In recent years, Houston has had quite the uptick in sushi bar openings, but few appeal to vegan diners the way Blue Sushi Sake Grill, now open at M-K-T Heights, does.

The popular concept from the Nebraska-based Flagship Restaurant Group touts a total of 30 restaurants across 11 states, with Houston's M-K-T outpost serving as its 19th Blue Sushi location.

Blue Sushi places a hefty spotlight on responsibly sourced seafood and has one of the largest plant-based menus in the country. For Flagship co-owners Tony Gentile and Anthony Hitchcock—Houston natives who began their friendship more than 20 years ago while at the University of Houston's Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management—it was an ideology that was important from the start.