417 Magazine November,  2003

Sushi Trendy

Does the wasabi at Haruno give you vitamin A or vitamin C? Discuss.

BY GREGORY HOLMAN
 
 Young Jung, who owns Haruno Japanese Sushi Bar on South Fremont Avenue, is as stylish, entertaining and ebullient as Haruno itself. The day I met her, she was decked out in a classy Dolce & Gabbana outfit, down to the denim skirt and fishnet stockings.
   Jung says Harunos space in a shopping strip just off Battlefield is kind of a hiding-place location. But its busy. On any given night at Haruno, you'll see a perky crowd of mostly under-40 folks, drinking red wine or elaborate martinis with dinners of contemporary U.S.-Japanese sushi new twist to our towns historic obsession with Asian foods.
   The bestseller here is not an unpronounceable assortment of raw fish; its Jurassic Park, a sushi roll made of crunchy shrimp, cream cheese, eel, avocado, and more eel. (Why the dish is named after the movie was not immediately obvious to me, but this sushi, tailored to the American palate, tastes good.) Sex in the City is another fave, a sushi roll made of deep-fried crab, scallops, green onion, smelt roe, the usual sticky rice and anointed with bracing hot sauce.
   As Jung tells me everything there is to know about Haruno, I find I can just barely understand her. She constantly repeats herself cheerfully but very quickly. I expect she must enjoy explaining Japanese cuisine to people like me, i.e., Ozarks natives who have never traveled in Japan and, despite our best intentions, remain mostly clueless about sushi-eating.
   Jung tells me that the first couple months Haruno was open, business was slow but kept building until late last spring. Then Haruno expanded, adding Haruno Next Door by taking over the space just south of the original restaurant. The two rooms make up one restaurant with two very different themes.
   Its Japanese-U.S.-style super-contemporary sushi bar, Jung explains when I ask her about Haruno Next Doors style. The bar areafull of blue and stainless-steel hues, clean lines and long bench-style seating along the wallis trendier than the restaurant area, which is more traditionally Japanese. We have 30 kinds of sake, more like upscale city style, Jung says.
   First year was very traditional. I wear kimono; I play traditional Japanese music, like ting-ting-ting.
   Now, Jung says, more customers prefer the jazz musicians that play the bar on weekends. Lots of regular customers spread mouth-to-mouth about us, she says. (I think she meant word-of-mouth.) Lately, Jung has also been promoting Midnight Sushi, sashimi and yakitori are available until 12 a.m. in the bar. Thats unusual: Most of Springfield's fine-dining places, whatever their flavor, finish up at 10 p.m. or so.
   Another unusual aspect of Haruno is one of its sushi chefs, Jenny Jung, who came down from Chicago to help the family run the restaurant. She's the only woman sushi chef in Springfield. (Sushi-preparing has traditionally been a bit of a mannish profession.)
Jenny emphasizes the health aspects of sushi. Younger people like it because they know the sushi's good for their bodies health, she says.
Wasabi has vitamin C and eel 3,300 of A, Jenny explains. (Word to the wise: Wasabi is Japanese horseradish, a green spicy paste that you mix with soy sauce while eating maki-mono sushi. To learn more about sushi lingo, check out the next page.)
   Wasabi-A! says Jung, who was meticulously applying Jenny's makeup for the photo that appears on this page.
   No, wasabi-C, Jenny answers.
   Whatever the particular vitamin and mineral contents, sushi is a big hit in Springfield.
 
Explaining Sushi

  Ordinarily, 417 reproduces a recipe from the restaurants we profile. In Harunos case, we thought it would be more practical to use this space to explain sushi basics. Chef Jenny Jung tried to explain how to create this Sex in the City roll (above photo), made of crab sticks, scallops, masago (smelt roe), drizzled with a spicy sauce and served with an elaborate martini from Harry Hinz, the bar manager. I got lost between the complicated frying and rice-rolling instructions. What I do know is, its good. We ate it after we photographed it. (We also tried the Mussel Beach and Jurassic Park rolls; they're a tasty mix of U.S.Japanese tastes.)
   Is sushi raw fish? Not always. The seafood in sushi can be cooked or raw.
   Are California rolls sushi? Yes, no, sort of Americans invented them.
   Do I have to eat with chopsticks? Yes. A few hints: Practice at home before you go out. Two big no-nos: Don't ask for a knife; this implies the food is too tough to be eaten properly. Also, don't use your chopsticks to pass other people food. This is like passing around cremated bones at a Japanese funeral. And remember: Don't agonize over making a mess; everyone else does too.
 How many kinds of sushi are there? In Springfield, you're likely to see two: Maki-sushi, which is a roll of rice and nori (a sheet of pressed, dried seaweed) filled with fish and vegetables. Nigiri-sushi is a hand-shaped ball of rice topped with egg or fish. (You get to eat this with your fingers, not your chopsticks!)
   Whats up with wasabi? Its the green Japanese horseradish paste that you mix into the soy sauce in which you dip your sushi. Use in moderation! Jung and Jenny say theyve seen people mistake wasabi for some kind of butter; it isn't!
 

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Two Haruno's share one great menu