Overview
Sushi is great. Burritos are great. Frankly, it was only a matter of time before some genius combined the two. Now, the gastronomic phenomenon that has been filling bellies in the US is on its way to Melbourne.
Opening soon on Little Collins Street in the CBD, Josie Jo is the brainchild of entrepreneur Jessica Tse, and sushi burritos are her specialty. "Basically I just really wanted to eat one," she explains when we ask what inspired her to open her to open a sushi burrito bar. "I love sushi myself, and I think it's a great concept."
For those of you who are still unsure about what's certain to be the country's next big food trend (with an unrelated sushi burrito place also slated to pop up in Brisbane in November), the culinary combo is exactly what it sounds like. "It's a massive sushi roll, the size of a burrito," says Tse. "Everyone who has tried it says that it's really yummy."
Diners at Josie Jo will be able to choose from a number of different varieties, served either in burrito form or as a rice bowl or salad. Think fresh salmon with spinach, avocado, cucumber, furikake, flying fish roe, pickled seaweed and wasabi mayo, or king prawn with roquette, cherry tomato, coriander leaves, red onion, avocado, grated cheddar, cumin, paprika, sour cream and chilli flakes. There's also a vegan option with marinated tofu, baby spinach, avocado, sweet corn, edamame, pickled radish, roasted sesame sauce and crispy onion. Alternatively, you can ditch the menu and mix-and-match your own.
Josie Jo will also stock a "refined collection of drinks," including coconut water, ginger beer, poke green tea and organic cola.
Although it's her first restaurant, Tse comes well prepared, having grown up in a family of chefs. "My father was a restaurateur, my brother is also a restaurateur, and I've cooked since I was five," she says. "I just love cooking for people."
In any case, she will have a little bit of assistance from the restaurant's namesake, her cat, muse and fellow CEO. "She says she loves the food," quips Tse with a laugh, before quickly reassuring us that she's not actually taking business advice from her pet. "I'm not crazy."
Look for Josie Jo at Shop 10, 318 Little Collins Street, Melbourne in the coming months. For more information visit their website, Facebook and Instagram.