Adventures in and Around Fort Worth

Although it may look the same as Fort Worth's original sushi joint,  Little Lilly Sushi is a different animal (or fish) in a novel way. diced tuna, sushi rice, shiso, sake-soy, mountain yam and wasabi It's in the same location and has the same chummy atmosphere as the former Hui Chuan but a crisp carte du jour. The 24-year-old blooming chef, Jesus Garcia, created the menu and plays with it weekly to keep his job amusing and see what works for his customers. And trust me, it's DELICIOUS. So good that it inspired me to write on my food blog for the first time since I had my baby. He's 11 months old. While there are a few items that stay on the menu (like my favorite Hamachi Zest roll), he adds treats every week to keep things interesting. Check out their Facebook page under the "current fish selection" album to see what's fresh and what Jesus is experimenting with this week. If ever confused by the contents, Chef Garcia explains all of his crea...

UPDATE: Hui Chuan sold and has been renamed Little Lilly Sushi. It has an entirely new menu.  Any time a child gets a new toy they seem to forget about the old one. Nothing is wrong with the old toy, it's just not new. The Toy Story movies are all about this phenomenon. It's hard to keep the modern human's attention for very long and Fort Worth has received many new and flashy toys lately: bowling alleys, restaurants galore, shops and more. With that we've forgotten about our older friends, like one of Fort Worth's original sushi joints – Hui Chuan on West Camp Bowie. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the new places and they have something different to offer. But nothing compares to the friendliness, intimate atmosphere, calming music and fresh fish like Hui Chuan. It is still my favorite place to eat, especially when craving Super White Tuna sashimi. It comes with a light sauce and a jalapeno sliver. The fish never tastes ... well, fishy. Today I ...

Samurai Saketini Part I: Happy Hour The restaurant couldn't be more trendy. House/techno music booms vibrating the walls. Then again, I am in the Sake Bombers Lounge waiting for my girlfriends to meet me for dinner. I quickly noticed the happy hour menu. All of their specialty martinis are $6. I tried one in the past called the Pink Grapefruit, which has grapefruit-infused vodka, triple sec, fresh-squeezed orange juice and a splash of cranberry juice. I asked for no sugar on the rim. It was good. Tonight I wanted something less sweet, so I went with the Samurai Saketini. It was very refreshing. It reminded of a martini they would serve in a spa, if they served that stuff in spas. It has cucumber-infused vodka, unfiltered sake and fresh-squeezed limeade. This one was my favorite so far, but both were worth $6. They are just under $10 regular price. Infused Vodkas Blue's happy hour menu is pretty extensive. They have a whole selection of sushi rolls for $4.50, spe...

Temaki on Magnolia Avenue I just found a pocket-sized sushi restaurant that leaves behind all the pretentiousness and complexity of ordering and eating sushi. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I'm in the mood for the highfalutin experience. But if I ever want sushi simple, affordable and fast, I'm going to Temaki on Magnolia.  That’s the owner’s intention. You don’t have to be sophisticated to get this place. There are five simple panels that hang over the cash register — sides ($3), classics ($5), temaki ($5), nigiri/sashimi ($5) and signatures ($9). The temaki is my new favorite healthy thing to eat. It is a hand roll that reminds me of a Japanese soft taco-like treat. Brown rice, your fresh raw fish of choice and cucumbers are loosely rolled in this light seaweed thingy. Those of you who haven’t figured out chopsticks can pick this up with your hands. The most brilliant part of this restaurant is that I had a complimentary appetizer of edamame, one brown rice Califor...