The area south of Hulen Mall in Fort Worth is a typically overdeveloped set of strip malls and chain eateries, known neither for innovative cuisine nor non-corporate restaurants. Sushi Tao, up one of the many crowded side streets, is a fairly unobtrusive place. The ma-and-pa owners are perhaps taking a risk: Most sushi joints inhabit the pricier, trendier areas of town. Because who would think to drive out to southwest Fort Worth for some authentic Japanese cuisine?
I started out ogling the fairly fancy sake offerings. In addition to the classics, Sushi Tao serves a Sake-politan: a wicked combination of sake and tart Triple-Sec. Not necessarily authentically Japanese but tasty.
Even if you don’t like sushi, you’ll probably eat well here. The restaurant’s extensive menu includes 16 non-sushi entrées, with meat, chicken, fish, and vegetarian options. There are also multiple versions of udon (noodle) soups and the pan-fried noodle dishes yaki udon and yakisoba to try.
The agedashi appetizer was straightforward: four cubes of tofu delicately breaded, fried, and served with a tempura dipping sauce. If the idea of fried bean curd makes you queasy, the starters list also includes shumai (dumplings), tempura shrimp and veggies, and grilled calamari. In a nod to Cowtown cuisine, you can also get the “Shrimp O’Dynamite”: sautéed shrimp with barbecue sauce.
Which brings us to the dishes in the title roles here. The salmon roe sashimi featured beautiful, giant coral-colored roe atop a dainty, carved cucumber cup. The menu also boasts more exotic toro (tuna belly) and uni (sea urchin) at market prices. The uni actually has more in common, texture-wise, with odd Texas delicacies such as calf fries and rocky mountain oysters than it does with caviar.
There are a mind-boggling 43 classic and signature sushi rolls from which to choose. The Tao Roll or “Big Roll” is truth in advertising: a huge roulade of lobster, crab, salad greens, tobiko (flying fish eggs), and mango in a vinegary sauce, bundled in a pink soy wrapper. It was a little weird, having the crunch of the slightly pungent greens in the roll, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
The Crazy Roll and the Mimosa Roll were both spicy treats. The Mimosa featured fiery scallops topped with silky salmon and sesame seeds, with more of that mouth-tingling red sauce along for the ride. The Crazy roll was full of spicy salmon and avocado, with a really nice tempura crunch. The Tiger Roll — a delicious and decidedly non-spicy combo of shrimp tempura, cream cheese, salmon, and avocado — was a nice change of pace after the blazing scallops.
Sushi Tao’s sleek red, black, and mahogany-wood décor looks like most of the other high-grade restaurants near downtown but is far less crowded, more of a neighborhood retreat than a fancy evening destination.
One of the principles of Taoism is wu wei: action without action or “effortless doing.” At Sushi Tao, the service was perfectly on time and never rushed. Everything came out at just the right moment, and the rolls all came out together, as dinner. How many times have you been to a sushi place and sat, waiting and salivating, for your plate to come while your tablemate was eating already? Whether it’s wu wei or just great service, it sets Sushi Tao apart.
Sushi Tao, 4954 Overton Ridge Blvd, FW. 817-294-7200. Mon-Thu 11am-3pm, 4:30-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-3pm, 4:30-11pm, Sun 1-9pm. All major credit cards accepted
