Megan Hammond and I immediately found we had something in common -- we both have dads who are unyielding in their refusal to try sushi.
Strike that. Her dad has since yielded, and he did it at Mijuri.
"He had never had sushi, hasn't had it since, but he loved it here," she said.
The 24-year-old administrative assistant, hailing from just outside of Kansas City, loves her some sushi, as does her boyfriend, Brennan Ghan, who joined us to sample her pick for her favorite dish in Springfield: Mijuri's Volcano Roll.
"It's awesome," he offered, swaying comically to the 'lite' hits being churned out by the singer with the electric piano situated behind us.
The pair have been coming to the restaurant for about two years and consistenly include the roll in the dining docket. "The sauce is really, really good on it. You can put that on anything," Hammond said. "Oh, and it comes on fire."
Sold.
The Dish:
The Volcano Roll is described on the menu as "California roll topped with crab, scallop and masago mix with surprise mild spicy." Yes, I was as confused as you are. "Surprise mild spicy? Is it mild? Is it spicy? Do they surprise you with something different each time?" And actually, they did surprise somewhat -- the roll arrived arranged differently than the last time Megan had it, arranged in a circle on a hot plate with a wispy blue flame tickling the sides. The roll was not topped with the items as the menu said, but rather hugging them in standard California roll style. But it had the sauce -- that glorious, mysterious sauce -- bubbling away, magma-like, in the center of the plate. I got mine to go, choosing to eat at home rather than plague Megan and Brennan with an overly chatty third wheel.
While standing in my kitchen hunched over a plastic container holding an unlit sushi roll doesn't quite replicate the experience of Mijuri's dining room and their en fuego version, it was still pretty darn tasty. Megan was right -- I did want to put the sauce on everything. In fact, after I inhaled the roll, I started dipping baby carrots in it. The sauce's contents were a mystery to me -- I detected mayonnaise, which normally grosses me out, but that's about it. So they got the surprise part down. However, unlike its billing on the menu, it wasn't spicy at all -- just nuanced, mellow and sweet. The crab in the roll was super fresh, and its clean flavor was heightened by a swim through the sauce. I told my fiance that I would save some for him when he got home. I lied.
The roll was on the small side, which I tend to prefer. Biting sushi in half and watching its overstuffed, bragiole-like contents spill onto the table seems counterintuitive. No such issue here. Conversely, they did not skimp on the sauce serving. Even with each piece generously dipped, I didn't come close to finishing it.
Verdict:
Good stuff. Our service was friendly but slow, which Megan said was unusual. The restaurant is clean and bright and was surprisingly bustling for the relatively early hour of our meeting. "They are always really friendly, but not pushy, here," Hammond said. "They have good presentation and really good food." I look forward to returning.
Price: $10.95
Location: 2710 S. Campbell, 417-889-9593
