Subject:

Kata Robata

  • Blogs

    April 25, 2012

    A Jiro: Dreams of Sushi-Inspired Meal at Kata Robata Disappoints

    Jiro: Dreams of Sushi is a fascinating movie about passion and work ethic. It also happens to feature a sushi chef. It could have just as easily been about a ditch digger or glass blower. The Sushi Club of Houston helped sponsor the film and a dinner afterward at Kata Robata. I was not familiar w ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 17, 2012

    Go Pig or Go Home: How Things Went Down at the 1st Annual Suckling Pig Throwdown

    Check out our slideshow of the Suckling Pig Throwdown. Leave it to Kata Robata Executive Chef Manabu "Hori" Horiuchi to assemble a cast of chefs worthy of an Iron Chef all-stars competition. Because that's what happened on Sunday night at the 1st Annual Suckling Pig Throwdown, when 13 of Houston's ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 17, 2012

    What's the Deal with Sushi Rice in Houston?

    Eating sushi after watching -- no, experiencing -- Jiro Dreams of Sushi on Friday night was clearly a fool's errand. But watching Jiro Ono make piece after magical piece of nigirizushi with gentle and practiced hands gave me a sushi jones the likes I've which I've never before experienced. I headed ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 30, 2012

    Upcoming Events: Forks Over Knives and Farm Dinners

    First things first: Don't forget that this coming Monday, April 2 is our Championship Tasting for the 2012 Burger Bracket. If you disagree with any of the Final 4 contenders, be one of the first 100 people to come out to The Distillery at 4 p.m. and judge the burgers for yourself when sampling opens ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 29, 2012

    Upcoming Throwdowns, Who's Hungry?

    Chefs in Houston love each other, right? Let's test that theory and pit them against each other. Coming up in the next few weeks are two throwdowns fit for true foodies. And trust me when I say, you won't want to miss either of them. Kiss My Grits: A Gulf Coast Throwdown First up on Thursday, Apr ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 20, 2012

    Modernist Cuisine: Volume 4 Ingredients and Preparations - Foodie Science Geek Mecca

    Foodie science geeks, take note - this is your volume of Modernist Cuisine: Volume 4 Ingredients and Preparations. Thickeners, Gels, Emulsions, Foams, Wine and Coffee, oh my. Let's start with the easy stuff - we all know how to thicken a liquid; add a starch and stir vigorously. Making a liquid t ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 13, 2012

    Umami Dinners at Kata Robata Encourage Chef Collaboration

    "I stayed away from making any fish courses," joked chef Randy Evans after last night's Umami dinner at Kata Robata. "I left that to Hori." To his left, Kata Robata's executive chef -- and recent James Beard semi-finalist for his work at the sushi restaurant -- simply laughed good-naturedly. This w ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 10, 2012

    Bartender Chat: David of Kata Robata

    My chiropractor told me I'm constantly pinching nerves in my neck because I sleep on my stomach, and in order to break that habit, I need a "special" pillow. Makes sense, I guess, so off to Bed, Bath & Beyond I went to check out the awkward, way overpriced and super-ugly therapeutic pillows. After ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 16, 2012

    The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 10 Sushi

    For the next 20 weeks, we'll be rounding up the runners-up to our 2011 Best of Houston® winners. In many categories, picking each year's winner is no easy task. We'll be spotlighting 20 of those categories, in which the winner had hefty competition from other Houston bars and restaurants. Houston ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 17, 2011

    Chef Chat, Part 2: Mark Gabriel Medina of Kata Robata

    Photo by Mai PhamChef Mark Gabriel Medina in the kitchen at Kata Robata​ Yesterday, Kata Robata's Chef de Cuisine, Mark Gabriel Medina, told us about growing up on fine dining in Southeast Asia, and serving President Bush Senior sushi at Houston Country Clubs. Today, we talk to him about his ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 16, 2011

    Chef Chat, Part 1: Mark Gabriel Medina of Kata Robata

    Photo by Mai PhamChef de Cuisine Mark Gabriel Medina of Kata Robata​When I asked Mark Gabriel "Gabe" Medina, the current Chef de Cuisine at Kata Robata, if he would be willing to do a chef chat with me, the 29-year-old, soft-spoken chef, who's been flying under the radar since he assumed his c ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 11, 2011

    Kata Robata's Autumn Festival, "Aki no Matsuri!"

    Photos by Mai PhamSuckling pig with buns and sauce, one of the many dishes from Kata Robata's izakaya​Twice a year, Kata Robata transforms its patio into an izakaya, a casual after-work drinking place with Japanese bar food. Izakaya-type food is not fancy. They are the Japanese equivalent to S ... More >>

  • Dining

    August 11, 2011

    The Fish That Got Away

    The Gulf of Mexico produces some of the world's most delicious seafood, but we're not processing it for sushi. What gives?

  • Blogs

    August 5, 2011

    Upcoming Events: Welcome Back, Brownstone Cafe and An Historic Pub Crawl

    Photo by Alex GreggChris Frankel will be shaking things up once again at Giacomo's.​Ghost hunters and professional drinkers, you'll want to sign up for tonight's Historic Pub Crawl starting at the Lancaster Hotel. The tour will take you through five area pubs (with half-off happy hour fare at ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 27, 2011

    Handmade Ramen! Get Your Handmade Ramen!

    Photos by Troy FieldsTonkotsu ramen at Cafe Kubo's. See more photos in our slideshow.​In the course of writing this week's cafe review of Cafe Kubo's, I asked the question: Does any place in Houston hand-make their ramen noodles? As it turns out, at least two places do. At least for tonight. ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 19, 2011

    Keep on Truckin: The Modular

    The "Tin Can."​I woke up Sunday morning with a hankering for the comfort of some food truck sustenance -- it had been a long Saturday night. I drove by the one spot I can always count on for just such an occasion, next door to Agora, the former semi-permanent home of Eatsie Boys. Instead of ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 1, 2011

    Live Lobster Sashimi and New Menu Items Wow at Azuma Kirby

    Photos by Mai PhamYou get lobster claw soup at the end of your meal if you order the Live Lobster Sashimi at Azuma Kirby​It's been at least ten years since I've been to Azuma Kirby for anything, let alone sushi. Located in the upscale strip mall that also houses Crave Cupcakes, Azuma Kirby ha ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 27, 2011

    Comment of the Day

    ​In the comments of Nick Hall's post on a whiskey class at Anvil, Bobby Heugel mentioned that there are plenty of bars and restaurants around town also deserving of acclaim. Asked by another commenter to elaborate, he did, and it's a pretty good list: I'm done after this because I don't usua ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 24, 2011

    Openings & Closings

    Growlers: Coming soon to two Whole Foods (not necessarily near you, though).​In the long tradition of delivering the bad news first, we're starting off this week's restaurant news roundup with a couple of closings. Heights West, whose owner and chef we profiled over a series of Chef Chats bac ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 30, 2011

    Five "Dressed Up" Macaroni and Cheeses

    Joanna O'LearyMiso Lobster Macaroni & Cheese​A few weeks ago I wrote about my Top Five Stellar (Plain) Mac and Cheeses. Now, as promised, I'm moving on to my favorite "dressed up" versions. You know, those gourmet, fancy-schmancy types that combine hand-cut pasta with double-cream cheeses and ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 2, 2011

    Houston's Best Patios: The 10 Best Unexpected Treasures

    Photo by GroovehouseGet your tropical drink on at Kata Robata's intimate patio.​Over the last four weeks, we have been guiding you around Houston's best patios in several different categories: The best places to catch up with friends The best places to bring the kids The best places to pr ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 29, 2011

    This Week in Deliciousness

    The one in the tiara will not be putting up with your crap today, thanks. Probably not tomorrow, either.​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we've constructed a gigantic, hollow Peep with our leftover Easter Peeps and we're trying to come up with a way to lure Ni ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 25, 2011

    Kata Robata Chefs Take Inaugural Kiss My Grits Throwdown Title

    Jason BargasLeft, Kata Robata. Right, Ouisie's.​Grits have been an integral part of my life since I could gum food. Naturally, I was eager to get my gums (and teef) on the grits concoctions at Thursday evening's Kiss My Grits Gulf Coast Throwdown. Young Texans Against Cancer cobbled together H ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 18, 2011

    Upcoming Events

    Photo by Katharine ShilcuttYou don't want to miss a Vic & Anthony's beer dinner.​Vic & Anthony's is continuing its popular series of beer dinners by partnering with Texas' own Real Ale for its next evening, which takes place on Friday, April 8 starting at 7 p.m. For $85 a person (tax and tip n ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 16, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    March 16, 2011

    Health Department Roundup

    ​Some of the reasons city inspectors write up restaurants are oddly inexact. When we see stuff like, "Utensils designed to serve food not kept at proper 45-degree angle from serving tray/as shiny as they probably could be/free of roach droppings," we imagine bureaucrats taking secret pleasure ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 16, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    March 7, 2011

    This Little Piggy Went to Kata Robata

    Photos by GroovehouseFor more photos from the pig party, check out our slideshow.​Say what you will about Twitter -- that the microblogging/messaging service is ruining our attention spans, that it's killing "real" blogging -- but sometimes paying careful attention to your Twitter stream pays ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 14, 2011

    Houston on the Horizon: Rising Stars Named by StarChefs.com

    Chef Manabu Horiuchi of Kata Robata, one of this year's Rising Stars.​I vacillate back and forth between craving attention for our city's culinary efforts and then finding myself annoyed with the attention we do get. Call it the heartburn that comes with having your cake and eating it, too. T ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 10, 2011

    Ginger-Butternut Squash Bisque at Azuma

    ​Yesterday's cold snap got me thinking about last Friday and how -- during the unfulfilled threat of Snowpocalypse 2011 -- I ended up eating at Azuma (909 Texas, 713-223-0909) as a measure of last resort, and how much I unexpectedly enjoyed my meal. And it was all because of the ginger-butter ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 31, 2010

    My Personal Top 5 Favorite Restaurant Dishes of 2010

    The chef pictured (Michael Dei Maggi) has moved on from Caffe Bello, but those mussels remain...​Having a young child, a spouse with a crazy work schedule, and no family in town to baby-sit can certainly put a damper on one's culinary pursuits in a city blossoming with delicious dishes. Howeve ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 24, 2010

    Chef Chat, Part 3: Seth Siegel-Gardner of Kata Robata

    Lardo.​This week I sat down and chatted with Chef Seth Siegel-Gardner, the new chef at Kata Robata. I also sampled some of the new menu additions. I've always loved Kata Robata, but Siegel-Gardner is bringing some seriously elegant food to Houston. We started off the meal with a lovely Japa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 23, 2010

    Chef Chat, Part 2: Seth Siegel-Gardner of Kata Robata

    ​EOW recently spoke with Seth Siegel-Gardner of Kata Robata. Yesterday, we learned about pop-up restaurants and what British people like to eat. Today we continue our chat. EOW: You worked in London for a year and now you're back in Houston and working at a fantastic restaurant. And afte ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 22, 2010

    Chef Chat, Part 1: Seth Siegel-Gardner of Kata Robata

    ​Shortly after naming Kata Robata (3600 Kirby Dr, 713-526-8858) Houston's best new restaurant, we learned that they were getting a new chef: Seth Siegel-Gardner, a native Houstonian. EOW had the chance to speak with Siegel-Gardner in early December, just as he was rolling out his new menu. S ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 14, 2010

    Restaurants We're Excited About for 2011

    ​For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, right? Well, for all the new restaurants that disappointed us in 2010, there are many more coming in 2011 that we're awaiting with baited breath. Whether they be old favorites revived or entirely new restaurants, whether they be from ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 26, 2010

    Openings & Closings: November 2010

    Zelko Bistro and Katz's have some new fried pickle competition in the new Natachee's.​It's been a while since we've done a monthly roundup of openings and closings, but we're getting that train back on track now, and what a month to pick for that re-railment. November was busy, both in terms o ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 24, 2010

    Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs

    Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Great Food Houston: Support Houston-based businesses and avoid Black Friday alt ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 28, 2010

    Chef Chat, Part 2: Bill Greenwood of Eddie V's Prime Seafood

    ​Yesterday we chatted with Bill Greenwood of CityCentre's Eddie V's Prime Seafood about what Buddhist monks really like on their plates. Today he fills us in on where he likes to eat around town and why fishing sustainability is such a tricky subject. Eating Our Words: As a chef that has trav ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 6, 2010

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    June 18, 2010

    Openings and Closings

    It's been an exciting past week for diners and restaurateurs alike, with a rash of new and planned openings to please pretty much any palate. The biggest news, of course, was that our own Robb Walsh is working with Bryan Caswell and Bill Floyd -- the team behind restaurants like Little Big's and Re ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 31, 2010

    Top 10 Restaurants in Upper Kirby

    ​Let's leave aside a second some of the things we hate about the Upper Kirby district -- the bizarre desire to forge a connection with the U.K. based solely on sharing the same initials and installing anachronistic red phone booths on random street corners, the fact that Kirby itself is always ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 23, 2010

    Chef Chat: Justin Basye Part 2

    Fabio​Yesterday Justin explained the nomination process for the James Beard Awards. Today we discuss changes he has implemented and what he does on his days off from work. Eating Our Words: So four months later, what has changed? Justin Basye: Haha, my responsibilities! Moving from sous to c ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 9, 2010

    Kata Robata Chef Chat, Part 2: Jean-Philippe Gaston

    Fabio​After our interview with Kata Robata's Manabu Horiuchi, he demanded we interview his chef de cuisine, Jean-Philippe Gaston, an integral part of Kata Robata. We sat down with him for a few bonus words. Eating Our Words: What is your role on the Kata Robata menu? Jean-Philippe Gaston: If ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 14, 2010

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    January 4, 2010

    Chef Chat, Part 1: Adam Puskorius of Polo's

    ​Polo's New American has a young executive chef with some great Houston roots. We dropped by one afternoon to pay him a visit and see what Polo's is all about. Eating Our Words: How did your culinary tales begin? Adam Puskorius: Before becoming executive chef of Polo's, I was a sous chef at ... More >>

  • Dining

    November 19, 2009

    Flounder Fish & Chips

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

  • Blogs

    October 19, 2009

    Top 10 Places to Eat in Rice Village

    10. Croissant Brioche 2435 Rice Blvd., 713-526-9188 While the café is cluttered with tightly packed tables and the service can be somewhat, ahem, European, the pastries, soups and sandwiches are delicious. The truly amazing coffee alone is worth a visit. ​9. Chicken Kitchen 2516 Rice Blvd., ... More >>

  • Dining

    August 13, 2009

    Kata Robata

    10. Croissant Brioche 2435 Rice Blvd., 713-526-9188 While the café is cluttered with tightly packed tables and the service can be somewhat, ahem, European, the pastries, soups and sandwiches are delicious. The truly amazing coffee alone is worth a visit. ​9. Chicken Kitchen 2516 Rice Blvd., ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 17, 2009

    A Chat with Shon Kyto of Kata Robata

    Photo by Sarah Rufka"What's your signature drink?" It's a fairly inane question, but it's one Shon Kyto thinks about a lot. He's the manager of Kata Robata, but after seven years serving drinks at Azuma, the bar is still his baby. He shows me the cork-bound drinks menu with not a little pride. "Peop ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 17, 2009

    This Week In Deliciousness

    Photo by J.C. ReidBAM! Goddamn peanut butter and bacon burger IN YOUR FACE. We're through the looking glass here, people!Welcome back to the weekly round-up of our food blog, Eating Our Words, where the beef isn't jerky but a couple of the maitre-d's are. Robb Walsh started us off this week with a v ... More >>

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