Japanese Fish, Korean Beef at Hinari Sushi

Amid the countless “For Rent” signs on Morris Avenue is a sign that bucks the trend: "Grand Opening." This isn't the launch of a new, risky venture. Rather, it's a sign of new ownership for , which has served Japanese food in this location for more than four years.

Little has changed, however, inside Hinari Sushi. In fact, with the exception of a two flat-screen television in the front of the restaurant, it appears little has changed in years. Walls are wood-paneled on the bottom, off-white on top, with tiny fish stenciled along the walls. A whiteboard in the front lists the day's specials, and in the back of the shop are some framed photographs of sushi and sashimi. The new televisions show a slideshow of menu items while music—including a lot of John Mayer this week—plays in the background.

Aside from the grand opening sign in the window, this restaurant bucks the downtown Springfield trend in another, more important way: Hinari Sushi struggled to accommodate its lunchtime patrons last Wednesday. Just after 1 p.m., a group of four showed up and found nowhere to sit. They briefly considered going somewhere else, but the waitress gathered a few unused chairs from tables and sat the group at the sushi bar. Yes, Hinari is tiny, but it is good to see an independently owned eatery overflowing with people, especially on struggling Morris Avenue.

Springfield has a few sushi options, but as far as we can tell, it is the only place to offer kimchi, bulgogi and a few other Korean dishes.

Traditionally marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, garlic, onions, ginger and sugar before being grilled, Buglogi is a good introduction to Korean food, according to TriFood, one of the Web's preeminent sites on cuisine from the Korean peninsula.

Like the sushi lunches at Hinari, the bulgogi lunch special ($9.95) starts with a miso soup, a salty broth with tiny cubes of tofu and sliced scallions. The buglolgi is served in a large bowl with white rice on the bottom, a mix of iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots and cabbage in the middle, and thinly sliced, tender, marinated beef on top. A thick, spicy red chili paste is served on the side, and it makes a good accompaniment, giving the beef a kick. The combination is a curious one, and with the exception of the sodium overload, it's an enjoyable one.

I returned this week to try the sushi. The specials board included an intriguing option: The Jennifer roll, which comes with spicy crab, cucumber and apple on the inside, and  seared white tuna, strawberry, mango and fresh blueberry sauce on the outside ($13.95).

I stuck with a more traditional option, the sushi lunch special, which included pieces of salmon, shrimp, tuna, white tuna and snapper, along with six pieces of California rolls. The sushi chef assembled the dish in front of me, though the bar mostly obscures the view. The fish was tender, and I was thrilled that the dish included a generous serving of ginger. For $9.95, it was a good buy and an enjoyable lunch.

Sodium levels are a little high here, both in the miso soup and in the bulgogi, so drink a lot of water. Fortunately, the soy sauce on each table is reduced sodium soy sauce, but even that contains a shocking 575 mg of sodium per tablespoon—that's 24 percent of the recommended daily intake, in one serving. Ouch.

The decor here may be dated and drab, but other than that, we're fans of the new Hinari—just as we were fans of this place under the previous owners. Service here is polite, prompt and friendly, even when the tables are full, and the food is enjoyable and well priced.