Ra Sushi

The sushi bar at Ra Sushi

Ra Sushi on 3908 Westheimer in Houston

The half-full glass: Holy wow the tea! Holy wow the crispy spicy tuna roll!
The half-empty glass: The signature rolls are singularly bad and the sake menu is barely worth opening

My loyal readers have listened to me blather on about Ra's green tea for months now. Time to post up or shut up I figure. So the crew found itself parked at Ra's sushi bar this evening.

Tea indeed - Ra's fantastic, hot, nutty elixir of happiness and joy. Edamame to start, naturally, followed by squid salad. I've had better textured squid, but Ra doused it in something good.

Our chef behind the bar recommended striped bass and halibut, so we ordered nigiri for each. Ra in Houston must have a good buyer - the fish has been consistently above average every time. The halibut and bass were fresh, tasty, and nicely textured.

Halibut, stripped bass, and the legendary tea

Hang on, this meal has more ups and downs than the Waco course. We ordered up a Kizakura Pure - no race this weekend so I had a couple of sips. Not that I would want more anyway - way too lite for me. Nothing interesting in this sake. I think estrogen leaked from the fru-fru label into the bottle.

Have no fear, the crispy spicy tuna swoops in like superman obliterating all negative taste bud experiences in its path. This is the signature item on Ra's menu. They deep fry these little balls of rice with a crispy coating and top them with spicy tuna sprinkled with cilantro and jalepeno bits. Flavor and texture my friends, flavor and texture.

The crispy spicy tuna at Ra Sushi

If you find yourself at Ra enjoying your tea and crispy spicy tuna and feel like ordering a New Zealand roll, you are about to make a big mistake. The flavor of the smoked salmon inside gets diluted by the cream cheese and the kiwi bits with mango sauce overwhelm that and the scallops. So it's kinda just a fruity gooey wad. The lobster and shrimp maki we ordered tasted fine, but not great - plus it's cha ching.

The New Zealand roll at Ra Sushi

We decided to finish with pork gyoza potstickers and yellowtail scallion maki. The gyoza was pleasantly greasy and tasty and the quality of the yellowtail made the roll.

I'd say this was my fourth visit to Ra. The tea and crunchy little tuna balls keep me coming back. Some members of the crew appreciated the scenery. My experience with the service had been previously spotty, but our server tonight gave us great attention and didn't rush us out. Eat well.