It's been almost exactly five years since the unpleasantness, and, I have to say, that Silhouette Sushi is now truly back, and in a good way. More laid back than Kenichi or Uchi, Silhouette has good sushi, a convenient Congress Avenue location (718 N. Congress Ave), and even the occasional DJ.

To top things off, on February 2nd, they opened up downtown Austin's only karaoke club, directly upstairs from Silhouette, named Silhouette KTV (Here's the announcement from their blog). These private karaoke rooms are very well-appointed with giant flat-screen TVs, two mics, and modern black furniture. There's even sake, soju, and general booze service for the rooms. Plus, by showing your Silhouette sushi receipt, you automatically get ONE FREE HOUR of karoake. Woot! [call KTV to make sure the free karaoke deal is still happening (512) 477-3311]

Ladies should also consider stopping by on Tuesday, April 7th, from 8pm to midnite, when Silhouette will have another of their semi-regular Ganso Lady's Nights featuring free champagne every hour, bang trims, happy hour specials for ladies, music and more. Check out their weekly happy hour menu here, including their "reverse" (late nite) happy hour on Saturday night from 11pm to 1:30am.

What's doing well in the current economy? Just about anything that's cheap. Case in point -- buffets! There's nothing more deeply American than a gluttonous all-you-can-eat buffet. And, I think all Americans need to rally around our traditions during this troubled time and just pig-out. Don't let the down economy keep you from that third or fourth belt-loosening trip to the buffet! Austin's got two new additions to the sushi landscape that are perfect for such feasting, and at everyday low, low prices.

Just North of Austin in Georgetown, Texas is the Ichiban Sushi Buffet located at 1103 Rivery Blvd, suite 210. Go stuff yourself!

Now, if you'd like some some novelty in your porcine pig-out, consider the newly renovated Korea Garden which now offers a conveyor belt buffet (called kaiten-zushi) that is common in Japan's low-cost sushi joints. Korea Garden, by the way, has changed it's name to "K.G. Sushi Train" (the "KG" stands for "Korea Garden," I suppose). The "train" is a conveyor belt, not a train. But what's important here are their prices which definitely ranks it as some of the most affordable sushi in Austin.

Quality Seafood has changed a lot since the days when it supplied 99% of all the seafood to Austin area restaurants and grocery stores. It still has its wholesale seafood business, but it's now a live music venue with some rather fun weekly events. In particular, Wednesday night is Sushi Night and there's usually live music to go along with that.

This is, perhaps, a strange category for this fish-laden Austin Sushi News report, but, especially in this age of over-fishing and mercury contamination, there is a place for our vegan brethren. And, I must say that, it's pretty hard to find high-quality vegan food in Austin. Sure, I dig Casa De Luz and Veggie Heaven on occasion, but the recently opened Daily Juice Cafe at 45th and Duval has an amazing vegan sushi roll on their menu called the Daily Sushi. The roll consists of "pumpkinseed pesto, coconut strips, shredded carrots, avocado, red bell pepper, and sprouts rolled in a crisp nori sheet and served with ginger-wasabi dipping sauce." Now that's good eatin' !

Bad economic times never seem to stop the flow of sushi into our faces, and, notwithstanding the proportions of this economic bust, some new sushi is on its way.

More than two years after we first announced their opening, and just four months after they were padlocked, the second Sushi Sake location -- which is called Yu Sushi Izagaya -- is set to open on December 5th at 206 Colorado Street. We're really hoping they have their web site up by then.

On the forthcoming list is Piranha Killer Sushi, a swank chain out of Arlington, Texas, that is "leasing 3,000 square feet at 207 San Jacinto St, the building just north of P.F. Chang’s on the corner of Third Street," according to the Austin Business Journal.

The AustinSushi.com team took a stroll over to Maki, the latest spin on "fast" Japanese food, and was mightily impressed by this new Austin operation. They are, essentially, a roll-your-own sushi roll bar where you walk up to a counter, point at the ingredients you want, and the person behind the counter (not a sushi chef) makes the requested roll. In order to speed up the delivery time and lower employee costs, they utilize a sushi robot, specifically the Audio-Technica ASM 860, that spreads the rice onto the nori. This allows for relatively unskilled labor to complete the roll.
The place has a noveau fresh ambiance with a pleasant lime green color and spiffy graphics on the wall. It's definitely "fast" food and not a sushi bar, but still a great place to get a sushi fix when you need something fast that's well-prepared.

The notorious DK has apparently revved-up his sushi making machine, and is offering classes on a weekly basis (every thursday and saturday) at very affordable prices.

Meanwhile, Andrew "Kiniakua" Grambusch is now offering catering and classes as "Sushi Anyone?". From the looks of his photos, he has some chops.

Husband and wife team, Take and Kayo, owners of delibento.com, also offer sushi catering and classes. Check out their "Little Rollers" class for kids!

If you're one of those folks who bicycles to Wheatsville with your own canvas bags, and you're wondering how to lower your environmental footprint at the sushi bar (aren't we all? :-), then look no further. The overused and ill-defined word "green" got another boost in a recent Washington Post article which points to consumer groups that are offering seafood guides to help sushi patrons make the wisest sushi choices. The guides suggest that "it’s time to say sayonara to toro (aka bluefin tuna). Hamachi (yellowtail)....And ... freshwater eel and avocado rolls -- unagi is also a big environmental no-no." These guides will help you decide which seafood species are in various stages of danger. The three guides, from the Environmental Defense Fund, Blue Ocean Institute and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, are available as handy links (to PDF files) here:
EDF Sushi Selector
Blue Ocean Guide
Monterey Bay Guide

According to lead developer Masahiko Noguchi, sushitrainer.com took five years to complete, and the new online sushi chef training site had three top Los Angeles-based sushi chefs involved from start to finish. For a mere $10 monthly tuition fee, the site offers you over 170 different classes (totalling some 7,000 web pages). They unofficially launched on September 1st, and, by the way, anyone can take their online classes -- not just sushi chefs. Here's the quick bullet-point list:

• Online real-time interactive video instruction
• 3-Way rotating instruction center for multimedia E-learning
• Downloadable Lessons, recipies, nutritional data in PDF format
• Over 300 Videos and over 10,000 photos
• Professional instruction from beginning to advanced sushi training.
• Online Note taking system
• Message board
• User administration center
• Study at your own pace
• Quick phone and email support
• Resource and Links on how to obtain tools and sushi equipment

The AustinSushi team trekked back to Imperia for an all-out sushifest featuring some amazing creations from head chef Tatsu Aikawa and just enough sake to to keep things chill. Imperia is positioning itself as a downtown sushi player to be reckoned with despite being only blocks from Kenichi, Maiko, Kyoto, and Silhouette.