Raw and Ready // Pacific Cafe Hits With Asian Food Mix

By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
October 8, 1995

Pacific Cafe
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
Phone: (312) 862-1988

When Jim Ho decided to open Pacific Cafe during the Around the Coyote weekend, he knew his Asian eatery would get good exposure. What he didn’t realize was that his restaurant would go over so well that there literally would be no food left in his restaurant at closing time Sunday.

“We had to close that (following) Monday to restock on food,” Ho said, laughing. “It was a great way to get our name out.”

Not to mention the tasty treats, which include Japanese sushi, Thai noodles and Vietnamese entrees. The Asian flavor is dictated partially by Ho, who is of Chinese heritage, and his Vietnamese wife, Julie, who also is the chef. Ho’s Thai brother-in-law’s input definitely is evident in the specials, which include pad siew (fat rice noodles).

Pacific Cafe fills the void for a good Asian restaurant in the Wicker Park neighborhood. Housed in what used to be a small grocery store, the restaurant is tastefully decorated with bright colors. Because Pacific Cafe is so tiny, there’s no place for patrons to wait for vacant tables. But the  tables turn over at a fairly quick pace
at the 24-seat restaurant, so the wait is never unbearably long.

“I used to always tell my friend that Wicker Park needed a great place to eat sushi,” said Cindy Times, digging into a serving of spicy tuna toll ($3.75). “It was always a pain driving up to Lincoln Avenue or going downtown. And what’s really cool is that you can get just about anything you want to eat here. It’s not just Japanese or Thai. You can have either or both.”

Pacific Cafe’s menu is heavy on Japanese cuisine. Its sushi is fresh and the sizes are generous ($4.25 for an order of California roll; $1.50 for a piece of sake-smoked salmon). But for a really filling meal, go for the udon noodles ($4.25-$7.25) or an order of chicken basil ($6.25), which includes marinated chicken stir fried
with sweet basil leaves.

Ho, who comes from a family of  restaurateurs, said Pacific Cafe is concentrating on Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai cuisine, but could easily include other Asian delicacies as the demand arises.

“As we grow, we’ll expand our menu,” Ho said.  “We’ll listen to what the customers ask for and adapt. But for now, this menu seems to be going over quite well.”