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foodRestaurant Reviews

Nori vs. Namo: A hand-roll smackdown starring two new sushi bars in Dallas

Two new sushi bars in Dallas, Nori and Namo, have nearly identical concepts: A counter serving mainly hand rolls and simple dishes, with cashless tabs and mandatory tips, cool surroundings and pulsing electronica. Which one does it better?

"Can I offer you our special fresh wasabi?" our server asked. "It's $1 extra. We don't offer it to everyone."

Apparently we had passed the test. It was a Friday night at Nori Handroll Bar, a sliver of a restaurant in Deep Ellum that feels plucked from a Toyko side street, with a small dark bar in front and, behind a noren curtain, a long 24-seat sushi counter that stretches off into the distance like an optical illusion.

Behind the counter, chef Jimmy Park and his crew were expertly slicing blocks of toro and yellowtail and serving up some delicious izakaya snacks on the side. After answering a few questions — yes, they actually quizzed us — we were offered the special wasabi, a grating of the root and stem, marinated in different vinegars so that it becomes a kind of relish with a potent kick of heat.

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We definitely wanted it, and the time seemed right to ask about the off-the-menu omakase, a chef's choice tasting that a friend had tipped me about with you-need-to-try-it intensity. But Park looked us over and asked rapid-fire: "Have you had omakase before? Do you know what it is? Where have you had it?" Um, yes, yes and Tokyo, among other places. Then he told us he didn't have enough time or fish.

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So there were still more tests to pass, but really, omakase was beside the point. Hand rolls are having a little moment in Dallas,and that's what we were here for. In addition to Nori, which opened in September, a hand-roll bar called Namo opened in August in West Village. A third spot, Sushi de Handroll, is expected later this month on Walnut Hill Lane.

Chef Carmelo Gopar at Namo in West Village
Chef Carmelo Gopar at Namo in West Village(Carly Geraci / Special Contributior)
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Both Nori and Namo are devoted to a short menu of hand rolls, or temaki, a type of sushi built by quickly wrapping a sheet of nori around seasoned rice, fish or vegetables, and seasonings — a simpler, more casual and affordable version of sushi. The nori is crisper and more fragrant than what is used for bite-size nigiri, and the rolls are meant to be eaten immediately, in about three bites, while the nori is still crisp enough to flake and shatter, contrasting with the slightly warm soft rice and cool silky fish.

Though temaki can be cone-shaped, cylinder-shaped, or an in-between shape with a little flap at the bottom to keep everything in, both Nori and Namo focus on cylinders. Both are also counter restaurants, with prix fixe menus of three to six rolls, plus a la carte rolls. Both offer simple sashimi to begin with. Neither takes reservations or accepts cash. Both automatically add a 16 percent tip to the bill and keep the volume cranked on new jazz, electronica and rap. And both tend to assume their customers know nothing about sushi, explaining everything from the hand towel presented at the start of the meal to the basics of uni, the star of both shows.

Yamaimo hand roll at Nori Handroll Bar
Yamaimo hand roll at Nori Handroll Bar(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
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Coincidence? Well, no. Namo is owned by Brandon Cohanim, the 22-year-old Los Angeles-born entrepreneur who also owns Pok raw bar next door, where Park was his original executive chef. They began working on Namo together, then Park left to open Nori.

Both Cohanim and Park were also, shall we say, heavily influenced by Kazu Nori, the hand roll bar that Kazunori Nozawa opened a few years ago in Los Angeles and New York. Look up Kazu Nori's menu online: It too has the three- to six-roll prix fixe option, a short list of a la carte rolls, sashimi and drinks. Also possibly the same font.

Yellowtail hand roll at Namo
Yellowtail hand roll at Namo(Carly Geraci / Special Contributior)

So the question is, who is doing it better? Both Namo and Nori serve high-quality fish, often imported from Japan, on nicely seasoned rice, wrapped in crisp nori.

But after five years of working as a sushi chef at Nobu in Aspen, San Diego and Dallas, and at Kabuto in Las Vegas, Park has a big edge. He has created an expansive menu and an experience that may be simpler than going to a sushi bar, but maintains the individuality, connection and, yes, hierarchy that comes with being a regular known to the chef.

Wait for a seat at Nori's counter — and on a weekend night, you may wait for an hour or more — and order drinks and izakaya snacks at the bar. Park's excellent takowasa, a traditional dish of raw octopus and wasabi, is enlivened with toasted sesame seeds, that special fresh wasabi and thin shards of nori.

Nori Handroll Bar
Nori Handroll Bar(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

His tuna sashimi is dressed in house-made ponzu, chives and sesame seeds, a ridiculous luxury for $11, particularly because Park ages his tuna to develop its flavor and texture. Yellowtail collar, fried to a crisp exterior and tender interior, had us probing with our chopsticks for every last morsel.

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Nori poppers, on the other hand, were a nightmare of Tokyo-Texas fusion, with deep-fried (yet raw) jalapeños stuffed with a spear of unmelted cheese and topped with a scoop of spicy tuna and a sticky sauce. Same with the baked crab hand roll, where a wad of sweet, mayonnaisey red crab and slices of avocado are seared with a blowtorch before being tucked into a roll with rice, like a hipster casserole.

It was a strange departure for Park, whose hand rolls are generally restrained, traditional and delicious. King salmon, made with New Zealand fish cured with salt and sake, has a clean bright flavor, chopped into a fine tartare with green onion and sesame seeds.

Yamaimo, or mountain yam, is seasoned with enough fresh shiso leaf to make a difference, and the spicy tuna roll, usually made with a touch of sugar, is sweetened with deep-fried yam instead.

The special uni roll offered a choice of three, from Hokkaido, Washington or Canada. I tried Washington, which arrived with the nori left open, a little like a taco, and dabbed with gold leaf. It was ravishingly good, with big, clean flavors and a creamy sweetness. Who knew such good uni came from Washington state?

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Namo, behind a tinted glass storefront in West Village, also gives you that sense of slipping away from the world for a while, with an interior of softly grained woods, dark colors, a 20-seat counter and pretty touches of pottery and artwork.

Namo in West Village
Namo in West Village(Carly Geraci / Special Contributior)

But like the Murakami-decorated skateboard deck on the wall, Namo is built for speed: You walk in, grab a paper menu, check off what you want, and it will be delivered just as quickly as you can devour it. Instead of having the pleasure of watching the chef at work, ingredients are stored behind the counter, ready to assemble.

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Prices are also significantly less. Rolls here range from $4 to $6.50, compared with $5.50 to $10 at Nori. Namo's three-roll prix fixe is one of the best deals in town with yellowtail, salmon and blue crab rolls for $10 (Nori's three-roll prix fixe, with king salmon, spicy tuna and red crab, is $16).

The expertise of the staff is generally lacking. Many are unable to answer basic questions; one server could make no more distinction about the wines (none are listed on the menu) than some were white and some were red. In addition to the sashimi, there's a simple, off-the-menu miso soup, though we were told about it only once. Same with craft beers: The complex Hitachino Nest craft beers are not on the menu and were never offered; we learned about them only because someone next to us had a bottle.

Tuna sashimi at Namo
Tuna sashimi at Namo(Carly Geraci / Special Contributior)

And yet: The king salmon is also from New Zealand, the tuna is bigeye from Hawaii or Baja. The sea bream and yellowtail are from Japan.

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If you are lucky, executive chef Carmelo Gopar, who also hails from Nobu Dallas, will be working the counter. Everything improves by several notches when he is; suddenly you are having an experience that is more like the one at Nori, but for about half the price.

The best roll here was Gopar's version of spicy scallop — not overwhelmed by sweet mayonnaise, just lightly dressed and punctuated by beads of habanero masago and a sprinkling of yuzu kosho.

Other dressed rolls, made by other chefs, were heavy going and tasted more of sweet mayonnaise than good crab, lobster or shrimp. Uni, though it was from Hokkaido, was wrapped into the roll, which crushed it into the rice. It tasted only faintly of the delicacy and, at $14, was just $1 less that the memorable version at Nori.

Without Gopar, stick with the simpler rolls and sashimi and you'll have a good sushi experience for just a few dollars — and one that's quick enough to get you to the movies across the street on time.

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Nori requires more commitment. After following up on that omakase menu — messaging Park on Instagram, as he requested, and being refused — we came for a third visit at the counter. By now, we were semi-regulars, and he just offered to make it for us, unbidden. The series of nigiri sushi was good, but not nearly as interesting as the hand rolls or izakaya dishes.

Then we saw someone at the other end of the bar get an intriguing plate under a glass. What could that be? "It's a raw king salmon dish, infused with smoke," our server said. "Chef makes things like that for people who come in a lot."

Nori Handroll Bar

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Rating: Two stars

Price: $$ (Lunch hand rolls $5.50 to $10; prix fixe hand rolls $16 for three, $21 for four, $26 for five, $31 for six. Dinner izakaya dishes $4 to $18; hand rolls $5.50 to $10; prix fixe hand rolls $16 for three, $21 for four, $26 for five, $31 for six; off-menu omakase $35 for six pieces of sushi; dessert $7.)

Service: Highly attentive and knowledgeable, with a tendency to launch into tutorials on everything from the hand towel to the source of the uni. In a nice way.

Ambience: This sliver of a restaurant in Deep Ellum feels plucked from a Toyko side street, with a small dark bar in front and, behind a noren curtain, a long 24-seat sushi counter extending into the distance like an optical illusion. Chef Jimmy Park's menu of hand rolls and izakaya snacks (and if he's in the mood, an off-menu omakase of nigiri sushi) is expertly made, impressive at the price and worth the wait for a seat at the counter.

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Noise: Loud (80 decibels)

Drinks: A compact list of beer and sake features four terrific selections from Kyoto Brewery, one of the first craft beer makers in Japan, including White Yuzu Ale and Yamadanishiki Ale made from sake rice ($8 each). Among sakes by the glass and 300-ml and 720-ml bottles, Kikusui Junmai "Chrysanthemum Water" is a solid choice at $25 (300 ml), but the Dassai 50 Junmai Daiginjo is a bright, elegant splurge that's ideal with the sushi at $40 (300 ml). Wine and cocktails are skippable.

Recommended: From the izakaya menu, takowasa (marinated octopus), tuna sashimi, hamachi kama (yellowtail collar). From the hand roll menu, yamaimo (mountain yam), spicy tuna, negihama, uni.

GPS: There's rarely a choice of seats; a center spot in front of Park's station is the one to grab, if you can.

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Address: 2814 Elm St., Dallas; 469-436-6674; norihandrollbar.com

Hours: Lunch Monday-Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner Monday-Thursday from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., Friday-Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to midnight.

Reservations: Not accepted

Credit cards: All major; cash not accepted

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Health department score: A (93, January)

Access: Restaurant and bar are on one level; there's one lower stool at the far end of the counter.

Parking: Metered street parking; paid lots

Namo

Rating: One star

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Price: $ (Sashimi $7; hand rolls $4 to $6.50; prix fixe hand rolls $10 for three, $13 for four, $18 for five, $23 for six)

Service: Often clueless, but pleasant and intent on getting what you want quickly. Finding executive chef Carmelo Gopar behind the counter is a game-changer.

Ambience: Behind a tinted glass storefront in busy West Village, this tiny 20-seat counter specializing in hand rolls feels serene and secluded. But it is designed for speed: grab a paper menu at the door, check off what you want, watch while it is assembled from ready-cut ingredients, gobble it up and hand over your credit card. You won't even need to sign the bill.

Noise: Easy listening (65 decibels)

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Drinks: The on-tap choices — Sapporo Reserve beer ($5) and Tyku sake ($4) — are good values. Off the menu, and not mentioned by servers, are Hitachino Nest craft beers from Kiuchi Brewery in Naka, Japan, including savory Saison du Japon and fruity White Ale ($10 each). There is wine, we were told: "red" and "white."

Recommended: Tuna sashimi. For hand rolls: cucumber, toro, yellowtail, spicy scallop roll.

GPS: Wherever you sit, it's the same experience along the counter, though seats on the right side face a decorated wall instead of a blank one.

Address: 3699 McKinney Ave., Dallas; 214-484-5151; namosushi.com

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Hours: Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Reservations: Not accepted

Credit cards: All major; no cash accepted

Health department score: A (100, December)

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Access: Restaurant is all on one level; there's one lower counter stool on the right side of the bar.

Parking: West Village valet on Newman Street; free until 5 p.m. and $5 after 5. Free parking in West Village garage.

Ratings Legend

4 stars: Extraordinary (First-rate on every level; a benchmark dining experience)

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3 stars: Excellent (A destination restaurant and leader on the DFW food scene)

2 stars: Very Good (Strong concept and generally strong execution)

1 star: Good (Has merit, but limited ambition or spotty execution)

No stars: Poor (Not recommended)

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Noise Levels

Below 60: Quiet. Maybe too quiet.

60-69: Easy listening. Normal conversation, with a light background buzz.

70-79: Shouty. Conversation is possible, but only with raised voices.

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80-85: Loud. Can you hear me now? Probably not.

86-plus: Tarmac at DFW.

Prices

Average dinner per person:

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$ -- $19 and under

$$ -- $20 to $50

$$$ -- $50 to $99

$$$$ -- $100 and over