Just when you thought there wasn't room in Chicago for another upscale sushi restaurant, along comes Heat, an ambitious new venture by former employees of Mirai. Creative presentations are the order of the day at Heat Photo by Mitch Cerrone Housed in a discreet storefront, Heat is easy to miss. The clean, modern dining room accommodates 40 diners. Walls are painted chocolate and sage, and a sushi bar runs the length of the space. The most noteworthy feature of the menu is the selection of live sashimi.
Diners pick their fish out of one of several tanks.
Oddly, while the tanks that hold the fish could well be the centerpiece of the room, they're all but hidden at knee level along the base of the sushi bar. Even when the bar was empty, we had to pull the stools back to get a good look at the doomed fish. On our visit we opted to stick to food that was already dead. Upon being seated, we were presented with a complimentary amuse bouche of smoked tuna topped with shaved seaweed. For an appetizer, we chose an otherwise tasty salmon roll that was overpowered by slices of onion.