XOXO

We always like to highlight cool, new places to eat on this show. So, here’s a truly stunning new restaurant for all you sushi lovers out there: XOXO in Chestnut Hill.

It’s located right on Boylston Street, a-k-a Route Nine.  And it certainly looks interesting from the outside. But once you step inside, you’re going to be impressed to say the least.  In fact, this has gotta be one of the most beautiful Japanese restaurants in all of Greater Boston. It’s modern. It’s sleek. It’s pretty darn sexy.

You can look up at the vaulted ceiling made with custom woodwork.  There’s colorful art, comfortable seating, eye-catching lighting… including some multi-colored traditional lanterns all over the walls. But what really draws you into XOXO  is the bar.  It’s the centerpiece of the space, you’re seeing all the Japanese whiskeys and sakes, they’re shaking up cocktails.

But it also doubles as the sushi bar.  And that’s where the real entertainment happens, it’s like you’re getting a front row seat to the tastiest show in town. Because that’s where you can see Chef Kegan Stritchko and his team slicing and dicing some real edible art, I’m talking sushi, sashimi, hand rolls… some are traditional, some are more modern, but everything is prepared meticulously.

We’ll get to the sushi in a minute.  But to start things off, we’re going straight to the Robatayaki section of the menu.  So, this is like the Japanese version of barbecue, with all kinds of food cooked directly over high heat on a charcoal grill.  I would definitely recommend ordering the Pork Belly Robatayaki. So basically, this is Japanese style bacon and it’s insanely good. It’s rich, it’s fatty in a good way so the meat pretty much melts in your mouth.  And I love how it’s served on the skewer, along with some sweet chili miso.

Another great starter is the Japanese street corn. So, this is inspired by Mexican style street corn, but XOXO takes it to a whole new level.  So, it starts with some corn on the cob, that’s cooked on the grill. So it gets nice and caramelized, really brings out the sweetness.  And then it’s topped with some spicy mayo, chili garlic, and yuzu.  So you have spice, you have sweet, you have citrus, you have creamy, you have crunchy. Just awesome overal

And there are plenty of other choices if you prefer your food hot (as opposed to the raw sushi).

One of the kitchen’s signature dishes is the Miso Black Cod. The Black Cod is very light and buttery tasty.  It’s marinated in miso so it’s super tender, and it’s served with some pickled radish and what really puts it over the top is the shishito peppers.  They’re cooked over a charcoal fire so they get nice and charred. They have a great flavor, most of them are rather mild, but every once in a while you get a spicy one, and those are great too

You can even get some fried chicken here, known as Karaage. They’re like little Japanese chicken nuggets, very sharable, they’re seasoned perfectly with some warming spices and just lightly fried.

But my personal favorite is the Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice.  So, it’s similar to a traditional spicy tuna roll, but with a bit of a twist.  It’s served over these little cubes of sushi rice that are deep fried, so you get some serious crunch.  And it’s topped with some charred pineapple and jicama with a drizzle of Peruvian yellow chili peppers. This is definitely a must-order dish.

Now, there are a lot of sushi options on the menu. So I think this is the kind of place that you can almost let the kitchen decide what you should eat. So if you order the Chef’s Choice, they’ll put together an incredible assortment nigiri, whether it’s tuna, salmon, whatever is fresh and delicious and available that night. It’s beautifully presented, the sushi rice is cooked and seasoned perfectly, so every bite is a masterpiece.

And they also have some spectacular hand rolls, and these are where the chef’s creativity really shines.  Check out the Yellowtail Jalapeno handroll, that’s stuffed with some mango and puffed rice, and the jalapenos are marinated in soy, so you get a little spicy, sweet, and salty thing going on.

The Lobster Handroll might be even better. The lobster meat is super fresh and super sweet, and it’s perfectly offset with some lemon zest.

Drinks are a big part of the XOXO experience as well. So you don’t want to leave without a martini or a cocktail, or you can even get some sake served in this cool dispenser so you can poor it yourself right at the table.

And here’s the thing: this is obviously a high-end place, so the bill can get pretty pricey.  But the quality is exceptional. And it’s really not stuff at all, so you can dress up or dress down and you’ll still feel comfortable at XOXO in Chestnut Hill.