#221: Shokunin

The Bar

Shokunin. 1009 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702

Visited 12/22/2025 @ 9pm.

The Drink

Sushi By Scratch Private Label Sake. $13.

For whatever reason, sake is generally not something I ever really think about or have the urge to grab a bottle of. I have the irreplaceable Texas Sake to thank for giving me a more in-depth exploration of the subtleties of sake beyond "it's half of a sake bomb", but I would still not claim to be an expert on all the varieties of the venerable rice wine. Luckily for me, sake snobbery does not appear to be much of a thing here in the same way that wine snobbery is, and even I could tell that this was good stuff. This is the latter half of a bottle of sake from the group who owns the restaurant; after taking an initial round of toasts, we got glasses of ice-cold Kirin from a special kegerator to drop our second helpings in for shooting purposes. I will be honest that this was neither the first round of drinks we had this evening nor the last, so please don't ask me for detailed tasting notes, but rest assured that it was perfect, as was everything else that we had.

The Crew

Ashley, Lars, Aaron, Mike.

Notes

Shokunin, which had only been open since Halloween, is the Japanese word for "master artisan", and it deserves its moniker, although I do mourn the loss of the former occupant, the excellent Italian joint Gelateria Gemelli. Shokunin is a project of the Sushi By Scratch restaurant group, who I learned are also behind a few other high-end establishments such as NADC Burger next door. Japanese restaurants in the US occupy an interesting place in the culinary landscape; whereas in Japan they obviously have restaurants which span the entire budgetary spectrum, here the absence of the $4 lunch bowls so beloved there is due to our culture of NIMBYism and regulatory failure, which means that almost all Japanese food you'll find in a city like Austin is going to be high-end stuff. This of course is a running theme with essentially all new restaurants on Sixth Street in particular, but especially with a less-common cuisine like Japanese. 

Shokunin is not quite Jiro Dreams of Sushi (though keep in mind that Jiro himself might not be around for too much longer), but it's definitely aiming at a higher price point than Ramen Tatsu-Ya or Domo Alley-Gato. Now, as I alluded to above, we had all had a LOT to drink (at the delightful show the Mutt-Cracker, specifically) before visiting, and we were in an exceptionally Dealer's Choice-friendly mood, so my accounting of the food is not quite up to my usual exacting standards, but rest assured that everything we were served was incredible. This is the kind of place where you can put your drunken dining fate entirely in your server's hands and be fully confident that you will have an excellent meal.

#220: Moderna Bar & Pizzeria

The Bar

Moderna Bar & Pizzeria. 1717 W 6th St Suite 140R, Austin, TX 78703

Visited 12/19/2025 @ 7pm.

The Drink

Sophia Loren. Voga vodka, amaretto, lime juice, "Italian cherry soda" (grenadine and luxardo cherry), lemon. $12.

Somewhat surprisingly, this appears to be the very first rendition of a vodka soda I have been served on this whole Sixth Street sojourn so far, although with this many accoutrements it might as well be a different drink entirely than the humble well classic we know and love. Voga is an Italian brand which seems to have been recently discontinued, as despite a few good reviews (and a cool-looking bottle), the product website is only accessible via archive.org, but I imagine you could sub in another vodka without too great a change. The main highlight for me besides the amaretto was the "Italian cherry soda", which when I asked for more information was described as simply grenadine and luxardo cherry. I am a confirmed fiend for black cherry flavor in general, and even this sweeter take on it was well-received, and I ordered several more as the night went on. 

The Crew

Lars, Ashley, Mike, Aaron.

Notes

I was excited to visit this establishment, as it used to be Cover 3, where this project kicked off almost 9 (!) years ago. Back to where it all began! If I gave awards for Most Changed Bar then this would be a clear #1 selection, as the transition from the bright beer-drinking bonhomie of Cover 3 to the swanky dinner cocktail ambience of Moderna could not have been more dramatic, particularly given the installation of a gigantic glittering oven in the middle of the dining area like a disco ball dispensing Neapolitan pizzas. Moderna opened about 2 weeks before our visit, after the former Cover 3 location had sat vacant for quite some time. I saw its attitude towards Italian food described as a "neo-traditional", a neologism that made me smile although it is perfectly apt, since Moderna does the expected local sourcing to produce a trained chef's take on the familiar dishes you know and love. Italian is one of those cuisines which has developed an enveloping armature of very particular attitudes towards innovation and progress vs heritage and tradition and all that, which can be either comforting or confining, depending on the situation. 

Well, our situation was that we were starving, so we ordered a bunch of items, including:

• Sausage and peppers
• Eggplant
• Meatballs
• Hell's Kitchen pizza
• Diavola pizza
• Mushroom truffle pizza

And it was all super legit, especially followed by a round of house-made limoncello shots afterwards. I have already ruminated in the review of Sammie's on how the inevitable rising tides of affluence in Austin have affected the creation of new Italian spots and it all remains relevant; while at this rate Sixth Street will most likely never get the kind of cozy neighborhood red-sauce joint that is economical elsewhere in town, there are obviously worse establishments to patronize than high-end Italian restaurants.