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Everyone knows that Uchi is good. But I think most people also know that it's quite expensive. So you'll wanna read about this cuz their happy hour or "Sake Social" can save your wallet a little. :P
Uchi
2817 Maple Ave.
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 855-5454
https://uchidallas.com
Price (for HH): $$
Sake Social runs daily from 5-6:30PM. Yep, that's right, even on Saturdays and Sundays. Aside from a few holidays, they have this pretty much all year. And here's the best part... everything on the menu is LESS THAN $10... including the drinks! It's also available in the entire restaurant, not just limited to the bar. Woohoo!
I got invited to check out Sake Social back in January. My friend and I got to try a bunch of stuff! :)
Kara Kyuri (cold sake, yuzu, cucumber, thai chili) $8~ My friend got a cocktail. It sounds super refreshing. She really liked it.
Spicy Crunchy Salmon (cucumber, avocado, chili) $6~ A pretty simple roll but it was fresh and I liked the crunchy tempura flakes on the outside.
Negihama (yellowtail, negi, tamari) $6~ Also pretty simple yet fresh. I really liked the negi (Japanese long onion) in there.
Natsu Beef (squash, fennel, shortrib) $8~ What a pretty dish. That splash of green totally made the plate pop! The beef was super tender. We both loved this dish!
Gyutoro Dolma (short rib laarb, trinity puree, puffed rice) $10~ Also a beautiful dish. Just look at the colors! Especially with that blue bowl. I think this was my favorite from the Sake Social menu. I normally don't like dolmas but since this is made with untraditional ingredients, it's totally different. The puffed rice added a nice crunchy texture. The trinity puree was delicious... I think that made the dish.
Yucca Frites (yuzu kosho, labneh, herb trinity) $6~ The prettiest presentation of fried yucca I've ever seen. haha. It was fried to perfection. Each cube was delicate, crunchy, and fluffy on the inside.
Gailan (chinese broccoli, chili, white ponzu) $5~ Loved this! I'm always looking for vegetables in my meals. The flavoring in this dish was bold. And those garlic chips were everything!
We also got a few items off the regular menu.
Karaage (chicken thigh, sweet chili, seasonal pickle) $10.50~ I love their karaage, I've had it before. The sauce packs a punch. I wished it was a little crunchier on the outside though.
Foie Gras Nigiri (duck liver) $9.50~ This is a MUST at Uchi. I know the price tag is a little shocking. This is PER piece. But it's seriously one of the best bites of my life. The first time I had it a couple years ago, I actually teared up because it was so unexpectedly amazing. I'm typically not a huge fan of foie gras. But the textures, sear on the foie gras, and just the whole sensation is mind blowing. At least for me. You gotta at least try it once for yourself.
Banago (banana, black sesame, thai basil) $10~ Uchi has some really interesting desserts. They're also always really pretty. I really wanted to try this mainly because I love black sesame. It was interesting to say the least... The black sesame mousse thing was made with tofu. Not sure if I would've ordered that if I had known that little detail. I think flavor-wise, it was good... but texturally, it was a little weird for me. I loved the sesame crisps and the thai basil added a bright pop. But this is definitely my least favorite dish of the night.
All the dishes are pretty small, but shareable. We were full by the end of the meal. If you stick to the Sake Social menu, it's a pretty good deal! Our waitress, Payton, was amazing. Shoutout to her for such wonderful service. And thank you, Uchi, for having us.
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
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July 4th was our first (and last) engagement anniversary. By this time next year, we will already be married! Gotta do it big for this eh? I made a reservation for the new Uchi in Dallas. I've always wanted to go to the one in Austin but never made it.
I also heard that their happy hour is pretty good and it's for the entire restaurant, not just at the bar. I love that. Makes it easier instead of having to fight for a space. So I made our reservation for 5PM, right as they opened for dinner service. This way we can take advantage of the Sake Social (Happy Hour 5-6:30PM daily).
Uchi - Dallas
2817 Maple Ave.
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 855-5454
http://uchirestaurants.com/dallas/
Price: $$$$$+
We arrived 10 minutes before 5PM. We were the 2nd group to show up. The first couple were waiting by the front door. They haven't even opened up the restaurant yet. Within the next 5 minutes, more and more cars pulled up and in the blink of an eye, there was a long line waiting at the front door already. A waitress came by with little sushi rolls for all the people waiting in line. That was a nice little treat.
At 5PM, the doors open and we all filed in to check in with the hostess. We were immediately seated (obviously). The decor is modern and sophisticated but felt warm with the wood paneling on the walls and the tables. I really liked the decor. For our party of 2, they gave us a table for 4, so that was nice to have the extra space. I also said it was our anniversary when I made the reservation so from the hostess, to our waiter who sat us, to the waiter who took our orders, all wished us a happy anniversary. That was really thoughtful. :)
Our waiter brought us some water and gave us the rundown of how things operated. Their dishes are more tapas style... smaller plates, meant for sharing. And we can order as we go but just not order one dish at a time since that tends to slow down the kitchen. Makes sense. So we decided to do it in rounds.
I had a big list of things to try. hehe. So we started with the Sake Social menu. The portions are smaller but they are from the regular menu so you can try it before paying the full price.
ROUND 1:
Koshu Hot Sake $3~ I don't like sake, but I drank a small cup. For $3, it was a really good amount. Their sake bottle is bigger than some other Japanese restaurants.
Machi Cure (smoked baby yellowtail, yucca crisp, marcona almond) $6~
This was different than what I expected. But good. It was like a yellowtail nacho. But with yucca. The yucca was sliced super thin and fried. The yellowtail was super fresh. I liked all the elements together in one bite. There was about 4 yucca pieces in this dish. Small portions for sure!
Yokai Berry (salmon, dinosaur kale, asian pear, blueberry, yuzu) $6~
I was interested about this one. When everything's eaten in one bite, it's pretty good, but on their own, it's quite underwhelming. The salmon is super fresh which was great. But eh, I was bored. I didn't get much flavor from it all.
Walu Walu (oak grilled escolar, candied citrus, yuzupon, myoga) $8~
This seemed to be a popular dish from all the people that have already been to Uchi. I wasn't nearly as impressed with it. The fish was cooked ok. Could've been more tender. I loved the candied citrus on top though, an interesting flavor combination. The yuzupon sauce on the bottom, however, was way too sour for me. If it hadn't been for the candied citrus, it was way too acidic. My fiance liked it better than I did.
Bacon Otoshi (pork belly, kimchi, onion, jalapeno) $6~
Yum! Thick chunks of pork belly. And I loved the texture with the thin rice chips or whatever it was. The Korean flavors definitely came through on this one. Bold. A mixture of tangy and salty and spicy. I liked it a lot.
Brussels Sprouts (crispy brussels sprouts, lemon chili) $7~
This was the only item in round 1 that's not on the happy hour menu. But it's brussels sprouts, so we must get it. Plus I heard great things about it. The waiter also said it's the best.. and he doesn't even like brussels sprouts! Well that just totally hyped it up. And of course, it didn't meet my expectations. It was really delicious, don't get me wrong. But I've had my fair share of brussels sprouts and this is not the best. haha. It definitely had a great char on it. But flavors weren't mind blowing. One of the best ones we've had is still the late Village Kitchen in Highland Park Village that closed down mid 2014. :( Sadness. I miss it.
We're ready for Round 2! Since the portions from the first round was small, we went all out for the next one... looking back... probably not the best idea, since these are now all from the regular menu. haha.
ROUND 2:
Kabocha Tempura (japanese pumpkin) 2pcs. $2.50~
Expensive for 2 pieces of tempura, but really yum! It made my top 5 list for the night. The kabocha was perfectly tender, the tempura was light and crispy, and the seasoning was spot on. Reminded me of something I had in Japan.
Karaage (fried marinated chicken, sweet chili, fish caramel, seasonal pickle) $10~
This was highly recommended by the waiter. We were skeptical... he said they won some award with this recipe or something. But why not? It was sooo yummy! The chicken was sooo juicy. Fried really well and that sauce was delicious. Korean flavors... tangy and a little sweet and spicy. It's in my top 5 as well. I didn't care for the pickles though. My fiance ate all of them.
Nabe (duck, mushroom, chili) $24~
I heard really good things about this dish so I wanted to try it. It comes in a clay dish and so the rice gets crispy. Love that! The dish was served with the egg yolk on top. I wasn't fast enough to get a picture before the waitress mixed it up for us. Then she told us to let it sit for 5 minutes or so to get the rice crisp up. It smelled really good. So... I don't think 5 minutes is enough for the rice to crisp so we left it in longer after I tried a bite. Everything was good except there's a really sour taste in there. I thought it was the sauce she poured in before she mixed everything so I just continued eating. Later, my fiance realized that a certain mushroom in there... the one that looks like a giant enoki mushroom, was the culprit. I tried one... yes! OMG it was so sour. Not sure if that's how they marinated it, or it was bad...? But I picked all of them out and then the dish was great. At first it was a little underwhelming, but with each bite, the more and more I liked it. So at the end, it still made my top 5... MINUS the super sour mushrooms!
Oh... during the meal, they came and gave us some scallops, compliments of the kitchen. Yay! The scallops were cooked to perfection. So tender. I loved the combo with the sauce and mini potato chips.
Roasted Beets (skyr yogurt, bitter greens, local honey) $8~
Super fun and colorful dish. The beets are prepped 3 ways. I don't remember it all, but one was "brioche", which I thought I misheard. But it was basically like a beet crouton. Crunchy and crumbly. Wasn't my favorite. The other 2 preps were fantastic though. There was one that just kind of melted in your mouth. Top 5. Yup!
Foie Nigiri (seared foie gras) $9.50~ per piece.
This was the last thing we ordered. We were hesitant to since it's $10 a piece. A PIECE!!! Whoa. But I've heard rave reviews and neither of us had ever had a really good piece of foie. I've mostly had it as a mousse and never saw the hype behind it all. Plus it was our anniversary. Go big right? So we each got one. The waitress said usually nigiri is inserted right side up when you eat it. But for this, we should turn it upside down so the foie touches our tongue first. It's a little tricky... the rice started falling apart when we did that. So I chucked it into my mouth. I immediately put my hand to my mouth because it was SO GLORIOUS!!! OMG. THIS IS SO GOOD. WHY HAVEN'T I EVER HAD FOIE GRAS LIKE THIS BEFORE?!?! I had this giant grin on my face... and I almost teared up. SERIOUSLY... one of the best bites of my life, to date. I never knew foie gras could be that good. I'm a believer now! It was just so perfectly buttery, literally melted in your mouth. And the combination with the rice texture was PERFECTION. And that sear?? WOW! Get it, just do it, you'll thank me after. Best thing ever, definitely was my number 1.
We were pretty stuffed by now. The rice and chicken sure filled us up. So we were thinking we were only going to try 1 dessert. However, we were curious about another and the waiter basically talked us into trying it as well. :P
Fried Milk (chocolate milk, toasted milk, iced milk sherbert) $9~
We knew we wanted this one. Quite interesting... especially the iced milk sherbert, it was so light! But you can still taste the milk. My favorite was the milk chocolate mousse/bar thing on the bottom. So freaking silky. And I liked the texture from the corn flake bits or whatever it was. The fried milk is on the left side, and it's actually like a custard (and you can see the vanilla bean specks in it) and the dough on the outside. That was my fiance's favorite part but for me, I could've done without it. The chocolate bar was my fav.
Lime Cream (puffed rice, seasonal fruit, herbs) $9~
The waiter said the cream on the bottom is standard but the fruit/flavors on top change frequently, which is kinda cool. So you can try different variations all the time. The seasonal fruit was watermelon. So they had these Dippin Dots type frozen watermelon balls. There's also compressed watermelon in salt. It was such a cool looking dish. It's like a terrarium! Almost not sure if we wanted to eat it or grow it. haha. But uber interesting!!! So many textures and flavors. I particularly liked the puffed rice that was on the bottom. Added that crunch and the compressed watermelon added a savoriness. I've never had anything like this before. Be adventurous and try this at least once. I can guarantee 100% that it won't taste like anything you THINK it might taste like. It made my honorary top 5 for the night.
It was a great meal. I was a little surprised by how I felt overall. I had the expectation that everything was going to be just absolutely amazing. And while everything was fresh and cooked well, I wasn't super excited by most of it. The foie gras was the only thing that was MIND BLOWING. So I'm not sure if I will return. If anything I'll just order 5 pieces of foie gras nigiri and call it a day. hahaha. :P And also, all of my top 5 dishes are non-seafood. I had the perception that since this is Japanese, then sushi would be at the forefront. But honestly, most of the beginning fish dishes were not very memorable, albeit tasty. The service was great. I particularly like one waitress (we had several serve us), because she would explain the dish but also tell us why SHE likes it, I thought that was a nice personal touch. All in all, the bill came out to be around $150 after tax and tip. Wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I think going for the social hour helped a lot. And we were stuffed!
I still remember the flavors and my reaction when I put the foie gras in my mouth. I think I'll go back just to have it again. haha. If I was just rating this one dish... it would be a 10 out of 5 cookies. :P
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My fiance and I went to Houston last week to spend Christmas with his family. The first night there we went to a restaurant called Just Dinner on Dunlavy. I found it through Yelp searches. It was a restored old home and the reviews were all very positive.
This house was built in 1928. It was transformed into this cozy restaurant and opened in 2007. They source from their organic garden and shop daily for the freshest ingredients.
Just Dinner on Dunlavy
1915 Dunlavy Street
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 807-0077
www.justdinnerhouston.com
Price: $$$$
It was a small house. Very cozy when we walked in. They had dim lighting, Christmas decorations up and felt like you were going to a friend's home almost. We were seated in the front room. Our table was covered in magazine clippings. I thought that was a unique way to decorate the table, and minimize clean up, AND use up old magazines. haha. Recycle! :)
We brought a bottle of wine with us since it's BYOB. They do charge a corkage fee of $10 for every 750ml. They immediately asked if we wanted an ice bucket for our wine. We asked them if they could put it in the fridge first and it was no problem at all. The waiter brought us some waters and a little bit of their Pesto Hummus (with multigrain chips). The chips were like the store bought multigrain chips. I laughed a little when I saw it, but I actually really like these chips. The pesto hummus was really tasty. I do wish we had pita bread or something instead.
Soup of the Day: Sweet Potato Soup $7~ My fiance ordered this. I wanted to try it. The soup was silky and yummy. There were chunks of sweet potato in the soup as well but I thought they were undercooked. Slightly crunchy still.
He also wanted to try the Foie Gras Creme Caramel (pickled seasonal fruit, warm house-made brioche) $20~
He's never had foie gras. I'm not a huge fan. I mean I'll eat it, but it usually tends to be too heavy. So I was thinking he wouldn't like it. However, this was more of a sweet preparation of foie gras and I've never had it like this before. It was made more like a thick flan and it was more sweet than savory. It was pretty amazing. They served it with thin slices of brioche. Normally I love brioche but this one was basically soaked in butter. Too heavy to eat with the creamy foie gras. I ended up just eating the foie gras on its own. But I did like the pairing with the pickled fruit...although they seemed more like butternut squash or something instead of fruit. The acid from the pickled fruits definitely help cut some of the heaviness of the dish. Not the typical prep of foie gras, but delicious. I guess he'll have to try foie gras again another time to get the savory aspect of it.
Ratatouille (pickled vegetables, Belgium endive spears) $11~
My fiance's sister ordered this as her main meal. It's listed as an appetizer. Again, a very different preparation than we expected. It was served as a mound with endives on the side. And it was served cold. We all expected to be a hot dish, since it is stewed vegetables...
Pasta of the Day: Spaghetti (with meatballs and sausage).
His father got the pasta of the day. It was a huge portion! The spaghetti was cooked well. I thought the marinara was a bit more sour than I would've liked but the meatballs were good. They have pine nuts mixed into them!
Braised Boneless Short Ribs (port wine cherry sauce, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables) $30~ My fiance ordered this. It was massive as well and the meat was very tender. He loved it.
Pan Seared Chicken Breast (wild mushroom pan sauce, blue cheese polenta, mixed vegetables) $24~
His mom wanted to try the blue cheese polenta so she order the chicken. Again, a sizable portion. She had some leftover chicken to take home. I tried a bite of the polenta. The blue cheese flavor was very mild, which is good. Sometimes blue cheese is quite overwhelming.
Stuffed Collard Rolls (quinoa, black rice, amaranth, roasted red pepper sauce) $20~
This sounded totally interesting so I ordered it. I like everything listed here. Two large rolls, it was very filling. I loved all the texture inside the collards. There was also hazelnuts (I'm pretty sure) inside... maybe a little too much. It added a nice crunch but a few bites had so many that's all I could taste. But overall, very good, and healthy! Did you know that amaranth is full of protein, iron, calcium, and triple the fiber of wheat? And it's gluten free. :) I need to find more of this.
At some point, we also got rolls. I don't think I noticed when it was served. haha. Too busy taking pictures of everything else!
Crispy Bacon Lardons Brussels Sprouts $7~ I also ordered the Brussels sprouts. Duh! If it's on the menu, I'm ordering it! It was yummy. Plus bacon, always a classic combination.
Everyone had a great time. His parents said they'd go back for sure. Really quaint setting. The service was warm and friendly and the food was good. Plus everything's seasonal so the menu changes every few months. :)
Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas!!
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