Austin Sushi News

The excitement mounts as the pressure builds. As reported in the last two editions of Austin Sushi News, a sushi bar will open in the location of the former Si Bon restaurant at 801 S. Lamar.

The demo teams have hollowed out the old house interior and are busy remodeling and expanding the structure which will retain its homey feel when finished. Expect a mid to late Spring 2003 opening.

According to one of our loyal undercover operatives, a new sushi bar is going to open across from Dell's main campus in Round Rock, Texas. He writes:

"There's a sign up on a developing large strip mall corner unit that says 'Tonashi Sushi, coming soon'. This is on FM 1325 (Louis Henna Boulevard) directly across the road from Dell's main campus -- a prime location that will be a big hit with all the Dell folks. It's in a small strip that appears to be food-only and is anchored at the other end by Atlanta Bread Company"

We dig Scott Brannock's Atown comic strip (http://www.atowncomics.com ), especially
the Teppanyaki-related ones. Scott tells Austin Sushi News:

"The 'Endo Teppanyaki' character is based on a friend of mine who is a Teppanyaki chef.... Mostly the Atown comic strip is about other Austin related things, but I'll probably have a few more Teppanyaki related ones soon."

Austin Teppanyaki cartoon one (http://www.atowncomics.com/onlinetoons/cs33.html )
Austin Teppanyaki cartoon two (http://www.atowncomics.com/onlinetoons/cs53.html )

Yes my friends, another new sushi bar now blesses the Austin skyline. Tokyo Teppan, located where Highway 71 meets 290 in Oak Hill, is now open. They not only have a nice small sushi bar, but six brand new Teppanyaki tables (see next article) for your dining pleasure. It's a comfortable place with a nice polished interior.
Check it out.

Tokyo Teppan
7010 W. Highway 71, #200
(512) 288-3788

Austin is going bonkers over Teppanyaki, and we've got three new (or improved) venues to prove it. What is Teppanyaki? It's those big grills (Teppanyaki tables) that people sit around while watching the chef prepare their food with (we hope) a dazzling spectacle of knife gymnastics.

Teppanyaki was invented in the United States in 1964, and pioneered as a franchise by Benihana Restaurants in the 1980's. Now, it seems, everyone wants a piece of the action.

Tokyo Teppan (see article above) is now open and features six Teppanyaki tables. Kobe Japanese Steakhouse, mentioned several months ago in Austin Sushi News, is now open as well, and Kyoto II (/locator/index.shtml#kyoto2 ) has remodeled -- their new room has eight Teppanyaki tables. And, of course, there's Benihana (/locator/index.shtml#benihana ).

As reported in last month's edition of Austin Sushi News, a sushi bar will likely open in place of the now defunct Si Bon at 801 S. Lamar.

We now know that the person opening the sushi bar is none other than long-time sushi chef Tyson, formerly of Musashino. Rumour has it that he's hiring some professional Japanese sushi chefs to round out his staff.

HEB's Central Market Cooking School (http://www.centralmarket.com/heb/cm/cmClasses-A_NL.jsp ) is looking for a professional sushi instructor to teach a few sushi classes. If you've got chops and a resume, they're interested.

Your resume should list your skills and experience as well as a couple of suggested menus that you'd like to teach. You can drop it all off at the HEB Cooking School and make sure it gets to the Cooking School Manager, Kelly Hargrove.

Note: you should probably call first and make sure they're still looking for a sushi instructor.

HEB Central Market Cooking School
Inside the HEB at 40th Street and Lamar Blvd.

Austin is being slowly carved up into sushi fiefdoms and South Austin is, apparently, one of the last unspoiled lands upon which the sushi lords have not yet trod. Alas, word from our super-secret operatives (and also a brief mention in October 4th's Chronicle -- see below) is that a sushi bar will likely open in place of the now defunct Si Bon at 801 S. Lamar.

Rumour has it that this sushi bar will be upscale and that the head sushi chef and design team will be notable. Negotiations are currently underway to both acquire the property and deal with parking issues.

Quote from the October 4th Austin Chronicle:

Zen Japanese Food Fast opened their new
South Austin location on October 9th. Huzzah!

New location:
Zen Japanese Food Fast
1305 S. Congress (next to the Continental Club)
phone: (512) 444-8081

Current location:
Zen Japanese Food Fast
2900 W. Anderson Lane #250
phone: (512) 451-4811

Do I need to spell it out? -- "Yet Another New Sushi Bar" .....sheesh! Austin's 25th sushi bar, The Mimosa Cafe, opened August 28th on Barton Springs road.

It's taking up residence across the street from Flipnotics -- a location that was formerly occupied by Good Eats, and, more recently, Henry's Restaurant Y Cantina. It has undergone substantial interior remodeling and now sports a cleaner look.

The Mimosa Cafe
1530 Barton Springs Road
Austin, Texas
(512) 494-0202