Rice versus noodle

Photo: Martha Williams

Grande Noodles and Rice
6632 N Clark St, 773-761-6666
Ratio
2/3 Thai, 1/3 sushi
Thai
Curries chock-full of vegetables, typical noodle dishes with some innovative twists
Sushi
Serviceable, but nothing mind-blowing
We’ll take
Thai. Especially the banana duck curry—Laura Baginski

Indie Cafe
5951 N Broadway, 773-561-5577
Ratio
1/2 Thai, 1/2 Japanese
Thai
Bright-flavored takes on standards such as pad thai and creative seafood dishes. By no means the best in town, but a perfectly good neighborhood option in Edgewater/Rogers Park.
Sushi
Maki that sounds more interesting than it tastes. Case in point: the bland white scorpion roll, made with tempura-fried soft-shell crab, spicy mayo, masago, white tuna and avocado
We’ll take
Thai. Particularly the white-wine scallops, pan-seared with baby corn and bell peppers in a slightly spicy sauce—Judy Sutton Taylor

Chikurin
1811 W North Ave, 773-252-8880
Ratio
2/3 sushi, 1/3 pan-Asian
Thai
One-note curries and barely-average noodle dishes
Sushi
Sour-tasting sashimi and elaborate maki
We’ll take
Sushi, but only in the form of guilty-pleasure rolls, such as the Godzilla (tempura shrimp and cream cheese) —Julia Kramer

Butterfly
1421 W Chicago Ave, 312-492-9955
Ratio
1/2 sushi, 1/2 Thai
Thai
Limey and herbaceous flavors in salads are foiled by chewy meat; curries have decent kick but are overly sweet from a heavy hand with the coconut milk.
Sushi
The entire range of maki, including plenty of the creamy/crunchy kind, and a standard selection of nigiri and sashimi that’s generally fresh but not exactly flavorful
We’ll take
Sushi, specifically the signature Butterfly roll that ingeniously folds tobiko into the panko coating—Heather Shouse

Nano
4256 N Western Ave, 773-588-6266
Ratio
2/3 sushi, 1/3 Thai
Thai
Panang curry has layers of sweet, nutty and fiery flavors. Pity that the thing arrived with pools of oil on its surface.
Sushi
A chef’s choice platter of sushi turned out to be five pieces of fish, most of them mushy, and a shrimp-tempura roll that despite all the ingredients still underwhelmed.
We’ll take
Thai. So what if the curry didn’t look that appealing? If we close our eyes we might actually forget this is a Japanese joint. —David Tamarkin

Hot Woks Cool Sushi
2032 N Roscoe St, 773-880-9800
Ratio
1/2 sushi, 1/2 pan-Asian
Ratio
Surprisingly tasty takes on the standard noodle and rice dishes such as pad Thai and panang curry.
Sushi
Also better than we expected from a mini-chain, though much of the maki seems geared to wimpy palates, with an emphasis on cooked ingredients and lots of cream cheese.
We’ll take
Thai (and, what the hell, Chinese )dishes, such as the peanutty rama chicken. —Judy Sutton Taylor

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