Mrs. Shintants (restaurant)

Culled from: Drury, John. Dining in Chicago, New York: The John Day Company, 1931, pp. 170-171.

Note: The Newberry Library holds the personal papers of author John Drury.

MRS. SHINTANTS, 3725 Lake Park Avenue

Here is something delightful and exotic — a full course Japanese meal. Mrs. Shintani prepares it right on the table before you, Japanese style, using a little kitchenette size gas stove. You gaze interestedly as she cooks the raw meats and vegetables preparatory to serving a typical Nipponese suki-yaki meal. The table is covered with tiny tea cups, bowls of rice, chop sticks, and a cruet of soy sauce. There is nothing mysterious about a suki-yaki meal; it simply means a method of cooking thinly sliced pieces of beef in a frying pan at the table. Vegetables and various Japanese sauces are added during the cooking process and, after being fried sufficiently, the suki-yaki, to be eaten with rice, is served to each guest. Chop sticks, of course, should be used, but you may use an ordinary American fork. Once you eat a suki-yaki meal you'll swear it is the most savory that has ever touched your palate. The boys from the Japanese Y. M. C. A., down the street a bit, come to Mrs. Shintani's board. She cooked for Prince and Princess Takamatsu, the royal honeymooners from Japan, when they visited Chicago. Should you desire a Japanese meal, you must call Mrs. Shintani on the phone a day in advance. Her number is Oakland 2775. Don't miss this opportunity.