SUSHI HOUSE - UNAGI IS A TOTAL STATE OF AWARENESS
I have always been a fan of teppanyaki dishes. I remember going to the original Kabuki on Western and being fascinated with the show that the cooks put on. The banging of the utensils, the flaming shrimp, the table of strangers and the chef’s knife skills enthralled me. I always loved the fried rice off the flat-top and the ginger sauce that I could cover everything in.
One day in 1999, my coworker asked if I wanted sushi from Kabuki. Back in 1999, sushi was an unknown to me. I had never even seen sushi and it sounded exotic. I have always been a somewhat adventurous eater and have always liked seafood, so I asked her to pick out something for a beginner. I am not sure what I was expecting, but I’m sure I was picturing a slab of raw fish. When this green burrito showed up, I was perplexed. I had grown up using chopsticks when my dad would take me to eat Chinese food at China Inn on Paramount (where Pacific Rim is now) so picking up the slices of sushi roll didn’t intimidate me. I dove in to the California Roll. It was like no taste I had ever had. The sticky and sweetness of the rice, the brininess of the seaweed wrapper and the creaminess of the crab and cream cheese hooked me. I had to have more.
I took my wife there and we fell in love with sushi. At Kabuki back then, you only had about 8-10 options, so me and my wife tried them all. Unagi became our favorite. Every time we would order, we would have Unagi and try one other to branch out. This was beginning to be an expensive habit, so we decided to try it at home.
The internet was in its infancy, but I was able to cobble together enough information that we could pull it off. Today we would just hop on Amazon, add the items to our cart and in 2 days had everything we needed, but back then, no grocery stores had the ingredients we needed. Market Street did not exist yet. We adventured to the world of the Asian Market. We visited Dong Phuong on Amarillo Boulevard. I had never seen anything like it. What a crazy land of exotic wonders. They had nori, rice, mirin, and wasabi. We wandered around for hours just looking at all of the shelves stocked with things I didn’t know existed. We bought a rice cooker and all of our supplies and headed home to make our first sushi.
What a production that was. This is before YouTube, so we didn’t have the luxury of seeing how this concoction was assembled. We had no idea what we were doing. We didn’t use plastic wrap or a rolling mat, because we had no clue that was how you did it. We didn’t have a sharp knife, so we just mangled the rolls. But they were delicious. We tried a few more times over the next few years to similar results.
Since then, Amarillo has added a number of sushi Joints. We are not relegated to a homemade mashed ball of nori, rice and substandard fish. We have plenty of options now. One of the best is Sushi House.
THE JOINT EXPERIENCE
Sushi House is located in a strip mall in Wolflin Square. Some of the best Joints I have ever eaten at are in strip malls. There is something about the joy of finding a gem located between a shoe store and a mattress shop.
I love sitting at the sushi bar and watching them perform their craft. Experiencing the knife skills of a sushi chef makes me doubt everything about myself in my kitchen. “There is no way a knife is that sharp.” Oh, you don’t roll it with your bare hands into a lumpy, uneven mess and then smush it with a dull knife.” The thin slices of fish that come off their knives are a work of art. It makes me almost feel bad to eat it. Almost.
An Unagi roll is a given anytime I do sushi. In addition to that we had a Tiger Tear, Dragon Roll, and a Spicy Cowboy. All of them were spectacular. I am sucker for anything with eel on it, so my standouts were the Unagi and the Dragon Roll. The freshness of everything is a pleasure.
I have heard friends of mine who are scared to try sushi. “Ewwwwww…..Raw Fish!” I implore you to experience it. For God’s Sakes, they have a roll that is steak and fried shrimp; it doesn’t get more Texan than that. Amarillo has never been known for our progressiveness, especially when it comes to food. We tend to run about a decade behind national trends, but when we embrace them and they take root, the results can be spectacular. Sushi House is among the best in Amarillo.
Now, go order the Unagi Roll and tell the sushi chef to “Surprise Me” on the other one. You will be glad you did.
2630 Wolflin Ave
Amarillo, TX 79109
806-803-9470
Recommended Dishes
Any of the Sushi Rolls
