Japanese Food and Cooking

Hungry Nerd's Restaurant Guide to Wizard World Comic Con St. Louis

Visiting Wizard World's St. Louis Comic Con at America's Center this weekend? Here are some choice places to which to adjourn for victuals and libations -- all within easy walking distance of the con! See also: - Non-Nerd's Guide to Wizard World Comic Con

Olive Boulevard Asian Eateries & Much More: An Updated Guide to Restaurants Along Olive, Westward From University City

St. Louis' neighborhoods are gems in their own right: full of history, great people and, as far as Gut Check is concerned, fantastic food. Each week we'll take you into a specific neighborhood and point you in the direction of the best places to grab some bites. View Olive Boulevard Asian Eateries ... More >>

First Look: Dynasty Hibachi Steak, Seafood and Sushi Buffet

Occupying the former Outback Steakhouse space next door to the AMC Esquire 7 in Richmond Heights, Dynasty Hibachi Steak, Seafood and Sushi Buffet (6710 Clayton Road; 314-781-8888) offers a wide array of choices for diners (even for a Chinese buffet). And that's how general manager William Luan inte ... More >>

Hokkaido Steak & Sushi Buffet Opening Second Location In South County

A second location of Florissant Asian buffet restaurant Hokkaido Steak & Sushi Buffet (660 North US Highway 67, Florissant; 314-921-6666) is currently under construction in Concord Plaza Shopping Center at South Lindbergh Boulevard and Baptist Church Road in south county. Currently butcher paper co ... More >>

New Tokyo Buffet to Feature Conveyor-Belt Sushi

Back in January, Gut Check told you about Tokyo Buffet, the new and apparently quite large restaurant that will open at 8008 Olive Boulevard in University City. (This is in the same strip mall that houses Seafood City Grocery Store.) Driving by the other day, I noticed that not only is the Tokyo Bu ... More >>

At last, a Korean taco truck. And you're maki me hungry!

Soup Countdown #15: Café Mochi's Udon Soup

January is National Soup Month, which makes sense, considering the first month of the year is typically marked with below-freezing temperatures, snow and slush. What's better than a delicious, hot bowl of soup on a chilly day? A delicious, hot bowl of soup that you don't have to make -- that's what. ... More >>

A Few More Restaurants of Note from 2011

​This week, I counted down my top ten dishes for 2011, a list drawn mostly (though not entirely) from restaurants that opened this year. In October, I ranked the five best new restaurants in St. Louis for 2011 and awarded an honorable mention to five more new restaurants.Even accounting for the ov ... More >>

Momoyama Reopens (Without Yoshi)

​Momoyama (1637 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield; 636-536-7778) reopened yesterday, September 28, after a brief, confusing hiatus.The sushi restaurant first announced on Facebook that it was closing for good but might reopen in a new location next year. When Gut Check called to confirm the news, howeve ... More >>

New Sushi Restaurant in Old Blue Ocean Sushi Space [Updated]

Ian Froeb​When Gut Check filed what we thought would be our final update on the relocation of the Delmar Loop's Blue Ocean Sushi from its original spot on 609 Eastgate Avenue to 6335 Delmar Boulevard, we neglected to consider what would happen to the original Blue Ocean Sushi location. We have an ... More >>

The Final (We Think) Blue Ocean Sushi Update

Ian FroebThe original, now closed and relocated, Blue Ocean Sushi​Our story so far: Blue Ocean Sushi, the all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant at 609 Eastgate Avenue, just off the Delmar Loop, took over Loop mainstay Seki, located a few blocks west at 6335 Delmar Boulevard.At the end of May, Seki's na ... More >>

What's Old is New Again at Blue Ocean Sushi

Danielle LeszczBlue Ocean's Takoyaki appetizer​Having two restaurants with the same name within a couple blocks of each other sure has the potential to confuse diners. The original Blue Ocean Sushi (609 Eastgate Avenue, University City; 314-721-9168) sits off Delmar just one street west of Ski ... More >>

Review Slideshow: Izakaya Ren

Jennifer SilverbergThe fried saba (mackerel) at Izakaya Ren​A trip to Valley Park for sushi and Japanese bar snacks. My review of Izakaya Ren (2948 Dougherty Ferry Road, Valley Park; 636-825-3737) is now available online, and be sure to check out Jennifer Silverberg's slideshow of Izakaya Ren. ... More >>

Seki Now the Second Blue Ocean Sushi

Ian FroebSeki in the Delmar Loop is now the second Blue Ocean Sushi.​The sign went up this afternoon to mark that the Delmar Loop Japanese restaurant Seki (6335 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-726-6477) is now officially the second location of another Delmar Loop sushi joint, Blue Ocean Sus ... More >>

Trying to Favor Curry at Zen Thai & Japanese Cuisine

Ian FroebRed curry at Zen Thai & Japanese Cuisine​The Place: Zen Thai & Japanese Cuisine (9250 Watson Road, Crestwood; 314-842-0307), a bustling little restaurant in a homely strip mall.The Deal: Red curry with beef, with a complimentary starter of miso soup and two egg rolls, for $7.49

Review Preview: Fin Japanese Cuisine

This week, I trek out to west county to visit Fin Japanese Cuisine (1682 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield; 636-536-4228). It's a sushi restaurant, yes, but not only a sushi restaurant.The list of sushi on Fin's order slip is so extensive, the descriptions of its basic and specialty rolls so detailed, tha ... More >>

March 2011 Openings & Closings

Taste, with a new owner, relocated to the Central West End.​The end of winter and the beginning of spring brought a fair number of restaurant openings and closings. Notable debuts included the "new" Taste, relocated from its original home as Taste by Niche, and Izakaya Ren, a Valley Park eatery fe ... More >>

St. Louis Happy Hours: Central West End

Chef's Choice Recipe: Eliott Harris' Tuna and Salmon Tartare

This is part three of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice interview with chef Eliott Harris of Miso on Meramec. Part one is available here; part two is here. Robin Wheeler​"People have this misconception about the Midwest that if you're landlocked, tough," sushi chef Eliott Harris says of sashimi ... More >>

Chef's Choice: Eliott Harris of Miso on Meramec

This is part two of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice interview with Eliott Harris of Miso on Meramec. For part two, a Q&A, click here. Stay tuned for part three, a recipe from Chef Harris that will post on Friday. Robin WheelerKnife to meet you: Sushi chef Eliott Harris of Miso on Meramec.​How d ... More >>

New York Times Explores Chicken Teriyaki, RFT Managing Editor Still Pines

Very good article in today's New York Times about Seattle's love for chicken teriyaki. As author John T. Edge makes clear, this ain't no fancy feast:User "Blue Lotus," Wikimedia Commons​...the average Seattle teriyaki spot is utilitarian, with fluorescent lights overhead and neon signs glaring fro ... More >>

A Table for How Many? at Seki

User "Alton," Wikimedia Commons​To my left, a nine-year-old boy stared intently at his Nintendo DS, his fingers moving a mile a minute. Next to him, his teenage sister rapid-fire texted her friends until she sadly announced that her phone battery had died. To my right, a college professor played ... More >>

Review Slideshow: Café Mochi

Jennifer Silverberg​My review of Café Mochi is now available online. Café Mochi is located at 3221 South Grand Boulevard. No website that I've been able to find. Call 314-773-5000 for more info. In this week's Back of the House slideshow, Jennifer Silverberg shows off Café Mochi's colorful inte ... More >>

Review Preview: Café Mochi

This week I visit Café Mochi, which opened in April on South Grand, serving sushi and other Japanese fare:A friend recently asked me a hypothetical question: If I could eat one meal anywhere in the world, and price were no object, what and where would it be?I would like to claim that I pondered the ... More >>

Gut Check: More sushi! Plus the Art of Food and a new home for Five.

Review Preview: Miso on Meramec

This week I check out the new menu at Clayton's Miso on Meramec: The grated wasabi root was stronger than its paste cousin -- no surprise there -- but it didn't overwhelm the fish. Instead, the wasabi and salmon worked in concert: a burst of heat chased by the fish's gentle sweetness -- like the sma ... More >>

The Audacity of Sneak

Fernando de Sousa, Wikimedia Commons Show: Up, Pixar's latest gorgeous, visually engaging attempt to make me laugh while feeling a little guilty. Total success on both counts.Food: Mochi ice cream, mango flavored.Difficulty: Moderate. This is the easiest form of ice cream to bring into the movies, ... More >>

Cooking for Your Cat: Faux Sushi

RFT staff writer Aimee Levitt and her cat, Bess, continue their culinary adventure. In hard times, one must learn to make concessions. At least this is the message that has been pounded into our heads for the past two months. Seven years ago, it was patriotic to shop. Now it is patriotic to scri ... More >>

Now Open: Blue Ocean Sushi

Delmar Loop eatery 609 (609 Eastgate Avenue) has transformed itself into Blue Ocean Sushi, effective today. Yes, yes, we have approximately 400,000 sushi restaurants in St. Louis, but Blue Ocean does offer this: All the sushi you can eat for $14.99. - Ian Froeb

Review Preview: Tani and Kampai

Review Preview: Mizu & Ki Sushi

Hold the Moustache: Fumanchu, the prodigious Mike Johnson's latest offering, is all over the Asian map

That's How Sushi Rolls

Learn all about it at the library

Want Boba with That?: Fast and good Vietnamese food at BBC Banh Mi, Boba Tea & Crêperie

Japan Is Big in St. Louis

Party On

Mosaic's food is a blast, but the servers don't seem to feel the celebratory vibe

Best Fresh Seafood Counter

Bob's Seafood

The Toast of Kirkwood

Pop on over to the Bubble Room

Shalom and Banzai

The Kosher Sushi Club is for everyone

Old Saying

The well-loved Tachibana is beginning to look the part

Raw Fish

Trying for exotic food in a luxurious atmosphere, Mandarin Bay flounders

Miso Hungry

Clayton's newest restaurant offering has its multiple personalities well in order

Best Sushi

Nobu's Japanese Restaurant

Best Raw-Fish Sculptor

Kenji-san, Sansui

Raw Power

When the service catches up to the food, Fuji Sushi will be on the road to delivering a good meal

Tei Time

With her new restaurant, Nippon Tei, Ann Bognar outdoes herself

Sushi

Nobu's

Teppan Dancing

Going east -- 15 miles or so -- for great Japanese food

RAW POWER

Nipponese, If You Please