Barry Kruemmel worked for Japanese master chefs for 15 years, but as an American, he won’t call his restaurant a Japanese eatery. “There’s a Japanese influence,” he says. “But it’s more of a fusion restaurant.”
This includes rolls made with toasted coconut, jalapeño or pineapple. Entrées and appetizers stray farther from Japan. Among the most popular: flash-fried halved jalapeños stuffed with fresh lobster, crab, goat cheese and Gouda. “It’s the best of both worlds,” he says of the award-winning sushi and the innovative small plates.
