Portable Sushi Roll
Trendy sushi burritos in Springfield and Eugene By Amy Schneider
W
hat do you call a giant sushi roll? A sushi
burrito, of course.
“It really just made itself,” says Toby
Helms, owner of Unami Sushi and Asian Grill
in Springfield. “ It doesn’t have a tortilla or
anything like that — it’s just a large roll, with our sushi
ingredients.”
Unami’s sushi burritos run the gamut of flavors — its
“California" burrito ($9.95) is simple and based on a classic
California roll, with rice, surimi crab, cream cheese, carrots
and avocado, all wrapped in a sizeable sheet of seaweed.
The “Samurai” burrito ($16.49) is packed with ingredients,
including fresh salmon, yellowtail, yellow fin tuna, avocado,
panko green onion and ginger pickled red cabbage.
Each burrito comes with a paired housemade dipping
sauce, including a sweet soy reduction and a flavorful
garlic sauce, all created with a gooey consistency that
makes for easy dipping or drizzling over the burrito.
“There’s a need for quick-service sushi that isn’t
conveyor-belt style, and the only way that makes sense
is to get people to order just one item, because it takes
forever to make a bunch of different items,” Helms says,
adding that he and his team came up with the sushi burrito
concept shortly after opening Unami Sushi in 2013.
The sushi burrito is taking off in California — from
L.A. to San Francisco, Californians are munching logs
of tasty sushi — but Helms appears to be the only local
sushi maker delving into the concept.
Helms is no newbie to the food business. When he
was 15, he starting working at restaurants in Montana,
holding down two jobs and rotating through various
COOKS
ROLL SUSHI
INGREDIENTS
INTO BURRITOS
AT SUBO
cuisines so that he could learn as much as possible.
At age 23, he and a business partner opened 2nd
Street Sushi in Hamilton, Montana.
“It was a fine-dining type of sushi restaurant,” Helms
explains. “We had 12 tables, and we did seven-course
wine and saki pairing dinners. It was like a test kitchen
where I could make up as many recipes as I wanted, and
that’s where I honed my skills a bit.”
In 2013, Helms sold the restaurant to his business
partner and moved to Lane County. He owns Unami
Sushi and the six-month-old Subo Sushi Burritos food
cart in the Whiteaker neighborhood, and he says he
hopes to open more locations in the near future.
“The goal is to serve high-quality sushi that is made
to order but is also quick service,” Helms says.
He sources his ingredients from True World Foods,
he says, which offers local produce whenever possible,
including albacore tuna and crab from the Oregon coast.
Unami offers a wide variety of regular sushi rolls in
addition to its sushi burritos, all concocted by Helms and
his chefs. While the Whiteaker location doesn’t serve
sushi rolls, it does make sushi nachos and sushi rice
bowls for the adventurous in spirit and appetite.
Still, it’s hard to beat the convenience of the sushi
burrito. They don't fall apart when eaten, and the blend
of flavors makes for a unique and satisfying meal. ■
Unami Sushi and Asian Grill is open 11 am to 8 pm Monday through
Saturday at 4205 Main Street in Springfield. Subo Sushi Burritos is
open noon to 7 pm Tuesday through Saturday except Friday, when
it’s open until 8 pm, at 3rd Avenue & Van Buren Street. See Facebook
for more info.
Join us!
AUTHENTIC
NY STYLE
PIZZA
Are you A “super-tAster”? put your
eat in
take out
or call for
delivery
FREE PARKING on 13th Ave.
senses of tAste And smell to the test!
6 th Annual
SCIENTIFICALLY SPEAKING
S C I E N C E FA C T O RY G A L A & A U C T I O N
Thursday, May 5
•
5:30 – 9 PM
•
Hilton Eugene
uy Crosby
with keynote by Dr. G
Science Editor of Cook’s Illustrated
magazine and America’s Test Kitchen
SPECIAL:
$
6 SLICE
SALAD &
29 W. 13TH AVE @ WILLAMETTE
Kennell Ellis building
541-735-3541
4
CHOW SPRING 2016
May 5, Hilton Eugene
TO RESERVE:
sciencefactory.org
or 541-682-7888
Proceeds benefit
EUGENEWEEKLY.COM/CHOW