Austin Review: Love for Uchi

STAR

Uchi, 801 South Lamar Blvd, South Austin
www.uchiaustin.com

Travel no more than 10 minutes outside of downtown to get to this charming house which is serving some stellar contemporary Japanese cuisine and sushi. You have heard a lot about Uchi and it's sister restaurant Uchiko with their James Beard Award winning Chefs these most recent years, and I was beyond thrilled that Uchi met all of those expectations and was without a doubt the most memorable meal in Austin. We arrived a few minutes early for our reservation, and the host staff were welcoming and accommodating from the very start. The small rock garden outside was a buzzing waiting area of guests sitting on purposeful and intentionally positioned wood stoops and chairs while sipping wine and sake in the evening sun. It was a perfect zen contrast to the restaurant's sexy, dim interior. 

We started dinner with a few recommendations from the social menu and a small bottle of junmai sake. The sake does not come cheap here, with the least expensive junmai small format bottle at $30 and the 375ml at $52. But the social menu was a great deal ranging from $3 to $9 for various rolls, small tastings, and libations. We had 3 dishes from the tastings section: Hama Chili, Walu Walu, and Machi Cure. I could have done without the Walu Walu, but after 1 bite of the Hama Chili I almost wished we had ordered 1 order for each of us. It's delicate slices of beautiful pink baby yellowtail were nestled in bright slivers of orange supremes, a light pool of delicate ponzu, and Thai chili provided just the right amount of heat that hits the back roof of your mouth. The flavors were cool, crisp, and clean and it was the perfect first bite.

Left to Right: Hama Chili, Walu Walu, Machi Cure, Hotate sushi

There are several hot and cold dishes to choose from amongst their permanent menu and the daily specials menu. The fish was wonderfully fresh, especially the hotate which was exceptionally sweet with a great mouthfeel. The sushi rolls were typical and personally felt and tasted a bit uneventful. The hot dishes incorporated elements of Asian flavorings mixed with farm style ingredients, and there were plenty of vegetarian style dishes as well.

 A standout hot dish was the Hamachi Nabe with yellowtail, rice and bonito. It comes to you in a stone pot and mixed on the table with a cracked egg and topped with a sweet soy broth. The best part of this dish is that the longer it sits, its stone pot creates these delicious morsels of crispy, crunchy, chewy rice goodness on the bottom that you just can't help but scrape desperately with a spoon like you're mining for gold. 

The Foie Nigiri is also a must have. It was seared to perfection with soy giving it just enough of that bitter caramelization to add even more complexity and depth. As you bite down and chew you get little bits of crunchy sea salt and crackling candied quinoa that were lightly introduced on top, making it quite the party for your mouth. It was highly encouraged and recommended that we finish with the foie as very our last savory dish before dessert. If I could go back and kiss our server for that great piece of advice I would, as it allowed me to savor every flavor and every texture. I can still remember the taste now, and it is a beautiful thing. For the love of God and all things delicious, you must go and have this.

There was a silent stealer of the show, however. The sushi rice which acted as the backbone for the rolls, nigiri, and nabe was so perfectly cooked that I may have shed a tear. Every granule was effortlessly sticky but yet held it's own as gorgeous, translucent, tender, airy, perfectly seasoned rice.

The service throughout the meal was also efficient and effortlessly effective. These are not typical words to describe service in this style of dining environment, but through the progression of our meal we found the wait staff to offer the perfect balance of guidance, assertiveness, as well as the unobtrusiveness we needed and wanted in order to fully enjoy our experience at Uchi. Our server offered the suggestions we needed to make great decisions, with none of the fluff.

You will want to be sure to finish your experience with one of their handful of sorbet-style desserts. We had the Peanut Butter Semifreddo with apple miso sorbet and crispy apple fritter. It acted as a palate cleanser; not too sweet, just light and soothing. It shared in the style of traditional Japanese desserts by presenting itself in an unassuming way, but yet challenged our taste buds with complex flavor combination and textures.

I could go on but clearly, you should just go get your first hand experience. If you find yourself going to Austin, plan now because you will need to book your reservation far in advance to get a seat.  You won't regret it.