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    Introducing Blue Sushi

    New Heights sushi restaurant reels in sustainable catches and vegan eats

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 15, 2022 | 2:05 pm
    Sushi tastes better on a boat.
    Sushi tastes better on a boat.
    Courtesy of Blue Sushi Sake Grill

    Houston's newest sushi restaurant has debuted in the Heights. Blue Sushi Sake Grill has opened its doors in the M-K-T Heights mixed-use development (600 N Shepherd Dr., Suite 500)

    Part of the Omaha-based Flagship Restaurant Group, Blue Sushi serves an extensive selection of sushi (both nigiri and maki), sashimi, and prepared items that range from grilled items to hot and cold shareable plates. They can be paired with an extensive selection of wine, beer, sake, and cocktails.

    Open for lunch and dinner daily, the restaurant distinguishes itself from other sushi restaurants by participating in the Monterey Bay Aquarium: Seafood Watch program to ensure that all of the fish it serves has been responsibly caught and/or humanely raised. Menus provide sourcing information for all of the seafood items served at the restaurant.

    Those ingredients form the basis of a wide range of seafood-based dishes such as: Coconut Crab Soup with roasted corn, sweet potatoes, yellow curry, coconut milk, cilantro and chili oil; ceviche made with tilapia, white shrimp, lime juice, cucumber, cherry tomato, avocado, cilantro, sweet onion, jalapeño salsa, wonton crisps, togarashi, and chili oil; and nigiri and sashimi dishes such as the “Everything Smoked Salmon” (smoked salmon served on top of cream cheese stuffed rice tempura) and the Madai Chimichurri (red sea bream topped with cucumber, cherry tomato, aji rocoto, olive oil, marcona almonds, maldon sea salt, and chino chimichurri sauce).

    Blue Sushi also offers more than 18 vegan items including maki rolls and a selection of specialty nigiri such as seaweed caviar and Unami BBQ eggplant eel.

    Although Flagship Restaurant Group hails from Nebraska, it does have Houston ties. Co-founders Tony Gentile and Anthony Hitchcock, attended the University of Houston's Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. Prior to founding Flagship with their business partners, Gentile and Hitchcock opened high-end Houston grocery store Central Market.

    “We are so excited to be part of the Houston community and M-K-T Heights family! We may have Blue Sushi Sake Grill locations in 17 other destinations around the country, but every location is equally special to our company, Flagship Restaurant Group,” CEO Nick Hogan said in a statement. “This opening is going to be especially poignant, as two of our co-owners met in Houston over 20 years ago and we have so much shared history in this city. We are passionate about sustainability and providing an impactful dining experience to our guests, so we are excited to be part of a destination that has the same passion we do for culinary, beverage and responsible sourcing practices.”

    Sushi tastes better on a boat.

    Blue Sushi Sake Grill sushi boat
    Courtesy of Blue Sushi Sake Grill
    Sushi tastes better on a boat.
    news-you-can-eatthe-heightsopenings
    news/restaurants-bars

    truffle masters recap

    Street corn shines at Houston's truffle-powered chef competition

    Eric Sandler
    Mar 12, 2026 | 5:32 pm
    Truffle Masters 2026
    Photo by Daniel Ortiz
    Marcus Benedict, Daniella Johner, and chef Luis Roger of MAD and BCN.

    One of Houston’s top Mexican restaurants took the top prize at this year’s Truffle Masters competition. Victoria Elizondo, chef-owner of Cochinita & Co., bested 24 other Houston chefs with Elotitos, corn brushed with chiltepin aioli, dusted with seven chile spice, and finished with shaved truffles and Parmesan.

    “The team killed it last night,” Elizondo wrote on Instagram. “We won 1st place at @thetrufflemasters all while having fun and cooking with love! Food doesn’t need to be fancy, it just needs to be made with corazón!”

    The attention couldn’t have come at a better time. As CultureMap reported last month, Cochinita & Co. is currently in the process of opening a second location in Lindale Park. Customers can invest in the project via the NuMarket platform in exchange for credits at the restaurant.

    Second prize went to Camaraderie in the Heights for its black sesame and black truffle gelato, while Cocody, a French restaurant in River Oaks, took third place for its truffle-shaped Lollys Persillade Escargot Cromesquis, essentially an escargot lollypop with with black truffle and quail egg in the middle.

    Montrose sushi restaurant Soto won People’s Choice with its Engawa fin muscle with truffle balsamic unagi sauce, kizami, and chocolate black truffle masago arare. Aniket Bhingare, a bartender at Michelin-starred restaurant Musaafer, won the cocktail competition with his Pour Me a Slice, made with truffle and herb-infused and a clarified mix of roma tomatoes, fresh basil, oregano, basil, and truffle oil.

    Other standout dishes included a Yukon Gold potato with truffle brown butter from Michelin-recognized sushi restaurant Hidden Omakase, truffle s’mores from Israeli-inspired steakhouse Doris Metropolitan, beef tartare and truffle ice cream from fine dining sushi restaurant Katami, and Credence’s truffle duck sausage with plums and truffles. Maximo, a Mexican restaurant in West U., maximized (sorry) its truffle usage with a Cachetada de Barbacoa Taco, made with nixtamalized truffle tortilla, truffle-braised barbacoa, and sottocenere al tartufo cheese with black garlic-habanero salsa

    More than 350 attended the sold-out affair, which took place at the Astorian events space in Sawyer Yards. The judging panel include both media members (such as this author) and hospitality pros. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the KNOWAutism Foundation.

    Truffle Masters 2026

    Photo by Daniel Ortiz

    Marcus Benedict, Daniella Johner, and chef Luis Roger of MAD and BCN.

    news/restaurants-bars
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