Woow Japanese

Interior Shot - notice the wild decorations

Crab Rangoon

For another celebration of Nick's birthday (this time with Natalie's parents), we went to Woow Japanese in downtown La Grange.  This location has been open for 3 months. It is their 3rd location in the the Chicago Suburbs - the weird thing is they all happen to be located on La Grange Road (in Orland Park, Frankfort and now La Grange).  Their menu features mostly Japanese entrees and sushi but also includes other Asian fare such as traditional Chinese and Thai dishes.

Shrimp & Vegetable Tempura

Appetizers:
Crab Rangoon - 4 pieces, deep fried combo of cream cheese and crab meat, celery and onions.  We each got a piece of this and it tasted great. Each piece was pretty large so you could really get a good taste of the filling.

Miso Soup & Salad

Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura - Shrimp, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini and sweet potato.  We each got a couple of pieces of this appetizer. The items were lightly breaded and therefore didn't taste to heavy.

Eel Avocado Roll (front on plate)

Sushi roll - Eel Avocado roll, Nick didn't like this as much.  But, Natalie liked it because she really likes eel.  Don't know that we can really form an opinion about their sushi from 1 roll. They do offer a lot of sushi pieces, regular rolls and specialty rolls on their menu.

Entrees:
Tropical Fried rice - rice, egg, shrimp (slightly breaded), chicken, cashews, pineapple, carrots, peas, onions, all served in a hollowed out pineapple half.  The presentation of this dish was very impressive (very much like a similar dish served at May Street Cafe).  The fried rice was pretty typical fried rice but was definitely made more special with the way it looked. The menu did not indicate it would be presented in a pineapple so that was a surprise when it got to the table.

Tropical Fried Rice

Hibachi Shrimp - served on a giant plate (think platter size), shrimp came with 2 dipping sauces - ginger and seafood, plate also had broccoli, rice and noodles (so you didn't have to choose between the 2).  Once again the presentation was a bit amazing due to the sheer size of the plate it was served on. The shrimp had a smoky grilled flavor, enhanced with ginger and soy sauce.  This entree was served with both a salad and miso soup. The ginger dressing on salad was great (like most dressings at Japanese restaurants).

Hibachi Shrimp

Final Thoughts on Woow Japanese:
Food - So far their hasn't been a Japanese restaurant that Nick doesn't like and this follows that pattern
Service - very good, waiters were insightful and engaging

Fun and Crazy interior

Fun and Crazy interior

Atmosphere - now this is the surprise.  We walked in and it looks like a nightclub.  The decore is very over the top - there was animal print wallpaper, clear lucite columns that had a bubble effect that changed colors, crystal beads, etc.
It definitely didn't look like a typical Japanese restaurant.  We felt we had walked into some place in Las Vegas (think the Cosmoplitan). They played dance/club music in the background.  It didn't quite fit what we thought it would be, but it was fun.