We live in a melting pot of creativity. This shouldn’t be news to anyone. Year-after-year, artists from different walks of life journey to the center of Texas seeking refuge from the boredom of normality. These artists hope to collect blessings from the muse so many call Austin. This coming together of talents is what gives Austin its sought-after “vibe.”

Austin music, can you define it? Most of us would say no, and we like to think it’s because we’re unimaginably unique and creative, but there’s another theory. Perhaps our diversity drives our style. We live here together now, but we started our existence in very different places, and we bring those very different experiences to life through art. Our vibe is a collaboration of experiences.

For musicians, experiences are put into a new sound; for writers it’s in a new voice; for painters it’s a new color; for foodies it’s in a new flavor. Original, fusion, alive – all things that define Austin, and all things that we encourage at Roll On Sushi Diner.

We talk a lot about fusion cuisine, but haven’t paid nearly enough respect to the original fusion art – which is music. Fusion by definition is the combination of two styles to create something totally new. Rock-and-roll is an excellent example, which electrified the 1950s with its combined blues, gospel and country sound, and opened the doors for the musicians we love today.

With the 2011 Austin City Limits heading its way towards us, we are excited to welcome our favorite musicians like:  Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, Arcade Fire and Kanye West. These superstars, along with dozens of other artists, are going to rock the ATX. View the full lineup here - http://lineup.aclfestival.com/.

Remember to be safe at the festival, and if you are lucky enough to have a DD, head up Burnet road for some yummy traditional and fusion sushi dishes! Let’s have an experience together that makes us a better person going forward.

                                                    Cholesta Roll
                   The First Chicken Fried Steak and Sushi Fusion Roll

Our menu is set, our staff is ready and we’re so excited to feed our ATX friends and neighbors. Join us TODAY, August 18, for an Austin fusion sushi experience like nothing you’ve ever experienced! 

We are open 11 - 2:30 and 5 - 9 today, can’t wait to see you!

Elvis Presley is still The King of Rock n’ Roll. Born January 8, 1935 in Tupelo Mississippi, Elvis’ life began with tragedy. His twin brother was stillborn leaving him the only child to a truck driver father and sewing machine operator mother. His family later moved to Memphis Tennessee where his musical talent was discovered.

Elvis drew inspiration from pop, country, gospel and R&B music he learned while walking the streets of Memphis. His career exploded with instant success, and had Elvis lived longer, I’m sure he would have made a stop or two at one of Austin’s live venues. What a show we missed!

Known for many things … singing, acting, military service and being a God-fearing man, Elvis also had a passion for food. Eclectic would definitely be the word to describe The King’s food preferences. You think pregnant women have cravings? Elvis gave them a run for their money.

While today’s society is focusing on eating organic, Elvis chose to sidestep that notion. There is no doubt Elvis was a true Southern boy who loved his mama’s home cooking. The sidekick to most of Elvis’ favorite foods was the ever so healthy biscuits fried in butter and stuffed with sausage and t-bone steaks grilled in butter. Some of his other favorites included BBQ bologna, meatloaf, cheeseburgers, bratwurst sandwiches, fried okra and even fried squirrel. Healthy? I think not.

Elvis could never get enough of two meals in particular.

The first is the Fool’s Gold Loaf. Ingredients please:

1 loaf of Italian bread (hollowed out)

2 T. butter

1 lb. bacon

1 jar of peanut butter

1 jar of grape jelly

The other meal made famous by The King is the Elvis sandwich. This sandwich consists of peanut butter, sliced or mashed bananas, and crisp bacon with bread then fried or grilled in – you guessed it – butter.

Many restaurants and cookbooks have put their own spin on this sandwich, to rave reviews. Roll On Sushi Diner is going to join their ranks, and put our own spin on this creative, popular and quite yummy concoction.

Roll On Sushi Diner’s ELVIS ROLL:

This deep-fried spring roll is stuffed with peanut butter, bacon and bananas. It is served with mayo OR chocolate sauce for dipping, and it is amazingly delicious.

Come try one for yourself at the Grand Opening of Roll On Sushi Diner in early August! The countdown is on, and we can’t wait to feed you!

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. 

Starting today and running for the next 3 weeks, Roll On Sushi Diner is going to need our Facebook fans’ help in naming a few of our rolls. Each week on Monday, we will post a picture and description of a roll and have fans post what they think the name of that roll should be. Every Thursday of the week, we will announce the top 4 names and take it to a vote with our fans. The person with the winning name will be invited to our VIP opening in late July or early August (does not include travel for those outside of the Austin area). 

Remember, this restaurant is your restaurant! We look forward to seeing our creative fans put their stamp on Roll On Sushi Diner!

This week: The roll this week is a tough one! It has chopped beef brisket, wasabi cole slaw, avocado, wrapped in nori and sushi rice with spicy BBQ mayo. To enter the contest, check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rollonsushidiner

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