Omaha Sushi Restaurant Celebrates World Vegan Month with Plant-Based Sushi

Flagship Restaurant Group has added plant-based menu items to its chain restaurant Blue Sake Sushi Grill in Omaha, NE—a city known for its meat-centric cuisine. In celebration of World Vegan Month, the restaurant now serves tomato-based vegan tuna “ahimi,” which chefs use in a number of dishes, including Avo Ahimi (a roll that features vegan tuna, avocado, sesame seeds, sweet soy, and scallions) and Spicy Ahimi (spiced vegan tuna and cucumber). The new sushi options will bolster vegan offerings already on Blue’s menu, including an eggplant tempura dish served with vegan scallion aioli. Ahimi was created by vegan startup Ocean Hugger Foods as a sustainable, cruelty-free replacement for tuna. The company debuted ahimi in 2017 at select retailers before expanding to the sushi cases of Whole Foods Markets nationwide in May. Ocean Hugger Foods is also developing other vegan substitutes for fish, including “sakimi” (carrot-based salmon) and “unami” (eggplant-based eel).