JANUARY: Nori Handroll Bar

I'm finally back from a long break from blogging! My new concept for CHOMP! is that once a month, I will be featuring my favorite dining spot from the previous month. Since today is the last day of February, I gotta hurry up and post my favorite from Jan2019! I am also removing my "cookie rating" since these will all be my favorites. It'll get boring when all of them have 5 "cookies". Haha!

Technically I've been going to Nori since October of last year... and I've wanted to write about them ever since then (but life got busy and I was a little burnt out). But it's too good not to feature, so they're kicking off my 2019! Plus I did go to Nori in January. Ha!

I've been following Chef Jimmy Park since the days of Pok the Raw Bar (still my favorite poke place in Dallas). I had one of the best meals when the raw bar opened up there. Since Chef Jimmy left Pok, I've been WAITING for him to do something else. Finally Nori Handroll Bar opened in September 2018 in Deep Ellum!! Woohoo!

Nori Handroll Bar
2814 Elm St.
Dallas, TX 75226
(469) 436-6674
norihandrollbar.com
Price: $$-$$$$

I've gone numerous times since they've opened and every time the food is just fantastic. I expected nothing less from Chef Jimmy! Hands down my favorite sushi spot in Dallas, Nori has a great chef (duh!), a great team, and wonderful owners. Plus the decor (minimalist modern) and the music are great!

Chef Jimmy Park being his awesome self.

They specialize in handrolls (or "Temaki") which is a new trend in DFW. A few things to understand when eating handrolls...
1) The seaweed is very important. Nori's is custom made so it has that perfect crispness when you bite into it. Eat it quickly when they place the handroll in front of you so you can experience that perfect texture. The longer the handrolls sit, the softer the seaweed can get. (Mind you, it's still good if left sitting too long, but once you experience how it's SUPPOSED to be, you'll know what I'm talking about!)
2) The handroll chefs at Nori will wait until you have consumed one roll before making your next one. That way the handrolls are not left sitting too long.
3) This one is specific to Nori... their handrolls do not need soy sauce. AT ALL! I have never used soy sauce there because each roll is already so flavorful. I do get their wasabi relish to put on there though. YUM!

Aside from handrolls, Nori also offers complimentary tapas such as seaweed salad, octopus salad, edamame, shishito peppers, and more. 

Yes, complimentary. It's awesome. On the dinner menu, you can also find the full selection of hot dishes like their awesome brussels sprouts, hamachi kama (yellowtail cheek), etc. They have various sashimi dishes which sometimes changes depending on whatever fresh fish they have that day. They also have a sake bar at the front of the restaurant which is pretty badass looking!

Since I've been there so many times already, I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures and what they are. You can't go wrong with anything. I'd happily eat any of these again!

Yamaimo (japanese mountain yam, shisho, ume boshi) $5.50~ Gluten free and vegetarian

King Salmon (house cured ora king salmon, crushed sesame seeds, chives) $7~ Gluten free

Negitoro (fatty tuna, scallion) $9~ Gluten free

Negihama (yellowtail, scallion, crushed sesame) $7~ Gluten free

Nori Scallop (hokkaido scallop, tempura crunch, creamy spicy) $8~ This is a personal favorite.

Red Crab (red crab, garlic aioli) $9~ Gluten free

Baked crab... torched in front of you. Yum!

Baked Crab (red crab, baked avocado with creamy spicy) $9~ Gluten free. Another personal favorite.

Ebi Katsu (panko shrimp, ginger dressing) $8~ This is my absolute favorite!

Chef's Temaki Special: This changes, but I had Tamago (egg).

Lobster (lobster, butter ponzu aioli) $10~

Uni (uni, lobster roe pate, gold flake) $MKT~ Gluten free

Brussels Sprouts (fried brussels, parmesan, premium sauce, crushed sesame) $7~

Rock Shrimp Tempura (amazu ponzu or creamy spicy, yuzu) $MKT~

Hamachi Kama (yellowtail collar) $18~

Takoyaki (octopus dumplings, mentaiko sauce, bonito) $8~

Chicken Karaage (japanese fried chicken) $8~

Here are also some special bites that Chef Jimmy has made for me. I am honored to be considered his friend and can experience these wonderful creations! Disclaimer: Nori does not offer omakase (chef's tasting) on their regular menu. They may offer it on certain holidays so keep an eye out for that! They recently did one for NYE and Valentine's Day.

Hakami in homemade soy sauce

Salmon Belly nigiri

Home cured Japanese mackerel nigiri

Yellowtail in homemade wasabi soy sauce

Bluefin with ponzu

Kampachi with jalapeno dressing

Spear Squid nigiri

One last thing. Save room for dessert. It's not listed on the menu, but sometimes Nori will have this donut ice cream dessert that is just to die for. The donuts are from Detour Doughnuts in Frisco (they're seriously good at what they do) and topped with either a matcha or black sesame ice cream, with different sauces poured at the table. It's delicious. You won't wanna share. :P

Detour's custom Black Sesame donut with Black Sesame ice cream

Detour's Creme Brulee donut with Black Sesame ice cream and chocolate sauce

Thanks for always taking such great care of me, Chef Jimmy and Nori team! If this post doesn't convince you to go check them out... I don't think we can be friends. LOL! They just recently rolled out a new lunch menu btw. I'll be checking that out soon!


~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Engagement Anniversary at Uchi

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

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~