Insect Sushi?

Local sushi chain creates creepy, crawly insect roll

Austin's How Do You Roll? is no stranger to grabbing attention, whether it's with a unique take on making quality sushi available with fast, casual service or by impressing billionaires on ABC’s Shark Tank. Now the local sushi franchise is showing that it isn't afraid to make your skin crawl with unorthodox ingredients.

How Do You Roll?'s co-founder and executive chef Peter Yung has created a sushi roll using bugs as the main ingredient. The "Spicy Insectopia Roll" was recently featured in a video series for the health magazine, Prevention.

In this roll, crickets and mealworms are the key ingredients. Yung marinates the crickets in a sauce blend that includes sesame chili oil and teriyaki, rolling them up with cucumber and jalapenos. And, since many customers crave extra crunch, Yung tops off the roll with cooked mealworms and tempura flakes for added texture.

The Prevention video notes that insects are a great source for protein and omega-3 fatty acids. They also require much less water, land and feed to cultivate, compared to cattle.

Insects for the roll were provided by World Ento, a local company that aims to make Austin the hub of entomophagy, or "insect eating," in the United States. Sustainability is the key for World Ento's founder Harman Johar.

"We focus on supplying the U.S. with edible insect ingredients that are safe and sustainable. You don't have to go through shady, overseas dealers. Everything is made right here in Austin," Johar says. "And insects are much more efficient that cattle. For example, for every 10 pounds of feed you get one pound of meat from cows, compared to around seven pounds of meat from insects for the same amount of feed."

While customers aren’t able to walk into any How Do You Roll? and expect to order a Spicy Insectopia Roll at this time, Johar has collaborated with the company on other unique rolls and will continue to do so.

"It's very possible we may try a special scorpion sushi for Halloween at How Do You Roll?," says Johar. "That's the great thing about Austin: everyone is willing to try something new."

Peter Yung, co-founder and executive chef of How Do You Roll?, prepares the Spicy Insectopia Roll.

Chef Peter Yung of How Do You Roll creating insect sushi roll

Photo courtesy of Prevention

Peter Yung, co-founder and executive chef of How Do You Roll?, prepares the Spicy Insectopia Roll.

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More sushi, more seats

Famous Austin omakase restaurant moves into bigger space with new bar

Photo courtesy of Sushi | Bar Hospitality

Sushi | Bar is moving into a new spot. (Photo from a Sushi | Bar location in another city)

Another day, another update from a sushi restaurant in Austin. This is a big one: Sushi | Bar Austin, a prestigious omakase spot with other well-known locations in Dallas, Chicago, and three other U.S. cities, is shaking things up with a move into the center of downtown. It'll also debut a new cocktail lounge concept in January of 2025, with help from some celebrated mixologists.

Sushi | Bar is currently located at 2600 E. Cesar Chavez St., and it's moving about two miles to 419 West 2nd St. The move places it across from Local Foods, Numero28, and the Violet Crown Cinema. A press release says it "represents an evolution for the Sushi | Bar experience," which includes more seatings.

This sushi counter has a very upscale reputation thanks to its exclusive accommodations — originally only 10 seats — as well as the intrinsic formality of omakase, which is a service style where the chef chooses what a diner will taste. In the new space, there will be two rooms that each seat 12 guests, more than doubling the chance to snag a reservation.

There, they'll enjoy 17 courses featuring imports from Japan, New Zealand, and California, among other markets. Nigiri options (sliced fish on top of rice) will change with the seasons.

$\u200bSushi | Bar$ This nigiri gets some texture sprinkled on top.Photo courtesy of Sushi | Bar Hospitality

Most notably, the new location will be connected to the cocktail lounge Golden Ace. According to the release, the idea to extend the experience past the omakase portion came from customer feedback. It'll be bigger than Sushi | Bar — about 1,400 square feet compared to 1,100 — and seats 35-40 guests.

The cocktail program will be led by Christian “Suzu” Suzuki-Orellana, who competed on the Netflix show Drink Masters and also draws in partners from Middlehouse, the group behind luxe local cocktail bars Here Nor There and In Plain Sight. He'll have the help of lead bartender Brett Esler, who co-founded Murray’s Tavern and was a nominee for Best Bartender in CultureMap's 2019 Tastemaker Awards.

They'll focus on "elevated yet approachable cocktails" with Japanese influences that "seamlessly blend tradition with modern mixology," the release says. Although Golden Ace is connected to Sushi | Bar, it will have its own unique atmosphere.

“This was a location that we came across moments after it became available on the market,” said Ryan Stock, co-founder of Adept Hospitality, the group behind Sushi | Bar, in the release. “We knew it was the perfect fit for the next iteration of Sushi | Bar in its hometown. It’s a premium experience, and this is a premium location, right at the center of Austin’s exciting downtown development. We’re thrilled to bring our elevated omakase experience to such a vibrant area."

$\u200bSushi | Bar$ With 17 courses, there will be lots to try.Photo courtesy of Sushi | Bar Hospitality

The release traces this Austin history back to 2020, in a collaboration between Ryan Stock, Josh Tohl, and Jonathan Husby of Adept Hospitality and Steve Michaels of Asylum Entertainment Group. Phillip Frankland Lee was also part of the business as a chef and minority stakeholder, it says, until leaving in 2021.

Sushi | Bar also highlights some of its current team members: lead sushi chef Bryan Williams, director of culinary strategy at Sushi Bar Hospitality Anthony Martin, hospitality group vice president Justin Sanford, and the new general manager, John Sizemore.

Now business relations extend to the family behind Terry Black’s BBQ, which Stock explains came out of a mutual culinary admiration with Mark Black and his family. So far, the release does not detail what the collaboration will entail.

“An organic love for each other’s operations turned into a friendship, which ultimately led to this collaboration," he said. "Sushi | Bar’s DNA certainly begins in Austin, and Terry Black’s is the staple and standard when it comes to Austin BBQ. A new project in downtown Austin was the perfect opportunity for the two great Austin names to finally collaborate together.”

Reservations for Sushi | Bar open on the first of every month.

omakase sushi openings closings