Li's Brothers

795 Maple Rd, Longmeadow, MA

Atmosphere: They have coy.

This is one of my favorite restaurants. The food is always yummy, the wait staff rocks, and as far as sushi is concerned, its relatively cheap.

The restaurant is divided into two styles, Japanese (sushi bar and Sapporo supplied decorations) on the left and Chinese (big tables and a Great Wall mural) on the right. You may eat whatever style you like on either side, but the Japanese side is where all the cool kids hang out.

What was eaten:
Miso soup
Vegetable tempura
Avocado roll
Tamago
Rainbow roll
To drink:
Scorpion bowl
Mai tai


Miso soup – What’s not to love? Dashi? Okay, it is kind of stinky, but you can’t make miso soup without it. (And it’s not really vegetarian either, so maybe there is something not to love.)

Vegetable tempura– Broccoli, carrot, onion, taro, and pepper all battered and fried to the height of their yumminess. It’s served with enough tempura dipping sauce (which I still haven’t figured out how to make, stupid mysteries of the orient) to drown every piece in.

Avocado roll- Simple and wonderful. Another thing that makes Li’s Brothers great is that I order this every time I go and have never been served a bad avocado. A bad avocado just makes me want to cry.

Tamago- Sweet egg custard strapped to a rice bed with a seaweed belt. So freakin good.

Rainbow roll - A California roll covered in fatty tuna, salmon, yellow tail and I think its mackerel (please correct me) and just to make it even better, all that is topped with masago. (The bros never skimps on the masago either.)

Mai Tai and Scorpion bowl – I don’t know what are in either of them, but Goddamn are they good. Scorpion bowl is for two and if you are nice they will set it on fire for you.

Overall:
God bless the Polynesians- only a culture as advanced as theirs could make something called the suffering bastard taste so good.
Veg selection- while there are few sushi items that are truly vegetarian, there are things like udon, chow fun, and a whole section of vegetarian meat dishes. I have had a few of these (orange pork and something else I can’t remember) and they are wonderful.