Onigiri-Obsessed Restaurant Opens in Highland

There’s now an entire fast-casual Japanese restaurant dedicated to onigiri with the opening of Rice Ball Co. at 6929 Airport Boulevard in the Crescent shopping plaza in Highland as of mid-October.

The rice balls, aka onigiri, consists of hand-packed rice filled with ingredients, shaped into a triangle, and then wrapped with seaweed. Rice Ball Co.’s options include the staples: spicy tuna, beef, grilled salmon, etc. Of the more untraditional options, there’s fried shrimp and mayonnaise, bacon avocado, shitake mushrooms with eggs, and crab.

Then there are what the counter-service restaurant calls rice rolls, which are essentially hand rolls, though minus the pointed bottoms. Of these, there are similar fillings as above, plus unagi, yellowtail with green onions, and spicy scallops.

For fuller meals, bento boxes are available with entrees like chicken katsu, salmon teriyaki, and bulgogi. Sides include fried dumplings, fruits like honey yuzu, teas, and vegetable bites. Plus there’s coffee.

Rice Ball Co.’s hours are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

The Crescent is quickly become a major destination for Asian food and treats in Austin. Anchored by Asian supermarket chain 99 Ranch, there’s also conveyor belt sushi chain Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, as well as Taiwanese chain 85C Bakery and Japanese desserts shop Snowy Village. To come are tori paitan-focused noodle soup restaurant Sazan Ramen, dumpling shop Steamies, and Korean restaurant chain BB.Q Chicken.

• Rice Ball Co. [Official]
• Rice Ball Co. [Facebook]