I just heard about a *NEW* Karyn's joint (Karyn's on Green) opening this January 18, 2010 in Greektown! I can't wait!! :)

http://chicago.metrom...

http://www.karynsongr...

Dee

Looks great. I dont think ive seen veg salmon before. I bookmarked it on yelp too:

http://www.yelp.com/b...

Thanks for the tip, Dee! I added it to VegGuide.org as well:

http://www.vegguide.o...

My b/f and I went there Friday and it was AMAZING!!!! First, it's an upscale, eclectic dining experience. Beautiful decor, well-chosen wine list, and inventive cocktails. I had the Applejack drink, which was really tasty, sour, yet herbal. They also have NA "elixir". I also had one of those, with fresh goji juice and mint.

The food was divine, not a single misstep, plus attentive, friendly service. We started with a rich leek & potato soup, earthy mushroom risotto, and tasty chorizo "sliders". All of them were excellent. My main dish was poached salmon over broccoli rabe in lemon butter; all I can say is that I've never had anything like it. It was some kind of pressed tofu with a seaweed "skin" that had been poached; the seaweed gave it a saline/oceanic flavor that was really creative and tasty, not to mention the oh-so-delicious lemon butter. Bill had the barbequed meatloaf with fingerling potatoes, that was homey and satisfying.

I had read in the Metromix review (and another online review, I think) that the portions were small, but they sure seemed generous to us! We were nicely full, but not ready-to-barf stuffed :). The menu is quite large, with 1/4 to 1/3 of items also being gluten-free. It is more expensive than Karyn's Cooked, but not exorbitant. In summary, it was a wonderful meal and I'm excited to explore the rest of the menu.

I'm sure it's better at Karyn's, but you can get 'fish' with the nori 'skin' at a Chinese grocery store. We get it all the time, though I think it's made with gluten, if that matters to you.

For anyone interested in making your own tofu salmon, I had surprisingly good luck with a marinade that blended beet juice, seaweed, lemon juice, and oil.

For anyone interested in making your own tofu salmon, I had surprisingly good luck with a marinade that blended beet juice, seaweed, lemon juice, and oil.

post the recipe, please! Sounds great!

I just eyeballed it as kind of an experiment and it was a while ago so I'll try to recall...

I was going for tofu cubes on skewers but any shape would work.

Combine the marinade:
1/3 c canola oil
2 or 3 T beet juice (this is just for color so eye it) (inspired by Chicago Diner's corned beef)
A handful of reconstituted seaweed (I only had nori sheets on hand which worked but I bet arame, wakame, or hijiki would be much easier to work with)
juice of 2 small lemons
salt and pepper to taste

I used a blender to combine it in order to break up the nori pieces and it worked out fine. If you blend up the entire marinade it's going to emulsify like a salad dressing. If you want to avoid this just blend everything except the oil and then whisk the oil in, or just finely chop the seaweed.

Marinate the tofu for at least 30 minutes, the longer the better. Cover and bake with the marinade. Another thing you could try is searing the tofu in a really hot pan, flipping it when it releases, and baking it in the oven with some of the marinade.

Sorry for the unrefined recipe, I only made it that one time and haven't come back to it yet. The beet juice gave it a really nice pink color. The seaweed gives it the fishy flavor and the lemon juice really brightens it up and reminds you of the metallic overtone of salmon. Some lemon zest would probably add some more brightness too.

I went to Karyn's On Green a few weeks ago.

Some quick thoughts:
-It's a very nice space, pretty upscale.
-Priced reasonably for what it is.
-Service was good.
-It would be a great place for a nice date.
-The food was VERY good, nicely presented and tasty.
-Though I don't drink, I noticed that their drink selection is extensive - they're going for the whole retro-retro-retro drink vibe a-la the Violet Hour / Drawing Room (they have Sazerac's, etc.)
-I had bites of the following and all were very good:
Scallops, Salmon, Chicken, Chipolte mini-hamburgers,

HOWEVER It reminds me of 90% on the restaurants in NYC that depend almost completely on imported chinese faux meat. I can't help but feel a little cheated when I ordered the salmon (with Broccolini) and got 1/2 of a chinese mock-salmon that you can order from
http://www.vegieworld...
or go over to Garden Pacific Market (5353 N Broadway) or any number of asian markets and make it at home. I know, I know, you're paying for atmosphere and an experience but it was just a little disappointing. It SORT of felt like I got an expensive, nicely-plated exotic Gardenburger riblet. Delicious but not worth $15

I'll go there again but I generally prefer it when a restaurant makes everything from scratch or at least doesn't pop open a package, cook it up and call it upscale.

HOWEVER It reminds me of 90% on the restaurants in NYC that depend almost completely on imported chinese faux meat. I can't help but feel a little cheated when I ordered the salmon (with Broccolini) and got 1/2 of a chinese mock-salmon that you can order from
http://www.vegieworld...
or go over to Garden Pacific Market (5353 N Broadway) or any number of asian markets and make it at home. I know, I know, you're paying for atmosphere and an experience but it was just a little disappointing. It SORT of felt like I got an expensive, nicely-plated exotic Gardenburger riblet. Delicious but not worth $15

I'm surprised they don't make their seitan and stuff from scratch