Restaurant Review: Kin by Rice n Roll in Downtown Tosa

Rather than feeling like the junior-size, less urbane younger brother of Rice n Roll, a popular East Side Japanese spot, Tosa’s Kin by Rice n Roll is the hip, modern little sib in a shiny new development. The interior contrasts with its older sibling’s lively orange with relaxing, clarity-seeking shades of blue and gray. It has, based on early visits, Rice n Roll’s quality with a little more chutzpah and timeliness. For instance, the cucumber salad ($5), a common and simple Japanese dish, is laced with a potent pickling vinaigrette that makes a startling counterpoint to the mildness of sashimi.

Pickling may seem minor, but it’s among the techniques Kin is using in more applications, along with ingredients like the unexpected bacon.

The menu covers considerable ground, including appetizers from the sushi bar like “dip dip” (choose a ceviche made from one of three kinds of raw fish, $10) or from the kitchen (crispy calamari, $8; bao buns, $7-$8; and good, tender gyoza pan-fried dumplings, $6).

The list of maki rolls is beyond extensive, whether it’s a simple, well-made spicy tuna roll ($7) or the flamboyant and saucy Hot on the State, which attacks the taste buds with soft-shell crab, cream cheese, avocado, jalapeño, seared spicy tuna, spicy mayo and a thick, soybased unagi sauce ($15). It’s in this elevated maki area where the ingredients are especially playful (pumpkin seeds, bacon jam, curry mayo, black rice).

After six months of trial and error, the chefs created a version of ramen, and while they’re not aiming for tradition, the creamy bone broth-based tonkotsu ($13) is delicious in and of itself – thick with braised pork belly, fresh egg noodles, nori, wood ear mushrooms and soft-boiled egg.