It's been a slow summer for sushi, but, of course, we have at least one new sushi venue.......

Banzai Sushi and Grill opened on August 12th, across the street from Central Market on N. Lamar. The remodeled Kentucky Fried Chicken looks quite a bit spiffier (it has no sushi bar -- table service only).

The rumour mill is abuzz that Maiko Japanese Restaurant is taking over the old spot of Demi Epicurious at 311 W. 6th Street, though we've noticed any construction activity at the site yet.

Uchi has a new web site: www.uchiaustin.com

In case you haven't noticed, Oishi Sushi House, that giant sushi buffet up near Highland Mall, has been replaced by a the more generic Golden Harbor Buffet.

I blinked and two more sushi bars showed up. It's that simple. The economy is in the toilet, but the sushi marketing steamroller continues, paving over more venues in your neighborhood.

Case in point, that abandoned Kentucky Fried Chicken on N. Lamar. It's now Banzai Sushi and Grill. By the looks of the interior, it won't open for another month or so.

A more promising venue is taking shape on the Northbound frontage road of I-35 (take the St. Johns exit) in the old Bevos/Besos location. Sushi Japon (sic) will occupy the 5500 square foot building which is being extensively remodeled and is already looking pretty good. The owner predicts a June 23rd opening date.

It's that time of the year again -- the time when interested Austinites get together and stuff the ballot box for the 2004 Austin Chronicle Restaurant Poll. And, some underpaid stoners get to pimp their favorite venues in the Chronicle's Critics' Poll. The good news this year is that I kinda agree with some of the results.

Uchi swept both the people's and critics' polls, garnering best sushi and best Japanese in both polls, and registering seventh in the people's top 35 favorites restaurant category (and the only sushi bar to make any of the 35 slots). Uchi also topped the critics' list of best seafood dish (watermelon and tuna sashimi), and best new restaurant in 2003.

Zen Japanese Food Fast has opened a third location at 32nd and Guadalupe. What can I say about Zen except that their sushi sucks? I gently tell them this nearly every time I eat there, which is sometimes as often as once a week. It's ok to fill a bowl 2/3 with rice and then cover the top with other stuff, but it's not ok to make sushi rolls that are 1/2, or maybe even 2/3, rice -- especially when the sushi rice has that somewhat dry, chalky, texture that says: I've been sitting around in a display case all day. So, I never eat their sushi. Of course, they aren't claiming to be a sushi bar and that's one thing I really like about them -- they deliver what they advertise. I like their various rice bowls and I like the way they season their store-bought soba noodles. It's fast and it's inexpensive.

Sushi Niichi has reopened after a brief hiatus, still providing the only sushi respite in the West Campus area. Meanwhile, way up at Parmer Lane and Mopac, Odaku expanded and remodeled for their grand re-opening. Odaku's manager thinks that their sushi bar is now "a good place for a dressed-up date."

Odaku
2501 W. Parmer Lane, Suite 500
Austin, Texas
(512) 834-9304

Sushi Niichi
605B West 24th Street
Austin, Texas
(512) 469-0086

While I'm still waiting for Sam's Sushi to open up near E. 12th Street and Chicon, it's pretty clear that Austin has reached sushi saturation in certain key demographic areas. The latest merchandising strategy is the "and sushi bar" phenomenon. Instead of committing your new restaurant to sushi, you commit to something else (typically steak or teppanyaki) and then add a sushi bar on the side.

These poser sushi establishments may fare better economically, but we don't expect they'll do well in our ratings.

First up, just a couple of blocks from Sake on Sixth and Arirang, on the ground floor of the Hilton Hotel, is the new Finn & Porter, Steaks, Seafood, and Sushi. Yes, that's right -- "and Sushi." Out in Lakeway, Pao's Mandarin House has added a sushi bar (but they still call themselves just Pao's Mandarin House). According to one Austin Sushi News reader, Pao's is Lakeway's only 7-day a week sushi bar (the other sushi bar, at Thai Spice, is only open Thursday-Saturday).

Pangos is gone, but that's just part of the grand cyclic nature of sushi bars in Austin. Social Darwinism has vetted the field once again so that new venues can come forth. And come forth they have....

First up, joining the sushi boom in neighboring Pflugerville, is Fuji Japanese Restaurant which is just down the street from the recently opened Hakata.

Nearby, the lure of mixing teppenyaki and sushi is too great. Tokyo Japanese Steak House in Round Rock is the latest to succumb, and has added a sushi bar. They now call themselves Tokyo Japanese Steak House "and Sushi Bar" (duh!). We've learned not to expect much from "and sushi bar" establishments, but we'll reserve final judgement for our visit.

Props out to Origami Executive Chef Tim Thomas and Central Market Cooking School for a fun evening of sushi making. Yeah, yours truly took the class. If you're worried that your kitchen skillz may not be up to par then this is definitely your gig. Most of the prep work is done by Tim and the staff at Central Market, so you get to concentrate on the fun work of rolling your sushi and eating it.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that CM's attentive staff is filling your glass with all the wine and sake you can handle. After a while, your sushi looks perfect and tastes perfect no matter what the reality might be. Finally, the cost, $55, isn't that much more than you'd expect to pay at a sushi bar anyway.

The Greater Austin Sushi Boom Continues....
Thursday, March 18, 2004
by Austin Sushi News Staff

Pangos is gone, but that's just part of the grand cyclic nature of sushi bars in Austin. Social Darwinism has vetted the field once again so that new venues can come forth. And come forth they have....

First up, joining the sushi boom in neighboring Pflugerville, is Fuji Japanese Restaurant which is just down the street from the recently opened Hakata.

Nearby, the lure of mixing teppenyaki and sushi is too great. Tokyo Japanese Steak House in Round Rock is the latest to succumb, and has added a sushi bar. They now call themselves Tokyo Japanese Steak House "and Sushi Bar" (duh!). We've learned not to expect much from "and sushi bar" establishments, but we'll reserve final judgement for our visit.

Whole foods is now offering sushi party trays with "minimum 24 hour advance notice." They have various platters, including vegetarian and sushi made with brown rice (by request). Of course, Whole Foods isn't making the sushi. As reported in the last edition of Austin Sushi News, Whole Foods contracts with California-based sushi company Kikka Sushi (http://www.kikkasushi.com ) that employs sushi chefs in various cities to make sushi at Whole Foods stores.