JapaneseHouston.com

Kubo's Japanese Restaurant in Houston

There is no shortage of sushi restaurants in Houston. Some are worth mentioning, most are not, and while Kubo's places "Sushi Bar" prominently to the right of their business name, and deserves mention as a decent sushi bar, that's not why I decided to sit down and write about the restaurant today.

Kubo's does something more remarkable than serve good sushi - Ready...? They serve an awesome bowl of authentic Japanese ramen. Are you as excited as I am? No? Then perhaps you do not comprehend the difficulty one faces when searching for a good bowl of ramen in Houston.

Specifically, I am referring to the Kontatsu ramen on the lunch menu for $8.50. This is real Japanese ramen complete with the pickled ginger and hard boiled egg. You have to ask for the Kosho (Japanese white pepper) if you are going true Nippon style.

Basic Ramen is Under Appreciated

Did you ever hear that when a professional chef applies for a job, they are often asked to boil an egg. I have no idea if this is true but the concept is that you must be a master at the basic stuff before you can be trusted with the more complicated stuff. It's okay to offer up some cool and creative ramen varieties (aka fusion), but please get the basics right first.

If that is true then I hold high hopes for the remainder of Kubo's menu. I say high hopes because I have tried only a few items on their menu in the dozen or so times I have eaten there and ramen is always one of them.

The waiter tells me they order the noodles from Japan. I asked him if the owner and chef were Japanese, but then I thought, I really don't care, I just suspected they might be. If you really want to know then you can ask too.

I can also vouch for the fried oysters which are served bento box style on Thursdays only. The rest of the bento box was good to average but the oysters were very good, very big, not oily, very good. To summarize then, ramen and oysters are excellent. As for the rest... I suspect it's good but you're on your own.

Other Noteworthy Kubo's Stuff

They have a sake selection for the true sake connoisseur. If you love sake then that might be enough reason to visit alone. Add to that a fully stocked bar. I mean a really fully stocked bar. It looks like the place is geared for date night and late nights though I have only been there for lunch.

Nice decor, clean restaurant, and clean bathrooms, plus every time I have been there our waiter or waitress has been friendly and professional. Maybe it's sad that I find clean bathrooms and friendly wait staff worth mentioning, but I do. See antonym of friendly wait staff here.

I wasn't going to comment on the sushi but they also deserve praise for actually having uni when I ordered it. Uni is hard to find in Houston sushi bars. I get it, uni is expensive, it only lasts for one day, and normally only Japanese customers order it. It's always a welcome surprise when I find a sushi bar that has it on hand.

On the sushi note... They have Hon Wasabi which is hard to find in these here parts (Houston). Hon Wasabi is the actual wasabi root ground up and served in a mashed paste. The wasabi you're used to is almost always a reconstituted powder. This is a good way to add new life to your favorite sushi variety. It was $3.00 and found on on the sushi card-menu.

I feel like I should find some criticism so you don't think I'm the owner's nephew, but I really don't have anything bad to say about Kubo's. Maybe I would if started venturing away from the same favorites. Okay, the location is a pain. Even if you don't have to drive far like i do, parking in Rice Village is a drag. They do validate parking however so use the garage.

Location and Contact Information

Kubo's Sushi Bar and Grill
2414 University Blvd # 200
Houston, TX 77005
(713) 528-7878
www.kubos-sushi.com

Update - March 25, 2010: Today is Thursday and that means fried oyster bento box day at Kubo's which I think I mentioned above. The bento box changes with each day of the week but if you like fried oysters - Go on Thursday! I have had many fried oysters, and I don't even love them, I'll eat them but I'm not oyster crazy. These are some of the best I've had. Nothing fancy, just good quality crispy, not oily, again and again and again. Consistency is so under-rated don't you think? And of course we had the Kontatsu Ramen which along with the bento box and two cups of Japanese green tea came up to $22 and fed us both well.

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