Japanese Food and Cooking

Redneck Sushi -- A Guide to Triple-Fusion

Now, let's say you want to combine the heavy, meat-based joys of barbecue with the relatively light, raw fish-based delights of sushi. You're clearly having a boring day. Nothing's gone right for you so far. You tried combining Vietnamese and Mexican food. That fell down at the pho burrito. Korean a ... More >>

50 Percent of Seafood Sold in Texas Mislabeled, New Oceana Study Reports

Oh, Dallas. Something is fishy at our sushi restaurants. Katharine Shilcutt at the Houston Press has been digging through a new Oceana Study, and it doesn't say very nice things about the sushi we're eating. That snapper you covet, sumptuously draped over carefully seasoned and packed rice, may ve ... More >>

If You Haven't Stopped Into Kazy's Recently, You Really Should

When I was sitting at the bar at Lucia, slurping down exceptional hand-made pasta dressed in a creamy sea urchin sauce and garnished with salty, toasted breadcrumbs, I asked chef David Uygur where he got the uni. The chef gave me a sort of surprised and sarcastic look as he told me Kazy's up in Rich ... More >>

Firexbox Doesn't Ignite the Taste Buds -- or Other Body Parts, Luckily

You'd think that there's no way that Firexbox could be the name of a restaurant, but you'd be wrong. When I first saw it, I thought, "Surely there's just a typeface issue here with their logo and they mean Fire Box with chopsticks in the middle and that design element just went wrong." But, nope. Th ... More >>

Monica Greene's Nueva Cocina Opens This Evening: Will Serve Sushi

We first told you about Monica Greene's departure from Aca y Alla to open up a restaurant in Oak Cliff just before summer. Now the restaurateur has released new details about the space on Cedar Springs Road that will have a soft opening this evening, with a grand opening scheduled August 7. Nueva ... More >>

Real Japan at Mr. Max

With blacked-out windows and a big sign with an ambiguous name that could be a front for anything, Mr. Max may not look like much from the outside, but step through the doors and you're transported to the other side of the globe.

The Cheap Bastard at Chaucer's, the Land of Sushi, Drawbridges and Hooters Rejects

Creepy business dudes drooling on servers count: 8 Bard count: 0 Chaucer's Sushi & Grill came up several times when I internetted "cheap sushi Dallas." So I checked out their website, and let me tell you, the Chaucer's website is more amazing than any website I have ever seen or will ever see. It i ... More >>

Moon Wok: It's Not Bad, You Know It, It's Not Really, Really Bad

She says she wanted to try the food, but we think Cheap Bastard stopped by Moon Wok just to have an excuse to break out her fedora, single white glove and sequined ruby dancing shoes. You can find the place at 8670 Skillman St., 214-221-8888. Times I drove by and said to myself, "Ha. Moon Wok," bef ... More >>

Jiro Dreams of Sushi: A Must-See Doc For Every Food Lover (and Especially Chefs)

"Always strive to master your craft." The closing words of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which opens today at the Magnolia and Angelika Theaters, would make sound advice for any trade. But thrust upon the shokunin, the master sushi chef, they invoke a certain umami for the soul that's as inspiring as it is ... More >>

Private | Social | Ramen! | Oh.

My first run-in with Private Social came just after the restaurant, helmed by Top Chef alum Tiffany Derry released its lunch menu. I noticed the noodles right away. Leslie Brenner and I had been begging Dallas for a proper Japanese noodle house, but it has never materialized. Perhaps a decent hot bo ... More >>

A Sushi Roll Goes to Space (Video)

A Washington, DC-based sushi chain recently released a promotional video about shooting a sushi roll into space. Getting sushi into the stratosphere should be easy enough. A weather balloon was used to take a chair into space for a very similar commercial. Still, the video seemed a little fishy. ... More >>

Get Your Roll On

Sushi & Rice Express: Alice Drives Through Like Evel Knievel's Bastard Child

​Sushi & Rice Express 8131 Forest Lane 214-575-7090 Other cars in the drive-through count: 0 Wet towels air-drying right next to the drive-through menu count: 50 Drive-throughs? Good. Sushi? Goooood. Put them together and you have Sushi & Rice Express. I slow-clap my chopsticks at you, Sushi ... More >>

Sushi Star: Just a Happy Little Neighborhood Sushi Bar

​Happy Eating highlights restaurant happy hour food menus, pointing you to the best deals out there. This week, we're doing happy hour neighborhood restaurant-style at Sushi Star. Where: 5956 Royal Lane When: 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday The Scene: This is Preston Hollow's quiet neighbo ... More >>

Ku Sushi and Japanese Cuisine: Ringside at Sushi Night Fight

The fried egg atop Ku's Dolsot Bi Bim Bop wasn't the only thing that sizzled.​No date with a guy last week. Instead, I went to dinner with two of my girlfriends at Ku Sushi and Japanese Cuisine. The sushi restaurant ranks as one of my friend's and her husband's favorite Preston and Forest neig ... More >>

Oishii Renames Beloved Off-Menu Sushi Roll

The first thing one receives at Oishii Sushi & Pan-Asian Cuisine is a large laminated menu and paper menu overflowing with sushi options. But if you sit at the sushi bar, there's a small, wall-mounted chalkboard above the chopping and dicing sushi chefs. The very top of that chalkboard reads #42, an ... More >>

Shinsei: Turning Diners into Disciples

Ramen Republic: New Denton Eatery Isn't an Authentic Noodle House, but It's Not Bad

​"Dallas, huh?" a Michigander friend asked me upon hearing I'd moved here. "Bet you don't get much sushi." Actually, I corrected him, there's extraordinary sushi here. Sushi's the perfect fit for Dallas, a city with a bustling airport, a growing Asian and Asian-American population and an affe ... More >>

It's Axiomatic: Good, Inexpensive Sushi Makes Us Happy

​Each week, Happy Eating highlights a different restaurant happy hour food menu. This week we are in the Knox-Henderson neighborhood to check out a Dallas sushi hot spot. Where: Sushi Axiom, 2323 North Henderson Ave. When: 4:30-7 p.m. Monday-Friday. The Scene: Happy hour time is quiet and ... More >>

On a Roll: Exactly What is Big D's Defining Sushi?

Ooo, you're so fancy, Philadelphia. ​The Dallas Fish Market, which offers discounted sushi to downtowners on Sundays and free sushi to everybody on Wednesdays, is now promoting its late-night sushi menu: A selection of specialty rolls, including the Dallas roll, is available until 2 a.m. on Fr ... More >>

The Tale of the Blind-Date Ambush at Benihana

​On Benihana's website it asks: "What did you do last night?" Well I have two additional questions. When was the last time you ate at Benihana? And when was the last time you went on a business lunch disguised as a blind date? My answer to the first question is too long ago. I forget about Ben ... More >>

Sake Industry Urges Dallas Diners to Pair Rice Wine With Steak

Sake's not just for sushi, according to the latest promotion by the sake industry. "It's a world class drink, not just something that goes down hot at a Japanese restaurant," says Linda Kawabata of the Akita Sake Promotion and Export Council, which is hosting a tasting event in Dallas next Monday. ... More >>

Sharaku Sake Lounge and Izakaya: An Inspired Way to End a Workday.

Underground Sushi: Tuna Rolls in the Tunnels

When I first moved to Dallas, and was trying to figure out my neighborhood's food scene, my online research kept pointing me toward Kuai, a dumpling joint on Elm Street. Hanna Raskin​I scoured Elm Street, but couldn't find it. I had no idea then that the restaurant was beneath me, tucked into ... More >>

Want a Taste of Japan? Go West, Young Diner.

Photo by Hanna RaskinUdon worth a trip to Irving​Japanese celebrities locate the DFW's epicenter at the crossing of Belt Line and Rochelle roads in Irving. That's the intersection that's home to three authentic-leaning Japanese restaurants, including Mr. Max, an izakaya around which traveling ... More >>

Japan House: Overabundance Does Not a Good Meal Make

​I really wanted to like Japan House. Upon first glance, I was in love. The staff is incredibly friendly, the dining area is modern, and the spread looks vast and promising. Because of all the above, it's difficult for me to write what I'm about to write. Located off of 75 in Plano, Japan Ho ... More >>

Sharuku Sake Lounge Gets Refit Because Dallasites Not Sake Fans

Belly up to the bar, cowboys and girls.​Dallas diners aren't sake drinkers. So says Yutaka Sushi Bistro's Yutaka Yamato, who's rejiggering his Sharuku Sake Lounge to better accommodate local tastes. "I tried to sell sake because it's a Japanese restaurant, but it doesn't work well," Yamato s ... More >>

Rollin' With The Homies

Sushi Star in Preston Hollow Shines With Far More Than Sushi

​My friend, Song Wii, owns Sushi Star Restaurant in Preston Hollow. I worry about him. Having watched my father work 12 hours a day behind a hot wok for years, I understand too well the pressures of running a restaurant. Unless impending bankruptcy or a natural disaster forces a restaurant to ... More >>

Genroku Sushi Makes Our Taste Buds Very Happy

For This Week's Appetite for Instruction, Sushi Purists Need Not Apply

Photos by Sarah Johnson ​Beef Tataki Roll Demonstrated by Chef Atsushi Koda of RA Sushi Sushi, sushi, sushi. You either love or hate the Japanese concoction of seaweed, rice, and whatever else is thrown in there. If you're fond of it, then you'll be happy to know that Appetite for Instruction is ... More >>

Return to Sushi Yama: Enough with the Sushi--Bring on the Chicken Gizzards

​I look back in regret at the first time I ever tried sushi.During one of my visits to Taiwan as a teenager, my part-Japanese auntie took us to a sushi restaurant. Taiwan was a Japanese colony for 50 years, and when the Japanese left, they left behind much of their culture, including a food influe ... More >>

It's Not Vegas or Taiwan, but You can Get Some Authentic Japanese Food at Sushi Yama

​While DFW boasts significant Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese populations, one is hard pressed to find more than the random Japanese person every now and then, much less an authentic Japanese restaurant. Most sushi restaurants in our area are owned by either Vietnamese or Korean proprietors.Unles ... More >>

Club Sushi

How 'Bout Them Knockers: Sushi World

​Each week in 'Knockers' we order from a different delivery restaurant, assessing their efficiency and keeping a running score.Sushi World1001 Ross214-999-6050Promised Delivery Time: "between 15 and 20 minutes" Actual Delivery Time: 20 minutes Scoring summary: Easy online ordering: 0 Estimated d ... More >>

Uptown’s Geisha House Offers An On-Again, Off-Again Japanese Dining Experience. Try Going When It’s On-Again.

Veggie Guy: NAAN

​Ok--I'll admit it. The Shops at Legacy are pretty cool. Now if only they weren't all the way up in freakin' Oklahoma...erm...I mean Plano. I met up with my vegan buddy Drew at Legacy NAAN last week, where he'd set up a multiple-course vegan food tasting. It's located in the "old side [of the sh ... More >>

Trendspotting: Bento Boxes

A bento from ManowAre Bento Boxes the new sandwich wraps?All of a sudden, bentos are everywhere, inciting flashbacks to the tortilla attack of the early 2000's, when everything but old gym socks was getting the "roll it up and call it lunch" treatment. Now everything's going in a box.Both fads are r ... More >>

How 'Bout Them Knockers: Oriental Lite Restaurant

Each week in 'Knockers' we order from a different delivery restaurant, assessing their efficiency and keeping a running score.Oriental Lite Restaurant14925 Midway, Addison972-788-2288Promised delivery time: 45 minutesActual delivery time: 31 minutesScoring:Quick and easy ordering: 6Surprisingly exte ... More >>

Nori Sushi Bar and Grill is a Surprising Good Catch Out in Chain-Restaurant Land

Show Your Roll

Short Orders: Reikyu Sushi

Reikyu Sushi5321 E. Mockingbird Lane214-823-3772Has there ever been a craze as pervasive as sushi? America's passion for raw fish began to build sometime in the very early 80s, which means it's closing in on 40 years. That tops disco fever by 34 years. Our bitterness toward Japan for that faux pas a ... More >>

Spam-ming The City; Maximo Effort

Don't call it McSushi, but finding a reasonably priced roll in the DFW area is about to get really, really easy. A restaurant with the convenience of fast food and low price points of grocery store sushi, Wylie-born Avocado California Roll & Sushi is already rolling for our neighbors in Dento ... More >>

Tei An is a Soba Success

These noodles come with an authentic twist—mostly

RA Sushi in Plano

The attitude's served up raw, but the execution is half-baked

Bland on Bland

Spooked Grill

Fish Lips

Review: The Fish

The Fish could use a touch of poison to spice up its menu

Review: Zen Sushi

Straightforward, simple and delicious, Zen Sushi delivers without fussiness