Translating to “I leave it to you,” the omakase menu has been sweeping Chicago’s dining scene in recent years. But its origins — aspects of which date back centuries in Japan — are far from new. These are the traditions that Takashi Iida and Shoji Takahashi are tapping into at Omakase Shoji, where a menu features kaiseki, intricate dishes reflective of the season: grilled Chilean sea bass or house-made chawanmushi, steamed egg custard that they top with truffle and black caviar.
And then comes the sushi — pristine cuts of fish the chefs receive throughout the week, thanks to long-standing relationships with purveyors in Japan. “Omakase is about the diner coming to the chef and asking what their very best is that day,” Iida says. “The chef then builds a menu around this — there is no need to order anything; you’re placing your trust in them.
” That ease of experience — the chance to kick back and let the chef do their thing — is part of what drew chef Norman Fenton to the nature of omakase, and what inspired him to offer their own at Cariño . Diners now scope out bookings for the restaurant’s Latin-inspired tasting menus, or for the late-night taco omakase, an 8-course menu happening Wednesdays through Saturdays at 10 p.m.
“When you leave things in the hands of the chef, it creates a lot of room for surprises — and a chance for us to exceed expectations,” says Fenton, who notes the frequency at which their omakase menus change — with the .