After a fire all but gutted the place, Shin Jung is back to serving its popular style of Korean food in a brighter, more open dining area.

Sodo has a new sushi bar and grill. It’s called Sodo Sushi Bar and Grill. It took over the space of the oft troubled Olv, whose name had no hidden meaning or acronymic message. Sodo, or SoDo, is shorthand for south of downtown, which is where it is.

And that’s a good place for this new restaurant, too, because there aren’t any other sushi joints anywhere nearby. Bars and grills, yes, but not sushi bars and grills.

All that seems to have been required to transform the Olv space into a sushi restaurant was to plop a refrigerated case on top of the bar. Voila — or dekiagari, as they say in Japan — sushi bar.

The menu is simple and straightforward but hits several appropriate notes. Steak frites, grilled chicken and crab cakes for more substantial entrees and burgers and sandwiches for something snackier.

Fish and chips are worth having.

The menu has changed over the years, I think for the better. For one thing, it’s been pared down a bit and has gotten rid of extraneous items, such as the flatbreads.

What began as Que Rico Colombian Fast Food in 2011 as part of the burgeoning food truck scene is now Super Rico Colombian Bistro. As it did with Que Rico, Super Rico features burgers as one of its signature items. I had enjoyed QR’s arepa burger in the past, so I ordered it this time, too. The arepa burger is conventional in just about every way except that instead of a bun the patty is placed between two arepas, the South American corn cakes. And these arepas are a bit thinner, less crumbly than your basic arepa. This isn’t a typical food in Colombia, but it’s a fine creative twist.

Ta-Ke is certainly a change from Wazzabi, the owner’s previous restaurant.

Ta-Ke couldn’t be more different, experientially. It is tiny, occupying the space previously held by Wilfredo’s, and the original location of Gargi’s. But its cozy dining room and small sushi bar, all tastefully decorated, are quite pleasant.

So was the sushi chef. I sat at the bar and when the chef noticed that the one server was busy he offered to take my order if sushi was what I had in mind. (In sushi bar etiquette one never gives the order to the chef directly, unless he or she asks, of course.)

I did have sushi in mind, and I ordered the Ta-Ke Combo #1, which includes seven pieces of nigirizushi and a spicy tuna roll.

And it was lovely. A beautifully presented array of fish — tuna, white tuna, salmon, shrimp — atop pads of rice; and perfect-sized coins of the tuna roll with pads of pickled ginger and wasabi. But it was all rather bland and unexciting. The nigirizushi all fell off the pad or rice when flipped for dipping into the soy, all with the exception of the surimi, which was lashed onto the rice pad with a strip of nori. The fish was also a bit too cold.

The tempura was a complete disappointment. With the exception of the asparagus, which has a nonabsorbent density, the assorted vegetables were soggy and greasy, quite easy to set aside.

Tako Cheena is the new concept from Pom Moongauklang, owner of of the popular Pom Pom’s sandwicherie. The name is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the type of food featured, tacos, and Moongauklang’s Asian heritage (she was born in Thailand). She combines Latin and Asian into true fusion cuisine.
It’s also pretty darned tasty. Moongauklang has a talent for making complex foods look simple, and for taking simple flavor combinations and giving them layers and textures that make them seem complex. It isn’t surprising that she worked at New York’s famed Nobu restaurant.
The menu is short. It offers a featured empanada and a roster of takos. I sampled an array of takos, and I liked every one of them. My favorite was the panko crusted cod, which had bite-sized nuggets of fish in the soft flour tortilla garnished with scallions and mixed cabbage. What really brought out the flavors, though, was the lusciously thick sweet and sour sauce that not only gave it a great taste but also made it look so pretty.
My second favorite was the Chinese barbecue char shu pork belly, with mixed cabbage, fresh cilantro and ginger oil, all topped with a crisp ribbon of crackling. I also liked the Thai peanut chicken, with its velvety peanut sauce, topped off with crunchy crushed peanuts.

Quiet little ramen spot in downtown with a welcoming staff.

Long anticipated brick and mortar operation for a favorite food truck. Get the tamales — it’s not called Taco Co.

It’s been just over a year since my trip to Mexico City and I believe I’ve just had the most authentic Mexican food since then. It was at a little place called Taqueria Ameca.

This is a small, barebones operation in a cramped strip mall south of downtown. (It’s in the same location as the recently reviewed Flavors Nigerian.) On my recent visit the restaurant was doing a brisk lunch business, and I was encouraged to realize that I was the only non-Hispanic among them.

There is no printed menu, as far as I can tell. The selections are inartistically written on a white board near the ordering counter. There aren’t even headings — the tacos are listed with the various filling options with enchiladas, sopes and other items mixed in.