roaming ronin

Former Navy man turned Escoffier graduate turned sushi chef Edward Warren Jr. brings his soldier-like precision to diners in South Texas. Stationed in Japan for over a decade, Warren Jr. fell in love with Japanese food and Asian culture, but the idea of Roaming Ronin (originally a food truck, hence the Roaming) was little more than scribbles on a few scraps of paper until Warren Jr. partnered with long-time friend and Flanagan’s owner Robert Garcia.

Warren Jr. spent five months sleeping on Garcia’s floor while he transformed a neglected space into the current home of Roaming Ronin. Taking its name from a Japanese term for a samurai who has lost his master and is thus destined to live as a vagrant mercenary, the restaurant greets customers with striking colors and an evocative floor-to-ceiling mural of a samurai. It’s an intimate space, where diners can watch Warren Jr. wield his chef knife from the bar or from one of the four tables in the dining room.

First-timers should start off with the Tempura Brussels Sprouts topped with parmesan cheese and spicy Ninja sauce, graduating to the Ronin Beef Bowl, a classic Japanese dish. Roaming Ronin is the joint we never knew we needed.

2306 Airline Rd. STE 104, roaming-ronin.com