Here’s the truth as I see it. If Deep Sushi were anywhere else in the metroplex, say on the corner of MacArthur & 635, people would probably never bring it up. But, in this case it’s all about location, location, location. Deep Sushi is in the heart of Deep Ellum & is pretty much your only bet for sushi in the neighborhood. Friends have asked me on several occasions if I could recommend it & I’ve always had to respond I really didn’t know. I went there years ago before going to a show at Trees. (That will give you some idea of how long it’s been.) I really couldn’t recall a thing about the experience. After dining there with a friend this week, I know why.

It’s not amazing sushi, but it’s definitely not bad. It is sushi that just IS. I talked with some other friends about their experiences & they concurred. Good lunch & happy hours specials are enticing, but otherwise it is a straightforward, non-offensive but un-groundbreaking sushi stop in Deep Ellum. The fish was fresh, the rolls were well-made & the ambiance wouldn’t be a bad place to meet up for a casual date. The one highlight that caught my interest was the use of sriracha on a few of their specialty rolls. I like that heat more than the expected wasabi-based sauces, so it was a nice touch.

Deep Sushi
2624 Elm St.
Dallas, TX
214.651.1177

Stop by my favorite tea store in Dallas, The Cultured Cup, tomorrow to learn more about matcha! All afternoon they’ll be hosting complimentary tastings & demonstrations.

From The Cultured Cup:
Join AIYA America’s Shiro Nobunaga and local potter Ginny Marsh for tastes of matcha in traditional wabi-sabi style bowls. Learn about the many health benefits that allow matcha to aid in the prevention of cancer and improve your complexion.

Saturday, May 22
11 – 5 PM

The Cultured Cup
8312 Preston Center Plaza | Dallas, TX 75225
972.960.1521

Avocados are a pretty sexy vegetable fruit. They have a lovely creaminess, a rich mouthfeel, a delicate flavor—all due to their natural fattiness. A large part of their allure also comes from their versatility. Avocados have an excellent imagination. To chop for a salad or tuck into a sushi roll? With all the possible combinations, they come with a spark of culinary inspiration (unlike say, a brussels sprout.)

Avocados are about possibilities, and in a roundabout way they’re what landed me three seats away from Kent Rathbun for a private dinner at Abacus. (I know! I admit I was pretty star-struck.) There he was, in all his full Iron Chef glory talking about the night he created his legendary lobster shooter while cooking at the James Beard House and the time he prepared dinner for over 27,000 people at George W’s inaugural ball. Pretty amazing, especially for someone like me who almost jumped out of my seat seeing Tom Colicchio and Wylie Dufresne on the last episode of HBO’s Treme.

So what does all that have to do with an avocado? Hosted by the California Avocado Commission, the night was a celebration toasting of all its lovely possibilities.

The first course featured diced avocados atop a king crab salad in a sea of chilled lemongrass gazpacho. A light dish with a nice balance between the richness of the king crab and sweetness of the soup. It’s a great starter for Summer, especially because that’s the peak of the avocado growing season.

Second course was a twist on the traditional shrimp and veggie tempura. Thick spears of avocado and rock shrimp rested in a creamy tofu-based yuzu sauce. Excellent flavor, but a little overwhelming. Fried avocado? You can imagine how just a little is more than enough.

The dinner went from asian inspirations to the Southwest with a chipotle bacon-wrapped duck roulade. In the center? A slice of apricot and avocado, of course. A spicy maple & black pepper glaze was spread across the plate. While it was delicious, I was most intrigued with the side of spring pea & pearl couscous. It was so creamy, it was almost a risotto. Divine!

Moving along with more of the Southwestern flavors, the fourth course featured the lightest and best sope I’ve ever had. Smothered with a smoky, roasted guacamole it was topped with fresh pico de gallo, green chili gravy, and cumin-cured hanger steak medallions cooked rare. It was the highlight of the dinner for me. I was convinced that it couldn’t get better… until dessert arrived.

I guessed that the avocado dessert would be an ice cream because of its nice fat content (and the fact that I’ve seen it several times on Food Network.) I was only half right. Dessert did feature a very subtle meyer lemon and avocado ice cream. Underneath it was the best blackberry sage tart. Probably of all time. Ever. Call it dramatics; that’s ok. But trust me, the crust was applaudable.

The night left us with more than just fond memories and an increased knowledge of the Persea americana. I left with three of the prettiest avocados to take home. Right now they’re waiting on my counter while I make plans for them. Of course after last night, I’m feeling pretty inspired…

When we get together to have a little dish meeting, it’s not always guaranteed we’re going to talk about the little dish. Sometimes we might end up just watching Treme or playing on our laptops. Productive or not, a little dish meeting is always an excellent reason to cook.

Last week I was in the mood for some Asian flavor and decided to cook us Vietnamese Steak Sandwiches (another recipe from Everyday Food) and an Asian Cucumber Salad. Both were pretty easy to whip together and I was particularly impressed with how quickly the meat took on the flavor of the marinade. (It only soaked in it for one hour.) Matt cooked the steak because I’m not so great with grilling. Medium rare and thinly sliced, the steak was piled on a baguette and then topped with fresh carrots, scallions, and cilantro dressed in a sweet and spicy garlic vinaigrette. Amazing. My only critique was that I wish I had made more of the vinaigrette because it added so much flavor.

The accompanying Asian Sesame-Cucumber Salad was something I found on chow.com while looking for a Asian-inspired side. One of the comments mentioned that the sesame oil was overwhelming so instead of the full two tablespoons, I added about one and a half. I think that was the perfect amount, although it’s an easy fix to add more if you prefer it full force. It’s an excellent side for this sandwich because it’s light and tangy, but I would really like to eat it all by itself as a snack. It’s addictive. Make it. You’ll like it.

Recipe for the flank steak in the sandwich is first, then the actual sandwich recipe. Last is the salad. Enjoy!

Flank Steak with Lime Marinade (from Everyday Food)

1/3 c. (about 4 limes) freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 scallions (about 1/3 c.), thinly sliced
2 tbsp. minced, peeled fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. red-pepper flakes
1 1/2 lbs flank steak
Vegetable oil, for grates
Coarse salt and ground black pepper

Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. Remove steak from marinade, letting excess drip off (discard marinade); season with salt and black pepper. Place on grill; cover. Cook, turning once, until meat reaches desired doneness, 6 to 8 minutes for medium-rare. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing thinly.

Vietnamese Steak Sandwiches (also from Everyday Food)

1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. red-pepper flakes
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. water
2 carrots, grated
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 c. packed fresh cilantro leaves
4 hero rolls
1 lb. sliced flank steak with lime marinade

Split and lightly toast hero rolls; dividing evenly, layer with carrot mixture and sliced flank steak. Drizzle with remaining vinegar mixture, if desired.

Asian Sesame-Cucumber Salad (from chow.com)

3 cucumbers, peeled and seeded
1 tbsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. white sesame seeds
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Rinse the cucumber slices thoroughly under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Toss the cucumbers with the dressing and toasted sesame seeds and serve.

If I told you that the city’s best pad thai doesn’t come from a small, authentic, family-owned and semi-unpronounceable restaurant, you’d probably be really surprised. If I went even further and told you that it’s made in some trendy West Village joint, you’d be shocked. Well, get ready. As potentially controversial as it is to throw around the term “best”, I feel pretty confidant when I declare that Tom Tom Asian Grill’s pad thai is the best in Dallas.

I love pad thai. It’s a dish that I’ll order anywhere that serves it. I’ve had it pretty great at some places (Asian Mint) and even good at fast-eating places (Pei Wei). I’ve eaten it in weird strip malls, little asian marts, and even out of a box. I have to say though that no one I’ve come across does it as good as Tom Tom does. The base of noodles tossed in spicy sauce has a fantastic flavor. I order mine with tofu which is always firm and browned around the edges. The vegetables (finely-shaved carrots and bean sprouts) are served fresh, not sauteed, which I think is one of the reasons why this pad thai excels. The crisp veggies make it fresh and add a lovely texture. On top lies delicate ribbons of egg, crumbled peanuts, chili slices, and the traditional wedge or two of lime. I actually feel sad as I get full when I’m eating this because I don’t want my meal to end. My only (and I really mean only) complaint is the heat. It can be so inconsistent. Sometimes, it can be really, really spicy. This particular occasion, it was child’s play. If they could work out some sort of medium between the two, it’s perfection.

My hairstylist came here from Thailand and while he was cutting my hair, I thought it’d be a great time to ask him where to find some good authentic pad thai. Expecting to hear about some hole-in-the-wall (as described in the beginning of this post), I was surprised when he laughed and said that believe it or not, it’s around the corner at Tom Tom. So affirmed by his answer, I can still trust my taste buds for now because it seems they’re leading me in the right direction…

If you can think of a pad thai that can rival it, please let me know! Either I’m right, or I’m wrong and have a new favorite dish. Either way, I win!

Price: $10.95

Tom Tom Asian Grill
West Village
3699 McKinney Ave. | Dallas, TX 75204
214.522.9866

Full disclosure: Before becoming a writer, I worked at this restaurant briefly in 2002 about a year after it opened. It was my first and last stint as a waitress. I (as it turns out) was not very good at it. Anyway, the restaurant was named Blowfish back then and was really good. I have no “kitchen horror” story whatsoever to share. I’ve been back a few times since, but because of the fast-paced nature of the industry, it is like an entirely new restaurant when I go in now—a new name even! All new faces, new sushi chefs, new menu items. So, I write this review as a once-but-no-longer semi-insider.

On sunny afternoons, there are few things I love as much as sushi. I can probably count the times I’ve eaten sushi during the winter on both hands. Whether it’s the fresh taste or light texture, there is just something about sushi that makes it more fitting for warmer weather. Today was lovely, so I decided to swing by Piranha Killer Sushi because it’s been a small eternity since I’ve eaten there. (If you talk to people who like sushi without all of the fuss of fancy dining, they’re bound to mention this place.)

I picked up the lunch Maki Bento Box (to go!) and was, in a word, delighted. It’s a lot of food for 9.95: miso soup, tuna roll, cucumber roll, 1/2 california roll, and a tuna sashimi side salad. It’s not the finest sushi I’ve ever had, but it’s a definite solid standard that tasted very fresh. The miso soup had a great flavor, but was the weakest part of the meal for two reasons. One, the tofu squares were almost non-existent. I think I got two. Also, the seaweed pieces were cut very large and were really chewy. I dodged them and enjoyed just the broth.

The basic rolls were great and simply prepared. The nori wrapping was fresh (I hate chewy ones!) and the rice had a great texture. The tuna in the rolls was rich–beautiful in color and texture. The highlight for me was the tuna sashimi salad. The (generously portioned) tuna pieces were laid upon a bed of mixed greens and then drizzled with a spicy red chili sauce and some sort of creamy aioli (maybe with a hint of ginger?). Roe and sesame seeds were sprinkled on top to finish it off. Beautiful.

Price: 9.95

Piranha Killer Sushi
851 N.E. Green Oaks Blvd.
Arlington, TX 76006
817.261.1636

(Second Ft. Worth location)
335 W. 3rd St.
Fort Worth, TX 76102
817.348.0200