This is totally out of the order I had lined up, but this is such an occasion for me that I had to reshuffle to pull this up ahead of the others.
I've been trying to go to Uchi in Austin for a while. Let me tell you, if you don't have a reservation in Austin, it is guarantee to have an hour wait. So, as soon as I heard that Uchi Houston is opening, the first day they were accepting reservation, I set my alarm on my phone to call. Booya! Got in the first official opening weekend, and word on the street that they are booked every weekend thru the 23rd. And if you want to check for yourself, go have a look-see at Opentable. Your best bet, Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. You are not going to get any luck walking up on Thursday/Friday/Saturday.
The space is not as big as you would think. Or if you've been to the Old Felix Mexican restaurant, you realized how small their kitchen must've been back then. The seating definitely is limited. As we were waiting, bartender Dale highly recommended Akami Te, which Chef Tyson Cole believes that food of the similar color works well together. And boy did it?! Akami Te basically is slices of tuna on top of compressed watermelon with cilantro and thai chili. Let me tell you, it was a parade in my mouth, it's compact taste, you wouldn't think watermelon would work here, but it does. It brings a refreshing balance against the thai chili. The cilantro is not just for decorations, it does bring out the taste of the watermelon. You have to order it if it is in season. While, January is not exactly watermelon season, this year has ben unseasonably warm, which makes it all the more special.
The other thing bartender Dale recommended was avocado sushi. Yes, I was surprised just like you are. But he has a point, it is a vegetarian way to get some nice experience to fat. It isn't just avocado and rice, it also have a little pepper on top. It is fatty like the tuna would taste, and the avocado is definitely fresh. But really, the pepper is the show, the fat is just along for the ride.
Next up is the Gyutoro, which was Uchi's version of 72 hr wagyu shortribs. As David calls it, his DAMN moment. It was DAMN good. It has the juicy ribs which literally melts in your mouth. It's not a figure of speech, it was for real. YUM!
Bacon tataki was a work of art. It is pork belly with citrus and lime taste. To top it off, it has this pretty fried onion chip as decoration. It was yummy!
Since the Uchi's service style is a service per course, however many dishes you order they bring it out to you as a course. So if you ordered several tasting, or sushi, they are brought out to you course by course, which does draw out the time you would at a normal dinner. That said, we didn't mind, we just can't wait to see what comes out next.
The other thing bartender Dale recommended was avocado sushi. Yes, I was surprised just like you are. But he has a point, it is a vegetarian way to get some nice experience to fat. It isn't just avocado and rice, it also have a little pepper on top. It is fatty like the tuna would taste, and the avocado is definitely fresh. But really, the pepper is the show, the fat is just along for the ride.
Next up is the Gyutoro, which was Uchi's version of 72 hr wagyu shortribs. As David calls it, his DAMN moment. It was DAMN good. It has the juicy ribs which literally melts in your mouth. It's not a figure of speech, it was for real. YUM!
Bacon tataki was a work of art. It is pork belly with citrus and lime taste. To top it off, it has this pretty fried onion chip as decoration. It was yummy!
Since the Uchi's service style is a service per course, however many dishes you order they bring it out to you as a course. So if you ordered several tasting, or sushi, they are brought out to you course by course, which does draw out the time you would at a normal dinner. That said, we didn't mind, we just can't wait to see what comes out next.Our server Grace noticed that David had asked alot of questions regarding gluten free, and she noted on our dishes that they needed to be gluten free. And she also noticed that I noted our last dish couple of times and brought out a complimentary Uchi salad. I wasn't complaining, I swear. But it was nice of her to thought of doing that. The lettuce is seasoned with salt and I swear there were bits of parmesan on it. And you dip it in this edamame and jalapeno sauce. It was literally like crack. Even if you're not a salad person, you should get this, you eat it chip and dip style.
My friend Julia who went to the Media dinner, highly recommended Walu Walu, which was escolar cooked and you dip it in ponzu sauce. It has this lightly crisp outer layer, and when you cut into it, it falls apart and you drizzle ponzu sauce over it and it absorb everything nicely.
Another thing Julia said to tried, and I've been eyeing on it since I found their menu online, was the fried milk. What an interesting concept, it featured 3 different type of milk in the dish. The chocolate milk is in a mousse-like form. Then, obviously you see the ice cream form, but when in fact, it's milk sherbet. It goes super well with the truly fried or as they called it toasted milk. You get the warm and cool together, it just melted perfectly.
My friend Julia who went to the Media dinner, highly recommended Walu Walu, which was escolar cooked and you dip it in ponzu sauce. It has this lightly crisp outer layer, and when you cut into it, it falls apart and you drizzle ponzu sauce over it and it absorb everything nicely.
Another thing Julia said to tried, and I've been eyeing on it since I found their menu online, was the fried milk. What an interesting concept, it featured 3 different type of milk in the dish. The chocolate milk is in a mousse-like form. Then, obviously you see the ice cream form, but when in fact, it's milk sherbet. It goes super well with the truly fried or as they called it toasted milk. You get the warm and cool together, it just melted perfectly.Overall, the pricing of the dinner is exactly what I expected. Service was excellent, between our server, runner, and the bus person, the entire experience is done seamlessly and it is like witnessing an orchestra at work. From what I heard, each server has to go thru a 10-week training to learn the culture and learn the way they do service. I wish every restaurant would take the care to do that. I loved my experience there, and I can tell other diner and ever the workers do too.
Uchi Houston
902 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77006
713-522-4808
http://uchirestaurants.com/houston/index.php
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