If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it; that surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die. ~ William Shakespeare

 Selecting what music to play in a restaurant has long been a sore subject for owners starting a venture. Do we or don’t we? If we do play music, what genre should it be? How loud do we play it? These questions force many restaurant owners to go so far as to hire music consultants to pick the perfect playlist, but how do you guarantee that one consultant knows what’s best for an eclectic city such as ours? We decided to start by understanding music, and what it does to our bodies, minds and souls.

Music began as a form of communication almost the same time as spoken language. It’s an ancient art that has seen many adaptations, and where it goes in the future we will leave to the talented artists emerging everyday. Beyond communicating a message or story, music can be used in therapy, as an aphrodisiac, as a mood enhancer, as a stress reliever, or even as an energy booster. What’s really amazing is when you breakdown the affect that a good tune plays on the human body.

Music has the ability to slow down and equalize each of the four different brainwaves. Different musical tones alert specific waves causing you, and your mood, to react accordingly. For example, if you find yourself in an unfocused or emotional mood, a few minutes of Mozart can steady your consciousness allowing thoughts to come through clearly. In other parts of the body, music can affect your blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, reduce muscle tension, increase coordination, regulate stress hormones, boost the immune system, and (the part that we like) aid in digestion.

So if different types of music have the ability to do different things to our body, how can we know what is the right sound for Roll On Sushi Diner? Well let’s start with what we know is wrong. According to an article in the NY Times, restaurants make up a “significant portion” of the 400,000 locations pumping out tired tunes from Muzak. We know we can do better; we just need to understand the art of pairing music with food.

If you think about it, every genre of fodder comes with its own musical influence. Italian fare makes us think Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. Think Asian cuisine, and we hear flutes and harps. Take Mexican dining, and we think of a Mariachi band bouncing between tables. An American burger joint, we think of Elvis and classic rock-and-roll.

It’s obvious that different styles of music complement certain cuisines, but what aligns with Austin fusion if, in the grand scheme of world foods, we have only just begun to define it as a cuisine? At Roll On Sushi, we think that local and independent musicians – introducing their sound to a restaurant of people already in the market for something new – sounds about right to us. That is exactly what we intend to do, it’s perfect. Our mission is to support local business. In Austin, music is the local business. We plan to feature fantastic artists that pour their souls into the music they create, just as every roll we prepare comes straight from the heart. 

Chicken Fried Steak – mmmm. Even the words make my mouth water. It is one of the tastiest comfort food dishes I have ever had, and I don’t think I am alone in that opinion! The name gives a pretty good indication of what to expect from the dish. In short, for our friends that don’t get out much, it is a loving combination of the pan-fried steak technique and the crispy batter of good fried chicken. There are several stories about the origins of Chicken Fried Steak, but this one is my favorite.

Texas columnist Larry BeSaw wrote a spoof piece for the lifestyle section of the Austin American-Statesman newspaper, telling the tall-tale of Jimmy Don Perkins from Lamesa, Texas. BeSaw wrote that in 1911, Jimmy Don, an unemployed drawbridge oiler, took a job as a cook. When a waitress wrote down an order for chicken and an order for fried steak on the same ticket, but left out the comma, an inexperienced Jimmy Don wasn’t sure what to do. He improvised by flouring and frying a piece of steak as he would a piece of fried chicken. Although BeSaw wrote the story to be humorous and outlandish, and never intending for anyone to actually believe it, the story spread and became a popular truth.

In actuality, Chicken Fried Steak finds its origins in a number of immigrant influences. The German favorite, Wiener Schnitzel is the most obvious. By breading and frying, the Germans were able to do something that not many can, jazz up pork. The southwest regions of Germany quickly adopted the technique for beef as well.

The recipe debuted in America for the first time as pan-fried veal cutlets; a recipe published by Mary Randolf in 1838. The official “Chicken Fried Steak” came to be in the 1930’s. In 1988, Oklahoma named Chicken Fried Steak as an official state meal. I think many Texans would argue that it should be an official meal for Texas as well. Texans serve an estimated 800,000 orders of Chicken Fried Steak everyday, not counting meals prepared at home.

No matter where Chicken Fried Steak began, I’m just glad that it’s here today. I refer to it as happiness in the mouth! You can experience our own fusion sushi concept of Chicken Fried Steak when Roll On Sushi Diner opens for business.

Think of green beans and steak rolled with mashed potatoes instead of rice. What if then we dipped the roll in batter and fried it to a golden brown perfection? Are you hungry yet? The roll will be served as cut pieces with the best country gravy … other than mom’s. Stay posted for our opening date, and try the Chicken Fried Steak roll for yourself!

- Chad

Ahhh – the warm (or sometimes cool) comfort of food. There’s nothing quite like it. It energizes us when we are tired, it fills us when we are empty, and it takes our thoughts to places our souls long to be.

What exactly is comfort food? I believe the definition varies depending on who you ask. Some might describe the foods of their childhood or home growing up. Others picture comfort as the foods they eat when feeling stressed, sad, loved or even angry.  

Where do I fit into the equation? Well for me, comfort food is purely nostalgic. It takes me back to a simpler time around the family dinner table enjoying Mom’s home-cooked meals. I’m envisioning chicken fried steak, creamy gravy and mashed potatoes; pot roast smothered in rich brown gravy, carrots and southern green beans; roasted turkey with all the fixin’s; and of course I can’t leave out my Mom’s chicken spaghetti. These foods transport me back to Sunday meals after church, family holidays and my deep Southern roots.

These were my go-to foods when I needed to be reminded of Texas after being gone from home for so long. No matter how hard they tired, and I applaud every effort, California and Arizona just weren’t able to get it done for me. Crazy how something as simple as food can be so personal, and have the ability to take me home with just the right mix of ingredients.

Looking for a different perspective, I turned to my husband. He told me that for him comfort food is directly related to emotions. When he’s stressed out, he turns to Italian food; particularly a good slice (or three) of pizza. Whenever he comes home from a long day and says, “hey, do you want to order pizza,” I always know that I should say yes or endure an all-night session of computer work and hair pulling.

On a sad, gloomy day all he wants is grilled cheese and tomato soup. I will add that the sandwich has to be made with Velveeta or it’s just not right. This combo also works on cold, rainy days to warm his bones. When he’s ready to celebrate, my husband turns to sushi. It just occurred to me that maybe we need to find an emotion which leans toward salads!

Yes, comfort food is all in the eye of the beholder. Whether it’s to take us back to our glory days, or to feed our emotions, we all have those go-to foods. Now for one last question … is it a coincidence that the four months pregnant mom is the chosen expert on this topic? I doubt it. J

Fusion Cuisine – the words alone bring so many images to my mind. When I was a child, fusion cuisine could be described as potato chips smashed into my PB & J. As a young adult, fusion cuisine meant adding a handful of cheese and an egg to liven up my ramen noodles. However, as a mature adult (or at least giving off the image of one) my taste for food has refined, allowing me to fully appreciate the fine art of Fusion Cuisine. 

To understand the beauty of fusion dishes, we must first understand its core definition. Fusion is all about combining distinctly different elements into something new and extraordinary. Cuisineis a specific set of cooking traditions and practices within a given culture or region.

Combine these two terms and you get one of America’s newest food passions. As you know, the world provides an incredible variety of meal options. There are restaurants from every continent inspired to combine these different foods into unique dishes. Asian Fusion is probably the most popular due to the extremely diverse yet easily blended ingredients available. You can pretty much travel all over and you are sure find fusion cuisine wherever you land. The possibility of combinations is endless.

In Austin Texas, I will argue that we have our own unique cuisine style – I like to call it Austin Fusion. Visit any number of restaurants here to find varying examples of food creativity; from the Tortilla Crusted Queso Catfish at Shady Grove to the Australian inspired Meat Pies at Boomerang’s Gourmet Veggie & Meat Pies. The choices are plentiful.

Austin is already known as the live music capital of the world. However, it is quickly gaining notoriety for the food scene as well thanks to Tyson Cole’s Uchi and Uchiko, along with Chef David Bull’s new restaurant ventures Congress and Second at Congress Bar & Kitchen. These four restaurants have their own unique style and taste that help to define Austin Fusion.

It is no surprise to me – due to the diversity of our great city – that the creativity of our people translates so easily into the creative of our food. Individuality and being unique are the natures of our culture. Austin is one of the most “weird” cities in the country. Why would we expect anything less for our food?

This question inspired my brother and me to create Roll On Sushi Diner. It will be a little bit sushi mixed with a little bit of diner, but it will be ALL Austin. We look forward to lending a hand in defining the Austin Fusion scene. We hope to live-up to the Austin favorites that inspired us, and maybe one day someone will include Roll On Sushi Diner as the restaurant that launched a national cuisine known as Austin Fusion.

- Chip

Have you ever wondered where sushi began? It’s a question that nagged at me, and I wanted to share what I learned with you.

It all started in America …. wrong! Sushi dates back to the fourth century BC in Southeast Asia. After a batch of fish were cleaned and gutted, the meat was stored in rice for natural fermentation. This type of sushi is called narezushi. After the fermentation period, the fish is removed and the rice trashed. I can’t imagine the smell of fermented fish enticing me to sit and eat!

Sushi as we know it (nigirizushi) spread throughout China and Japan in the eighth century AD. Instead of wasting the rice by only using it in the fermentation process, the Japanese decided to combine it with vinegar, raw fish and vegetables. The Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 took the nigirizushi chefs and deposited them all over Japan and the world. A natural disaster spread sushi, and made it what it is today!

America followed the sushi trend, due to the great taste and perception as a healthy meal choice. Sushi culture boomed in the 1980’s; along with big hair, Rock ‘n Roll, and maybe a few drugs.

Today, you can find a Sushi restaurant in nearly every city with very popular places such as Blue Ribbon Sushi in NYC and Sushi Roku in LA, BUT do not think that great sushi places only reside in coastal cities! Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Texas all serve great sushi. Austin has amazing places such as Uchi and soon the Roll On Sushi Diner! Don’t believe stigmas about old, bad fish. Cities in the inner-states receive fish the same day as the coastal cities. Just make sure you ask the restaurant whether it is Grade A … that’s what Roll On will serve!

Roll On Sushi Diner is about to bring customers the best sushi, at the best price with a little different twist on the traditional sushi I mentioned. What better way to kick-off, than to have our groundbreaking on the space this Friday, May 13th!

- Chad