Japanese Food and Cooking

Top 5 Sushi Restaurants

Soma.​With sushi being one of my favorite go-to meals, naming favorites is not an easy task. There are so many things to take into consideration. Are you looking mainly at the freshness of the fish? What about the selection of makizushi? And what about the rice? I tried to take all of thes ... More >>

Comment of the Day

​This morning, Geri Maria Harris listed her Top 5 sushi restaurants in Houston and -- as with any Top 5 or Top 10 list -- everyone weighed in with their own "left out" restaurants. But one reader, angrybaker, took issue with the name of the post itself, not necessarily the contents: While I ... More >>

Sneak Peek at Blue Fish (No, the Other Blue Fish)

​I have to wonder if, when Dallas-based Blue Fish set its sights on Houston, they realized that there was already two restaurants here with the same name. Not just any restaurants, but fellow sushi restaurants -- and fairly popular ones at that. Confusion is bound to play out for the rest of t ... More >>

First Look at Convey

Above-average nigiri at Convey, but it doesn't come out on a conveyor belt...yet.​Conveyor belt sushi is not a new concept to most of America, yet here -- in downtown Houston -- it's somewhat of a novelty. In an odd twist, a couple of Outer Loop restaurants were the first to bring the conveyor ... More >>

Raw Fun

Zake Sushi Lounge hosts hot weekend parties.

Escolar and Uni at Aka Sushi

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttSea snail up front, uni in the back.​Every time I mention enjoying a particular sushi restaurant, a commenter or two will chime in to tell me that I'm a blithering idiot for not enjoying Aka Sushi more. (Sometimes that's an exaggeration, but not usually.) This also ... More >>

Lunch at Go Fish

​Last Thursday, I finally made it over to Go Fish (1709 Dryden Rd.), which opened in the spot that had been Azumi Sushi. A coworker and I split a couple of dishes so we could try more things. According to the menu, they had both Vietnamese and Japanese food, which seemed fresh and inventive in ... More >>

First Look at Toyama

Too-cool fish is made up for with superb sushi rice.​You may have noticed that the shuttered Chicken 'N Egg Roll that haunted 2802 S. Shepherd is no more, a sleek and modern building in its place. It's Toyama, the newest Japanese restaurant from the same family that owns Osaka, further down on ... More >>

Openings & Closings

Photo by Craig HlavatySo long, Agora...for now.​Filed under "O" for obvious is the closing this week of Agora (1712 Westheimer) after last weekend's devastating fire on the eve of Halloween. For those of you just tuning in, Agora's next door neighbor -- Antique Warehaus -- caught fire and the ... More >>

Authentically Inauthentic

Ramen and breaded pork cutlets, not sushi, are the stars at Umai Japanese.

Umami at Umai

Photos by Troy FieldsThe clean and modern interior at Umai. Check out our slideshow for more photos.​Umai Japanese Restaurant (8400 Bellaire) may be located along Bellaire Boulevard, but the restaurant is mostly removed from the hurly-burly tumble and flow of Chinatown, being closer to Sharpst ... More >>

Sushi Lunch at Raku

​It's hard to find great sushi that doesn't break the bank. You don't take chances with raw fish, and to get good fish you generally gotsta spend some coin. But if you work downtown, Raku has become a nice option for a decently priced weekday sushi lunch. Not only will you find fresh fish and ... More >>

First Look at Sushipop

The High Roller trio at Sushipop.​"Do you know how to open that?" asked a young, red-headed Sushipop employee as he approached the table with my order. A sly grin was on his face as I looked askance at the bottle of Ramuné I'd quickly chosen from the cooler near the register. "Um...no, I don ... More >>

The Volcano Roll at Blue Fish House

Justine Schmider​Paul Knight's recent post on the happy hour at Blue Fish House led me to venture there instead of Miyako recently when I was longing for cheap "American" sushi. By "American" sushi, I am specifically referring to sushi and maki rolls and nigiri, etc., etc., that are inflected ... More >>

Craving Sushi for Happy Hour

Happy Hour at Crave Sushi​ Sushi happy hours are one of the best bangs for your buck: cheap drinks, lots of specially priced appetizers and of course discounted sushi. The best part is any risk you might be taking from consuming raw seafood is minimized by the copious amount of alcohol you're ... More >>

Sushi Surprise

This nondescript-looking restaurant is serving the real thing.

Berryhill vs El Rey: Battle for the Best Shrimp Tempura Taco

​Call me a late bloomer, but I didn't discover the Shrimp Tempura Taco until a year or so ago. Now I am in love with them. Though I know grilled shrimp is way healthier, blah blah blah, I wholeheartedly prefer the crunchiness of the tempura battered shrimp with the freshness of the cabbage and ... More >>

Sushi Tora

Toku Sushi

Shogi Hibachi Express

$13 at Azumi Sushi

Where: Azumi Sushi Japanese Restaurant, 1709 Dryden Road, Houston, 77030, (713) 790-9997 What $13 gets you: A chicken teriyaki bento, a spicy salmon roll, a small side of seaweed salad and edamame, and a couple of pieces of salmon sushi. Normally, we don't spend quite so much money for lunch durin ... More >>

Mochi Ice Cream Balls

​I tried some chocolate mochi ice cream at Mikawaya ice cream shop in L.A.'s Japantown. The frozen dessert balls are wrapped in glutinous sweet rice -- they taste like ice cream wrapped in chewing gum until the wrapper starts to melt in your mouth. It's a curious taste sensation, but the real ... More >>

Food Fight: Battle Discount Sushi

Houston still lacks the crucial "conveyor belt sushi" concept​It's no secret that we love sushi. However, we also love something else -- and we love it even more than we love sushi. We love money. To paraphrase Adam Sandler, we're a big fan of money. We like it, we use it, we have a little. We ... More >>

Umai Japanese Restaurant

Lunch Special: Sushi Raku

​The newly opened Sushi Raku (3201 Louisiana Street) is a swanky, modern-looking place. It is huge - you could have a large corporate function here - and well built, with interesting depth in the windows and private booths galore. We can see why the build-out of this location took some time. ... More >>

Gas Station Sushi

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt​Only a few short days after Eating Our Words' body revolted violently against some inadvisedly consumed cheese enchiladas that had been on a steam table for far too long, as it turns out, we decided to show our stomach who's boss. Take back the night! And what bett ... More >>

Flounder Fish & Chips

A new Kata Robata on Kirby offers stellar fish and lots of attitude.

On a Roll at Kubo's Sushi Competition

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttThe bibimbap roll at Kubo's​Rice, salmon, tuna, seaweed, wasabi, avocado, octopus, daikon radish, cucumber -- it seemed the food would never stop coming. Last night at Kubo's, we were faced with enough sushi to feed two sumo wrestlers. One brightly colored roll aft ... More >>

Southern Hospitality at Ginza Japanese Restaurant

​It's far from the Heights, miles from midtown and could never double as a nightclub. Unassuming as ever, my favorite sushi in town -- Ginza Japanese Restaurant -- makes me proud to dine in a shopping center next to Jack's Carpet. The meal begins with hot towels and ends with sliced oranges ... More >>

A Cafe Bites Nibble

In the space that housed Café Le Jadeite on West Gray emerges a new restaurant, Café Ginger (1952 West Gray, 713-528-4288). Jack Tsai is the manager. "I used to work for Toro Japanese restaurant before coming here," says Tsai. "Toni Sha is the owner. He was one of the partners in Le Jadeite as wel ... More >>

Kata Robata

A Cafe Bites Nibble

Qidong Lin, who's from a small town in China, was first exposed to a moveable sushi bar during a visit to California. "I liked the concept very much," said Qidong. "It is relatively cheap and easy for customers to see what they're getting and how much they will pay." So he opened Sushi Choo Choo (12 ... More >>

$13 at Edomae Sushi

Photo by Robb WalshWhere: Edomae Sushi, 12225 Westheimer, 281-558-5599 What $13 gets you: Sushi Special C from the lunch special menu is $10.95 and includes a California roll rolled in bright orange flying fish roe and a Spicy Tuna roll with your choice of miso soup or salad. If you can't afford th ... More >>

Cafe Kubo's

A Café Bites Nibble

Photo courtesy of Kubo'sYoichi "Yogi" Ueno opened the first Kubo's Sushi in the Village in 2001. "We wanted to expand into a fast-food restaurant serving healthy Japanese fast food with our new Cafe Kubo's [9889 Bellaire, 713-995-4200]," he says. "Most of the Japanese restaurants in Houston are go ... More >>

Crave Sushi

Houston Sushi's Polar Opposites: Soma & Oishii Sushi

Ra Sushi Scrambles Menu, Adds to Happy Hours

Shrimp Shumai We started with the kind of sake most people use to drink shooters and beer. It was warm, clear in color, dryly medicinal in flavor and called Hananomai Katana. Okay, adventures in drinking phase one. Actually, it wasn't that bad at all and as it made its way down, it created a warm an ... More >>

Fish Story: Zen Tuna Roll

The two kinds of tuna in the Toro Crunch at Soma give the elegant sushi roll a huge tuna flavor. The presentation is a Zen composition of symmetrical shapes and restrained colors. Chopped fatty toro tuna and chives are the soft center while a strip of bluefin tuna strides the crest of the rice cyl ... More >>

Hunger for Hybridity at JJ Ichiban Steak & Sushi

$13 at Zake Sushi Lounge

Fish Frenzy at Tokyo One

Pile your plate with scads of sashimi at this new all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet

Sushi Class

James McMillan is a sushi sensei

Sushi Jin

The freshest fish in Houston is delivered to this sushi joint in Memorial, courtesy of Air Japan

Genji Japanese Restaurant and Karaoke Bar

It's always a party at Genji Japanese Restaurant and Karaoke Bar

Sage 400 Japanese Cuisine

Hey, you at the sushi bar, lighten up — it's not like some religious ceremony or anything

The Sweet Smell of Wang Galbi

This stunning new Korean barbecue restaurant looks like a picnic grove inside a shopping center

Raw Deal

When Andrew Jackson puts in an appearance, the hostesses at Ra Sushi pay attention

The Hamachi on Pluto

A new sushi restaurant on NASA Parkway boldly takes raw fish beyond old expectations

Sushi as an Accessory

At Uptown Sushi, the fish looks great whether you eat it or not