sushi restaurant in my Chicago neighborhood. What sets it apart from other sushi joints is that substitutions are allowed, and you can create your own rolls. For a vegan or vegetarian, this is huge. So many times, rolls are vegetarian except for one ingredient and there's a clear note on the menu that states 'No Substitutions'.

Dengaku, grilled Japanese eggplant with sweet miso and sesame is a great place to start. They also have an incredible salad with Fuji apples, cashews and citrus vinaigrette.

For rolls, it's very basic, but I love an Avocado Cucumber roll. So fresh and light. On my last visit, I added fried shallots, which were incredible.

This roll I created had spinach, jalapeno, cucumber, avocado, green onion and cilantro, very similar to their Ecuador roll, which can easily be veganized. They can make many of their rolls vegetarian. They even make a vegetarian eel sauce, and you can specify soy paper and/or brown rice.

And don't miss their Fresh Ginger Soda, it's really light and refreshing with a hint of spice.

Note: The owners of Sushi Wabi also own Mana Food Bar, an all vegetarian eatery. You can see my post on Mana here.