Raising funds

lotsa lotsa do-gooding in the South Loop

05/15/2011 1:05 PM

By Bonnie McGrath

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Ultraman Maki Roll (photo by Bonnie McGrath)

See that piece of maki roll to the right of this post? Sorry it's a little dark. No light to speak of when I took it. But that little concoction there of super white tuna, rice, shiitake mushrooms, avocado, tempura crumbs and a little hot sauce raised about $25,000 for the Japanese Red Cross--to help victims of the earthquake and the tsunami.


South Coast, a wonderful little gem of a comfy but sophisticated restaurant on South Michigan Avenue, started selling Ultraman maki rolls--named after a Japanese super-hero--for $13 right after the Japanese disaster, along with it's sister restaurant in Bucktown. All money paid by customers for that delicacy--from then until early this month--went to help the victims. All together, the sibling restaurants raised $26,831.00 for Japan, 95 percent from the Ultraman, the other five percent from scattered donations given by patrons and staff.

I simply had to sample this delicacy to see what all the fuss--and money-raising ability--was about. So I tried one last night. The Ultraman maki roll is served only by request, now that the fundraiser is over. It was quite delicious--as was the salmon teriyaki, miso soup and seaweed tempura with wasabi mayo and ginger sauce I had along with it!

And if that isn't enough do-gooding for one neighborhood, make note of the South Loop Running Club, which recently raised nearly $300 for the same cause--Japanese tsunami victims--over tapas at Tapas Valencia on South State.

Also, Overflow Coffee Bar on South State--which I have posted about in the past as having great coffee with a great purpose, deserves more kudos based on some recent articles. It appears they don't just pay lip service to their commitment to "give back." If you are interested in how they do it by the book, you can read about how they incorporated their business as an Illinois LC3: here and here.


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