Uchi

by HenryJames on Jun 5, 2008 11:06 AM CDT

I've only been eating sushi for a couple of years. Why? Because women have always been the ones to try to get me to eat sushi, and they don't usually know good food. Too much atmosphere and other sundry things in their restaurant recommendations. Hula Hut? Seriously? But my current GF lived in Okinawa for almost four years so she has street cred.

So I made my first trip to Uchi last Saturday. I was mostly turned off in the past by the scenester vibe I've always gotten from the place. And perhaps I've subconsciously held a grudge because Uchi is in the same building where the Skyline Grill used to be. God damn their venison chicken fried steak was good.

The first thing I see in the parking lot is a dude in a bowling shirt and fedora with a taller-than-him girlfriend. The Buddha says I must eliminate my desire to rage on him so I comply and enter the restaurant following what I assume to be the eightfold path.

We had reservations at 5:30, but the restaurant was mostly empty. When we left a couple of hours later, it looked like the Confederate wounded scene in Gone With The Wind. Either make reservations or get there early.

Some kid at another table had ordered a Ramune so I was hoping to catch a glimpse of them opening the damn thing.

No such luck. She was probably watching me in return because watching me try to use chopsticks is like watching Christy Brown try to use nunchuks.

So here's what we ordered:

Takara nigori sake - cold

I don't like sake, probably because I've never had good sake. The waiter said it had a cream soda taste, and my palate is generally that of an eight year old so I liked it enough to order another.

Spicy crunchy tuna roll - bigeye tuna, Japanse cucumber, toasted black and white sesame

This was also part of the happy hour menu so we ordered one to have something to eat while we looked at the menu. It came with some kind of orange mayonnaise/dipping sauce that overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the fish. I much preferred slightly dipping it into my concoction of ginger, wasabi and soy sauce. BTW, their ginger and wasabi are freaking fantastic. I found myself eating the ginger in between courses as sort of a palate cleanser.

Maguro sashimi and goat cheese with cracked pepper, Fuji apple and pumpkin seed oil

They use a local goat cheese that is very mild and creamy. We stacked the sashimi and goat cheese on the apple so it did require a bit of construction. But it was fantastic.

Hirame usuzukuri - thinly sliced flounder, Spanish olive oil, smoked sea salt, yuzu zest, daikon, crispy quinoa

Flounder has a very mild flavor that takes on the flavors of with whatever it's paired. I also prefer the milder Spanish olive oil over the Italian variety. Yes, I'm saying this dish had mild flavors, but you could taste everything.

Hamachi cure sugar-cured maplewood-smoked baby yellowtail, yucca crisps, asian pear, garlic brittle

The server described the Japanese amberjack as 'the bacon of the sea.' THIS.

And it did taste like bacon. We stacked everything on the yucca crisps, including the marcona almonds and golden raisins (currants?), and we went through this like Nimitz went through the Pacific.

Hakujin roll - fresh salmon and grilled asparagus, rolled in warm tempura flakes

I didn't like the asparagus because I thought it added too much texture to the dish. The light crunch of the tempura and the salmon were great though. Take out the asparagus for the win.

Mustang roll - freshwater eel, avocado, yellowtail and golden flying fish roe

I would eat this out of a dog's ass. I might even eat this with dedfisher and his girlfriend seated across the table from me. Freshwater eel is the shit, and the roe was great. I'm totally asking for this in the cafeteria at BarkingCarnival's corporate office in Springfield.

Bacon steakie - twice cooked Kurobuta pork belly with green apple

Kurobuta is Japanses berkshire pork. Berkshire pigs haven't had the fat bred out of them so their meat is much more flavorful than the dry ass pork you get at the supermarket. If you don't believe me, check out these folks at the Austin Farmer's Market. The fat just melted away in my mouth like pork cotton candy.

Valrhona chocolate and wasabi fondant with pistachio ice cream and orange tuile

Chocolate and wasabi? WTF1. But it worked brilliantly. And why wouldn't it? Chocolate is a witch. Just a hint of wasabi at the end.

The waitstaff was excellent, and only one guy had an ironic moustache.

Luckily he didn't wait on us because I don't want Harry Reems handling my food.

My only complaint about Uchi is the noise. It's deafening, like being at a football game someplace other than Austin. At times you can't even hear the person across the table from you. That sort of sucks for a restaurant.

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Comments

I ate three bacon steakies at one sitting a few weeks ago and almost had to call in a heart surgeon to clear some arteries so I could keep eating.

The hamachi with yucca crisps is also a keeper.

The fatty tuna sashimi I ordered came in a gallon size bucket of shaved ice with a two foot floral bouquet. It goddamn better for $60 and I would have gladly paid more after experience the fish actually melt in my mouth. Labia of the sea …

Sit at the bar and let those culinary devils take you on a ride. Ask for the skydiving junky (11,000 plunges) or his young disciple from Osaka with the wispy, struggling facial hair – Masa, The Very Very Bad.

I was about to give him my wife for the night about three hours and ten dishes into it.

It is loud as hell but that’s in line with the overall sensory overload experience.

by Vasherized on Jun 5, 2008 11:28 AM CDT reply actions

I fucking loved that place when I went, even though I hate crowds, I have a general disdain for BCP (black clothes people), and Lance was at the corner table with 3 girls genetically designed for pleasuring men, none of whom had eyes that can see whichever plane of existence I reside upon.

The latter part was probably a good thing, in retrospect, since I was there with my wife.

Great food, great service, great dining experience.

by Jeff on Jun 5, 2008 11:51 AM CDT reply actions

Awesome write-up, bro. Many times I’ve considered hopping in my Beemer 3-series and driving my blond girlfriend down to Austin for a little Uchi-coochi, if you know what I’m saying. But we always end up sticking around DFW and hitting the Ghost Bar for some chocolatinis.

by Mr. Uptown Dallas on Jun 5, 2008 12:23 PM CDT reply actions

That place sucks. You don’t know what the hell you are talking about. Incidentally, I am a raging homosexual.

by Crayon1973 on Jun 5, 2008 12:26 PM CDT reply actions

Uchi – coochi will have it’s own Wikipedia page by the end of this week.

by Buddy Garrity on Jun 5, 2008 1:00 PM CDT reply actions

Christy Brown. Fucking outstanding.

by Big Satan on Jun 5, 2008 1:15 PM CDT reply actions

Labia of the sea …

Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’

by HenryJames on Jun 5, 2008 1:38 PM CDT reply actions

Wow…I haven’t had a lot of sushi in my life, but I’ve been to a place near my house (in Mountain View, CA) that a friend of ours (whose Dad happens to be the US consulate to Japan) says is the best sushi in the SF Bay Area. The name of the place is Tomi Sushi, and it is good.

Most of the entrees above (while looking very tasty) appear to be a very American-ized version of sushi.

Or, I’m just a raging homosexual as well.

Hook ’em!

by uthookem on Jun 5, 2008 1:41 PM CDT reply actions

How much was your bill?

by Nordberg on Jun 5, 2008 1:44 PM CDT reply actions

uthookem,

The chef’s philosophy is to combine traditional Japanese ingredients with new flavors. That was most of what I ate. They have standard sushi and sashimi as well.

Nordberg,

About $120 before tip.

by HenryJames on Jun 5, 2008 1:52 PM CDT reply actions

Y’all are a buncha slack-jawed pansies.

by Ghost of Charles Kreuz on Jun 5, 2008 2:04 PM CDT reply actions

I went to Musashino the other night. I had a Fu Man Chu and ordered the Bento Box. I over-pronounced everything and made intermittent loud farting noises with my armpits.

Call me sometime if you guys wanna double.

by Doperbo on Jun 5, 2008 2:13 PM CDT reply actions

The lack of ironic moustaches is encouraging, I must admit. Probably offset by an overwhelming hoard of fo-hawks, no doubt.

by Steve Nebraska on Jun 5, 2008 3:28 PM CDT reply actions

Do they serve a blue channel cat sashimi? I’m telling you that on a pork rind with a jalapeno chutney is the bomb. Gut bomb that is

by Aggie Lurking on Jun 5, 2008 5:57 PM CDT reply actions

They have a hardhead on frito that’s pretty damn good.

by HenryJames on Jun 5, 2008 6:23 PM CDT reply actions

I’m hitting up Uchi with some friends from work next week. I’ve heard nothing but the best from this place. Sushi in Austin has been incredibly overrated for me as of late. I was at Kenichi a while back, and I would say avoid if possible. Dropped $120 with tip for me and my date, and the only thing truly memorable was some roll that was topped with a strawberry, and miso glazed.

Musashino is good but not great. I’d actually have to say a little place in Round Rock called Origami is the best of the bunch that I’ve been to. Fish is fresh, and the rolls are inventive and delicious. Try the Ninja Roll and Bob Marley roll if anyone ventures to I35 and 620.

by Greg Davis Rides the Short(pass) Bus on Jun 5, 2008 6:25 PM CDT reply actions

I want to Uchi all over Erin Andrews’ tits. Please tell me nobody missed her on the Jimmy Kimmel pre-show? I have never seen her bear her bossoms in that manner. Wow.

by dedfischer on Jun 5, 2008 10:01 PM CDT reply actions

“Labia of the sea” -Yes

“I want to Uchi all over Erin Andrews’ tits” -No

by DrkBgrk on Jun 6, 2008 1:42 AM CDT reply actions

Sushi reviews.

Sushi.

For the love of fucking Christ, is it September yet?

by SeeingRed on Jun 6, 2008 11:38 AM CDT reply actions

“Sushi reviews.

Sushi.

For the love of fucking Christ, is it September yet?"

No shit. But I found this particular digression helpful, because I plan on taking either the wife or one of our pampered summer intern moochers to Uchi for dinner next week. It’s nice to know that other internet jackasses have enjoyed their experience there.

by BrickHorn on Jun 6, 2008 11:44 AM CDT reply actions

Hit Uchi earlier this week. Here’s my review:

We stuck with a pseudo-traditional plan, eating nigiri and drinking cold sake and Japanese beer.

Started out with the Hamachili. It’s hamachi (yellowtail) in a thin chili-citrus sauce with finely sliced fresh green chilis. The wife loved this dish. I thought it was okay, but a little too clean (i.e. not a whole lot of flavor).

We also split an order of Japanese pumpkin tempura. It was very well prepared and tasty.

Next, we had the salmon and red tuna nigiri. These traditional nigiri were very good, but not amazing. I’ve seen better on campus. Or, at least at Musashino.

After the nigiri, we had unagi and a kobe beef nigiri. Both were outstanding.

Our next dish was the shag roll. This is a well crafted roll, and my only complaint is that they overdid the mayonaise sauce. After scraping off about 80% of the sauce on one piece, the other flavors of the roll shined.

Finally, we tried the escolar and the gold tobiko. The former was really fucking good – my favorite dish of the evening. I could do without the latter. Not that it wasn’t well prepared, it’s just not my cup of tea.

The service was uniformly attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. The only real service downside was that the tiny little glass into which they poured my beer smelled like it hadn’t been washed since HenryJames used it last week. In Uchi’s defense, that’s a smell that you probably can’t wash out no matter how long you soak the glass in industrial-strength bleach.

All in all, dinner at Uchi is a very enjoyable way to spend $150 (with tip). But I would probably opt for Musashino if I really had a hankerin’ for traditional sushi.

by BrickHorn on Jun 11, 2008 10:56 AM CDT reply actions

Yes, that mayonaise sauce is the Nordberg of condiments.

by HenryJames on Jun 11, 2008 11:00 AM CDT reply actions

Oh, and just in case there was any doubt that Uchi is a sceney, uberhip ultra-lounge-with-fish, Haddaway’s “What is Love?” was in the background music mix. I shit you not.

by BrickHorn on Jun 11, 2008 2:47 PM CDT reply actions