• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Vegging Out

    Still eating meat? You are going to die: Examining the porn-like celebrity chefaddiction & more

    Joel Luks
    May 18, 2011 | 12:28 pm
    • A new film challenges the idea that eating meat is good for humans,
    • "Forks Over Knives" advocates for a whole food plant-based diet from a clinicaland scientific research approach.
    • Colin Campbell was involved in the largest diet study, publishing his findingsin "The China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-termHealth."
      Monica Beach Media
    • Martial artist Mac Danzig shows that vegan is not synonymous with weak.
      Photo via Forks over Knives/Facebook
    • Firefighter Rip Esselstyn lowered his cholesterol and published his experiencein his book, "The Engine 2 Diet."
      Photo via Forks over Knives/Facebook
    • San'Dera Nation got her diabetes and hypertension under control.
      Photo via Forks over Knives/Facebook
    • Evelyn Oswick was able to reverse her atherosclerosis and live many years afterher second heart attack.
      Monica Beach Media

    Food trends and health studies are über discombobulating and not necessarily congruous with each other.

    On one hand, there is the local, organic, green eco-conscious and raw-esque movement. Others are throwing every fatty pig part (from a local provider) on a plate and calling it artisanal . The dish has kale, so it must be healthy!

    Think that most live somewhere in the middle? Not at all. Animals still reign supreme on American's dinner plates.

    What do animal-derived foods provide that is essential for our health? Protein, right? That's how most people would reply, perhaps citing nutrients like iron, B12 or calcium as must haves.

    The new film Forks Over Knives, ironically warning that the intel provided may save lives, tells a different story while tracing the parallel lives of two men on different journeys ending up at the same spot: veganism, more specifically, a whole foods plant-based diet.

    Veganism is simply a diet that eliminates all animal foods including dairy, eggs, honey, meats, poultry and seafood and any derived byproducts like gelatin and casein. But there are plenty of processed and sugary nutrient devoid foods that still live in this category like Nestle Double Chocolate Thin Mints, 7-Eleven 7 Select Cherry Snack Pie and Sour Patch Kids.

    The whole foods plant-based lifestyle concentrates on ensuring we are consuming nutrient rich foods that are as close to their original source and state, without going through permutations or complicated processes, retaining their fiber, nutrient and live enzyme content. This means no Oreos, Dum Dums, Cracker Jacks, Fritos or Swedish Fish.

    From a scientific perspective, nutritional researcher Colin Campbell — the professor emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University and project director of the China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project — linked higher percentages of cancer to higher consumption of animal foods. And from a clinical viewpoint, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, associated with the Cleveland Clinic since the late 1960s, drew conclusions on the reversal of atherosclerosis following a vegan diet, one that he and his wife have followed for more than 20 years.

    Both men shared a common background: Growing up on a farm that harvested animals and animal products, touting their benefits. Believing that milk was nature's perfect food (for a calf) and meat was essential for development.

    But they both now reject a lifestyle that played a major role during their respective formative years.

    The film aims to provide more advocacy for an affluent nation (that's us) that is increasingly suffering from preventable illnesses, studying areas where the adoption of the animal-rich Standard American Diet has brought convenience and disease.

    Those who have already adopted the vegan diet and lifestyle will learn very little from the film. Actually, it is just a regurgitation of something we should already inherently know from information that has been around for decades.

    So why do we need yet another documentary that tells us something we should already be practicing?

    Easy. We are a stubborn bunch. We don't listen simply because we know better. The "wisdom" of our past cannot possibly be wrong, and we are inspiring others to live like we do.

     New Examples

    Food has evolved from a basic necessity to a gluttonous artful obsession, with swooning over celebrity chefs with porn-like addictive determination. Calorie-rich foods, according to Forks Over Knives, trick our satiety systems in believing we need more, and more, and more. Portions have gotten bigger over time. And as a society, we are getting sicker and fatter, shooting up health care costs and forcing some industries to change to accommodate our larger sicker selves.

    And yes, we need another movie to tell us about it. Even if we don't believe the environmental consequences or ethical implications of animal production, when a film puts a gun to our heads and threatens us with death, I hope we listen.

    Some people did and are featured in the film.

     Evelyn Oswick was told to go home and die after her second heart attack. Instead, after following Esselstyn's regime, she is alive and well many years later. San’Dera Nation, ironically working for a diabetes center, suffered from diabetes and hypertension. After a drastic diet switch, both conditions are now under control. Ruth Heidrich fought breast cancer with the help of a new diet, and now in her 70s, continues to run marathon after marathon. Joey Aucoin used to live dependent on medications, but after committing to a whole food plant-based diet, he was able to ween himself off many drugs, lose weight and feel his best.

    For those that feel vegan means weak, mixed martial arts competitor Mac Danzig and firefighter Rip Esselstyn (Dr. Esselstyn's son) prove otherwise. Danzig shows off his killer bod and deliberate combat moves. Rip Esselstyn shared his knowledge in his book, The Engine 2 Diet.

    And yet, childhood diseases like obesity, cancer, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease are on the rise as Americans do what we have always done, even faced with predictions that this next generation's live expectancy will be the first to be shorter than the previous.

    I can't imagine that's what we want.

    Organizations like the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which advocate for food growers while telling the public how to eat (anyone see anything wrong with that?), cannot be truly objective. A suit filed by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine against USDA recently won in its first round with the court finding that the USDA violated "federal laws when it selected individuals with known financial ties to various food industries to serve on the advisory committee that drew up the nutritional guidelines."

    The movie also questions the group's ignorance of healthier alternatives to the current MyPyramid diagram and argues over the split of dairy categories that encourage their consumption.

    And culprits like Connie B. Diekman, director of University Nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis and former president of the American Dietetic Association, would like you to keep drinking milk despite some studies that show increased dairy consumption result in higher rates of hip fractures and osteoporosis.

    Are you still eating meat? If so, watch the movie. Diet is so much more important than anyone ever thought.

     Here is the trailer:

     

    unspecified
    news/restaurants-bars
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.

    roll out

    Self-taught chef slices into Houston with high-quality sushi to go

    Eric Sandler
    Jul 17, 2025 | 5:57 pm
    Kaisen Sushi Houston nigiri
    Courtesy of Kaisen Sushi Houston
    Each order of nigiri comes with a house made sushi sauce.

    The ghost kitchen phenomenon may have diminished somewhat since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the idea of a delivery and to-go-only restaurant still draws talented chefs who want to focus on food at a lower overhead than a traditional brick-and-mortar. One of those chefs is Sunny Bertsch, whose restaurant Kaisen Sushi Houston is already drawing buzz from inner loopers looking for a more affordable, at-home sushi experience.

    Located at the Blodgett Food Hall in Third Ward, Kaisen Sushi serves typical nigiri, maki, and temaki (hand rolls), along with a steak bowl. Prices are a little lower than what someone would find at a typical sushi restaurant, with an eight-piece nigiri set priced at $18.99 when ordered through the Blodgett Food Hall website (expect to pay more if ordering via a third-party delivery service such as Uber Eats or DoorDash).

    While Bertsch’s food may be familiar, his story is not. The diners who’ve rated Kaisen with 4.9 stars on Google may be surprised to learn that he’s only been cooking professionally for two years. As Bertsch tells CultureMap, prior to becoming a professional chef, he worked in fields as varied as aerospace and dog walking.

    “I’d always been interested in cooking,” he says. “I was blessed to be born into a great Korean American family. My dad and my grandparents always cooked great food. I learned by osmosis.”

    Bertsch began his career as a private chef by working for friends. He built his business by catering lunches to powerhouse law firm Vinson & Elkins. Eventually, his clients asked for private sushi dinners, and he had to figure things out.

    “I got an opportunity to do a sushi omakase. It was brutal. It was messy. But I knew once I did that, I wanted to dedicate my life to sushi,” he says. “Since then, I have studied and practiced. I threw a lot of money and time and fish at it.”

    Bertsch improved his speed and knife skills by taking a $13-per-hour job at Japanese grocery store Seiwa Market. While there, he says he made thousands of pieces of nigiri, rolls, and sushi bowls. That experience, along with meals from similar to-go-only concepts in New York and San Francisco, convinced him to open Kaisen as a ghost kitchen.

    “So far, I’ve spent $90,000. That’s more than the average investment for a food hall kitchen,” Bertsch explains. “I’m a clean freak. I’m a technology freak. I’m an authenticity freak. I outfitted my kitchen in the way I thought was necessary for long-term success.”

    Just as he spared no expense in specing out his kitchen, Bertsch puts thoughtful touches into his food, too. For example, every order of nigiri comes with a dipping sauce Bertsch makes himself from low sodium soy sauce, kombu, vinegar, and sake.

    “It’s a complex sauce that’s less salty and tastes good,” he says. “You know when you don’t have it and you’re given cheap soy sauce.”

    Similarly, his California rolls use imitation crab (as do most restaurants), but it’s seasoned with a housemade, Japanese-style kewpie mayo, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and sesame oil for more umami and less sweetness. Since the chef uses more crab mix than other restaurants do in their rolls, Kaisen’s California roll not only tastes better — at $11.99, it’s a better value, too.

    The chef showcases Japanese techniques and Korean influences with his $25 steak bowl. A USDA Choice ribeye or strip is cooked sous vide with a marinade made from garlic, tamari, and seasoning salt. Once a diner orders the entree, the steak is seared in a pan, basted with Kerrygold butter, seasoned with furikake and sesame oil, and served with short-grain sushi rice and microgreens from local farm Zero Point Organics.

    Word of mouth has been building. Even though it’s only been open for a month, Kaisen already has over 2,000 followers on Instagram. Once he’s able to hire a full roster of cooks, Bertsch plans to expand the menu and offer lunch service. Despite some challenges, he’s pleased with the restaurant’s progress.

    “The support I've gotten on social media has blown me away,” he says. “It’s been amazing. I could not have done it without Instagram. It blows my mind.”

    Kaisen Sushi Houston nigiri
      

    Courtesy of Kaisen Sushi Houston

    Each order of nigiri comes with a house made sushi sauce.

    openingsnews-you-can-eatkaisen sushiinterviewchefs
    news/restaurants-bars
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.
    Loading...