The Twins should be so lucky to have an opening lineup as starry as the one at Masu Sushi & Robata.
Let's start with the money. The cash behind this game-changing Japanese restaurant is Nay Hla, owner of Eagan-based Sushi Avenue, which supplies sushi to supermarkets, colleges and corporate campuses. For his first foray into restaurants, Hla wisely lured longtime Origami chef Katsuyuki (A-san) Yamamoto to oversee sushi operations. The effort has paid off, because Yamamoto and his crew are turning out some of the most artful nigiri, sashimi and makizushi in the Twin Cities.
But what really sets Masu apart is Hla's other hire, consulting chef Tim McKee. Is there nothing this guy can't do? Venturing even further from his comfort zone, McKee surveyed the competition and determined that the standard sushi-tempura-bento setup was too narrow a snapshot for the wide-angle lens that is Japanese cuisine. Enter robata, the grilling tradition that, for reasons I have never understood, has barely achieved a toehold in the local dining-out market. It's such a satisfying way to dine: You start ordering, tapas-style, one skewered and grilled bite-sized nibble after another, until your appetite is ready to cry hakufu (that's uncle in Japanese).
The hardwood-charcoal-fueled fire is less about infusing foods with smoke and more about quickly searing uncomplicated ingredients with high heat. At Masu, the 30 or so grill selections cover a lot of ground, from vegetables to a half-dozen seafood items to pork and beef, most of them brushed with a ginger or miso glaze before they hit that grill. There's plenty to love -- chief among them the cod, the sardines, the beef rolled around burdock, the irresistible chicken meat balls -- but my favorites are the goodies (asparagus, tofu, quail eggs) wrapped in smoky bacon.
Unlike the many exceptional pho joints in this town, there are depressingly few places that shine a spotlight on the gift that is Japanese noodle soups. This is where Masu really shines, in part because McKee builds his foundations with care. The menu's dozen or so variations feature soba, udon and ramen, all hand-pulled by a Los Angeles noodle maker and treated with enormous respect. The broths, slowly nurtured over 12 hours, are richly intense, and they're filled with a finely calibrated variety of flavors and textures.
I'm crazy about the udon-edamame-crab combo, and the soba with ginger and scallions, but the real star of the show is the ramen -- crimped, golden, glorious -- paired with a slab of seductively fatty pork belly and a barely poached egg. To say it is one of the most memorable dishes currently being served in the Twin Cities is an understatement.
Another standout: the terrific slider-sized sandwiches, made with steamed buns and filled with all manner of deliciousness: crisp fried tofu with tangy pickles, that fantastic pork belly, teriyaki-glazed chicken with wonderfully sour kimchi. They're only served at lunch, a bummer because they could round out the evening menu's short and creative list of izakaya, the small plates that are an integral part of Japanese pub culture. Don't-miss items include the refreshing quail egg-oyster shooter, the delicate avocado-crab spring rolls and the exceptional sautéed shishito peppers finished with dried tuna.
McKee enlisted several members of this deep talent pool to contribute to the Masu effort. Chef Alex Chase delivers discipline and consistency in the kitchen on a day-to-day basis, mixmaster Johnny Michaels is responsible for the you've-gotta-try-this cocktail list and pastry chef Diane Yang has made a valiant effort at negotiating a balance between Minnesota tastes and Japanese sweets.
