Event Hosted By Jason Tonya Link To Event Start slideshow Sushi, Socialization, & Sake 'Oh, My!' Written By Jason 06/21/2007 click for full size . . . and Chinese too) What a blast! Houston Dining A-Z: (H)unan River/Back Door Sushi had the best turnout of any MiH event I have ever attended, and I had the honor of being one of the hosts alongside our social butterfly Tonya . . . . who CAN in all fairness be given credit for bringing this concept to H-Town. Better still, this restaurant was and remains one of my all-time favorite places to eat in Houston. Well, to start things off the elusive Anthony broke his "If I RSVP I Won't Come" habit and arrived before Amanda and I got there. We almost didn't recognize him. : ) We chatted, cooled off, and before you knew it the rest of the gang descended. The staff was fortunately able to accommodate us all in the Back Door Sushi section of this River Oaks spot. Katie, foiled by traffic, arrived a bit later and needed cheese puffs to revive her. There were also several orders placed for edamame, which helped to soothe the hunger pangs as we looked over the menu. Yes, one of them did have pictures, but I think some of our own (David's) were more appealing. Linda was a trooper being there with all us sushi eaters and while just at the point of bursting. (We're looking at you Tracy!). Melissa came without her boys, and was happy for a night out on the town. Folks ordered from both halves of the kitchen: from General Chao's (or was it genitals? he he) Chicken and Hot and Sour Soup, to Tamago and Salmon Sashimi (right David?). We had our fill of sushi and then some and certainly kept both the back kitchen and the sushi chef busy from the time we got there until the time we left. Oh, Amanda - and perhaps Anthony now too - have declared Back Door's Crunchy Roll a personal favorite. And we can't forget Pilar's perfumed cheesecake . . . . ; ) All in all I think few can say that we didn't have some of the freshest sushi that Houston has to offer. But things didn't stop there no no . . . . We wrapped up at Hunan River/Back Door (oh yeah, this was "H" after-all) about 8 and were soon underway to Sherlock's (gotta love walking neighborhoods) where we did all we could to offset the good of eating light in having shots, copious and several brews, and other various spirit(ual) delights. We did lose some along the way - including your hosts - and left our fearless leader David, Katie, and Melissa and a handful to keep the good times rolling. The band's set up that night seemed pretty advanced for the venue and from what I could tell kept them going into the wee hours. . . . I'll have to let others fill us in (should they chose or be able to remember) in their comments, etc. Thanks to Amanda, David, Katie, Melissa, Anthony, Linda, Sonia, Alirio (sans Radka), Lexie, Josh, Pilar, Jeremy & his wife, and Robert for coming and making this such a fun night. I hope we can continue down the letters (or perhaps just sushi bars) in the coming months with this much interest. Please send Tonya ideas for great, non-chain, affordable, mom and pop gems! Next Stop - Ixtapa Mexican in The Woodlands . . . Cheers and best from Jason and Tonya! NOTE: The pictures are courtesy of David - our fearless MiH leader and picture-taking addict! I had a hard time not posting them all(and think that I pretty much did). So many were fun and begging creative captions. More Photos

POST EVENT FEEDBACK >>

Comments
Melissa	Woohoo! So much fun! Since I invented Patron thanks to Kat for helping me make the stock go up. Will definitely have to do it again. I was every bit as tipsy as I looked and therefore am almost frigthened at the thought of what may have come out of my mouth. Shh don't tell me.
Katie	Pimpin good time! I had a blast! sushi and alcohol, what more could i ask for. It was good to get everyone together, it doesnt happen enough like we all have said. Props to Melissa- my new shot partner since Jason cant make it past 9:30pm(he he) We must do it again girl. And I really wasnt as drunk as i looked.
Alirio	Another great event! I had a great time with very nice people! The restaurant was an excellent choice and I enjoyed the sushi very much. Thanks Jason and Tonya for hosting!
David	Good times! This was an excellent event. It's been a while since we've had such a large, friendly crowd. Especially on a weekday!! Can't wait for the next big event -- they're so much fun. Although it does get a bit hard to get around to talking to everyone. Thanks again to everyone that showed up and made this a wonderful experience. Oh... and nice job on the captions, Jason. ;)
Tonya	CRAZY good times! Thanks to Jason & Katie for the recommendation, to Jason again for posting while I was unplugged & out of town, and to everyone who joined us for another fantastic event! Next stop: The Woodlands.