The former Origami Express at 2438 West Anderson Lane (the North side of Anderson Lane) has changed hands and is now Sushi Kyu (this web site does not seem to be responding). It's main claim to fame is their set of sushi robots that automate various sushi bar tasks including sushi rolling (see video above). The robot in the video is the Suzumo model SVR-BRX ($18,000 U.S.). It rolls sushi but does not perform all the steps necessary for more complex rolls. Still, Sushi Kyu's owner says that the machine replaces roughly one sushi chef at a reasonable cost (he's a regional distributor for the Suzumo line of automated sushi machines, by the way).

Kona Grill is perhaps the largest sushi bar chain in the United States today. They're a public company listed on NASDAQ (KONA) and have 18 locations nationwide, from Nevada to Florida to Conneticut. Their Austin location is at The Domain, a somewhat strange manufactured retail/dining experience hewn out of the barren corporate landscape next to IBM in far North Austin (it's like an outdoor version of Barton Creek Mall). In the synthetic landscape of The Domain, Kona fits perfectly, offering cheeseburgers and turkey wraps alongside a full-service sushi bar that has a very expensive salt water aquarium behind it. We recently sampled their corporate sushi with, admittedly, some trepidation. The sushi was actually ok. The green tea teabags and cups of "soybeans" (edamame) made it feel more like a diner, though.

The packed audience at the Slammo (South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse) was delighted to witness Uchi's Tyson Cole take on Chef Masaharu Morimoto on Episode 7, Season 6 of Iron Chef America last month. Though Cole lost, 49 to 42, it really wasn't about the winning. These were two culinary masters in their element (the secret ingredient was ginger) and the results were spectacular.

In true Alamo style, the broadcast of the episode was interspersed with revealing locally-taped segments where Tyson talked about his experiences on the show. A few things Tyson pointed out:

• The Iron Chef America announcer indicates that Tyson has "picked Matsomoro as his challenger," Tyson says that the show's producers make that decision, not him. In other words, it's a small lie.
• Despite appearing otherwise, the food Tyson and Matsomoro prepare in front of the cameras is not the food served to the judges at the end of the episode. The actual food served to the judges is prepared later (off-camera) by Tyson and Matsomoro.
• Contestants are given a list of three ingredients weeks before they show up to compete, but only one of those ingredients will be the secret ingredient. So, Tyson had to practice three different food preparations, one featuring each ingredient. Tyson thinks that the Iron Chef (in this case, Matsomoro), gets to know what the secret ingredient is beforehand (a significant advantage).
• Tyson wished that Ted Allen (food critic on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) had been one of the judges on this episode because, Tyson noted, "for some reason, gay men love my food."

Sure, Tyson lost on Iron Chef, but with Uchi grossing upwards of $100,000 per week, we think he'll be ok.

Our favorite neighborhood procurer, panderer, knave, and scoundrell, the Notorious DK (only on Monday night folks, the rest of the time, he's cool), owner of Seoul Sushi Bar, has purchased the Asian market at 5610b North Lamar Blvd and is turning it into a "one stop sushi shop" featuring a sushi teaching kitchen and plenty of Asian groceries. Bookmark this page to find out when the fun begins.

Speaking of sushi pedagogy, if you haven't ventured down to the Sunset Valley Famer's Market yet, you might want to check out the delightful bento boxes made by the husband and wife team behind delibento.com. They also offer sushi-making lessons in your home and will teach your kids too! Read the review on Austin Tidbits

We confess that we haven't done justice to the growing number of sushi bars that are spreading northward towards Waco and beyond. Those sushi bars would include Sushi Caliente in Cedar Park, Tomo on Parmer Lane, Hayashi in Georgetown, Hakata in Pflugerville, Origami in Round Rock, Kaprow Leaf on Howard Lane, and Chon Som on Wells Branch Parkway (have I missed any? Probably...). And while we're at it, Origami Express near Anderson Lane and Burnet Road has changed owners and will soon be opening as Sushi Kyu, pronounced 'Q' (their web site does not appear to be up yet).

A recent visit to the new Kenobi Restaurant and Sushi Bar confirmed that it is, indeed, the nicest sushi bar we've seen in Austin since Uchi and Maiko opened. The innovative wall textures, towering ceilings, and challenging bathroom sinks made up for the less-than-stellar sushi we feasted upon. But, like any new sushi bar, getting the culinary machine ramped up can take some time and we fully expect Kenobi to kick some sushi arse in 2008. Check them out and report about it in our forums. Check out the Kenobi website, www.KenobiAustin.com for more details.