Put down your chopsticks: There’s a new sushi restaurant in town, and it’s all about the handroll. “No fancy cutlery needed, no chopsticks learning curve; just grab by hand, dip, and enjoy,” says Matsunori Handroll Bar co-owner Kevin Liu, noting that he and partners Raymond Lee and chef Rick Lee are hoping to serve Boston “affordable, good quality sushi” that’s simple to enjoy and accessible to everyone. That, and lots of A5 wagyu.
“We want to introduce Japanese flavors in a new, innovative way,” says Liu, “basically bringing some new flavors to a centuries-old style of food.” At Matsunori Handroll Bar, officially opening January 29 in Boston’s Audubon Circle neighborhood, that might take the form of umami-packed miso cod, for example. The tender cut of fish is torched, creating caramelization along the edges, and topped with one sweet dollop of pumpkin puree and another of whole mustard seeds, perched atop sushi rice and a large square of nori (seaweed). Don’t forget to dip it in the soy sauce, which is made in-house and packs a more complex punch than the usual mass-produced type. Or it might be spicy tuna, embellished with crispy fried sweet potato, a stand-in for—and improvement on—tempura flakes, or light and crunchy shrimp tempura topped with sweet mango salsa.
For the uninitiated, handrolls (or temaki) are a more casual style of sushi where the nori that wraps up the fish and rice might be in a cone, or a long, uncut roll, or even a taco-like shape. Matsunori’s opening menu mostly features the latter two styles, plus some served on flat squares of nori—like the miso cod and wagyu shown in these photos—that you can pick up and fold like a taco yourself.
You might spot handrolls on the menu here and there at Boston-area restaurants, but no one else is serving them as the “central attraction,” says Liu—and when they are available, they’re often more expensive, and the ingredients aren’t necessarily as good. Liu is confident that the Matsunori team is hitting that sweet spot where affordability meets quality by sourcing locally. “The freshest, most authentic fish can either be air-dropped from Tokyo overnight for an exorbitant amount of money,” says Liu, “or we can take advantage of Boston being an amazing port city. We plan on buying medium- to high-grade fish locally, with the chef creating the taste, texture, and freshness all from his technique. We will try our best to make simple ingredients taste as good as the fanciest.”
Read more here >> https://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/2023/01/25/matsunori-handroll-bar-opens-boston/