Hamachi & Jalapeno Sashimi—thinly sliced yellowtail, sliced jalapenos, and yuzu olive oil sauce.
Growing up in Cajun country where fish is battered and deep fried, the idea of sushi was completely foreign to me. I first ate at a Japanese restaurant in 1986 when I visited a friend in Houston. It was something I had only heard of on TV. I recall that excursion to Miyako—the original out Westheimer—I marveled at the novelty of dining on raw fish and balled up rice wrapped in seaweed. Over the years since then I have been lucky to experience a wide variety of Japanese restaurants all over the world and have come to learn that the cuisine isn’t just a California Roll or a slice of tuna drenched in soy and wasabi. In fact, there is a beauty and sublime skill to Japanese food, whether sushi, sashimi, or ramen. And one of my favorites in Houston is where food is definitely art too: Kata Robata.
Rudy Vasquez at Kata Robata, Houston
Kata Robata is located in Houston’s hoytie toytie Upper Kirby District, a strip particularly known for nice restaurants. My new lunch habit is sitting at the sushi bar; normally I would be opposed because I need room to spread out while simultaneously facing my mealtime companions, but the end of the bar is deep and there is entertainment value in watching the masters slice and dice their materials.
Tako Sunomono—Octopus, Japanese cucumbers, seaweed, sesame seeds, and sunomono sauce
The end of the bar is where Rudy Vasquez is stationed; he’s always cutting and prepping. One day he perfectly prepared Japanese cucumbers using a mandolin. Now, I am not big on watching food preparation, but when the products are so exotic it is fascinating. Last week he was slicing Daikon, a mild Japanese winter radish.
There is another advantage to sitting at the bar: The waitresses are nice enough but often seem over-extended or perhaps inexperienced; having the attention of a guy like Rudy insures that there is someone listening when another hot sake is needed. So needless to say, start your order with a couple of hot sakes!
Two weeks back we witnessed preparation of the Hamachi & Jalapeno Sashimi—thinly sliced yellowtail, sliced jalapenos, yuzu olive oil sauce, and absolutely one of the best dishes I’ve ever had ($14). I had to order one, and now it is my favorite thing of all time! I actually ordered two.
Miso Gyoza—House made pork dumplings, kimchi powder, edamame, and shishito peppers
For some readers in Louisiana who consider raw fish “bait” or who might not know the Japanese names for certain fish, Hamachi (or yellowtail) refers to Amberjack, specifically Buri or Japanese Amberjack. And while on the subject, the Texas Hamachi Roll is also astonishing—yellowtail, spicy tuna, fresh water eel, fried shrimp, yuzu juice, jalapeno, and sea salt ($17). It’s a real WOW moment.
But don’t panic, Japanese food does include dishes that are cooked! The new food rage sweeping the nation is Ramen, and I don’t mean the 25-cent packs of hard noodles that broke college kids eat. Definitely try Kata Robata’s Spicy Soy Ramen. The pasta is combined with braised ground pork, chili oil, soy milk, soft boiled egg, and green onions ($14). The bowl is large enough to share.
In fact many of the dishes are meant to share. This restaurant is considered to be Japanese tapas, small plates of special concoctions meant for everyone to sample.
Try the Miso Gyoza dumplings as an appetizer. The shishito peppers look hot as fire but they aren’t. These mild East Asian peppers are about the size of a finger with an unusual sweet flavor.
But in truth, a Japanese restaurant is about raw fish… and the quality and freshness is a major factor. Of all the Japanese restaurants I’ve seen, this place has the freshest fish. And it shows in the taste.
Kata Robata, Houston
A second location for Kata Robata will be opening in Midtown, taking the space where Farrago was once located. It’s an enormous restaurant space. And buzz on the street is that there are lease restrictions in the form of a non-competition clause with the sushi restaurant down the way (The Fish, I suppose). How a Japanese restaurant can operate without sushi will be interesting to see, though we know for sure that Rudy will be making the move to Midtown.
But there is always talk, there is always buzz. Heck, I was sunning at The Galvez swim up bar over the summer ( The art of escape–Hotel Galvez ) and heard talk that the owner was looking to expand Kata Robata onto the island–though I’m of the opinion that Galveston is about fried fish.
And as to the photos, that’s exactly how the food is presented. I took the pics myself… It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Click the link below…