XL Food & Drink: The Main Course

Uchi

Exquisite flavor, artistry make 5 stars align

By Dale Rice
AMERICAN-STATESMAN RESTAURANT CRITIC
Thursday, August 24, 2006

It was a typical Friday in August. The sweltering day peaked at 102 late in the afternoon, cooling off to the low 90s by 7:30. That's when we sat down outside Uchi for the expected hour-and-a-half wait for space at the restaurant's sushi bar (the area around the bar inside was already full).

An hour and 10 minutes later — hot, sweaty and miserable — we were summoned to our seats, where a frosty amuse-bouche of pineapple-saffron ice cream began to put the oppressive day behind us.

Then, just two bites into the higawari carpaccio ($17), slices of ivory-colored escolar in a vinaigrette with micro-greens, all thoughts of summer evaporated and gustatory nirvana descended.

That culinary enchantment remained for the 2 1/2-hour feast that followed, a dinner filled with imagination, artistry and deft execution with service to match.

The evening's first order — the seafood carpaccio — set the bar high, and it never toppled. Made that night with escolar (it's usually made with madai, a black snapper from Tokyo, but the fish shipment was delayed), the carpaccio was seasoned with sea salt, black pepper and garlic and lightly seared with a blow torch, which locked in the flavor but did not warm the fish. It was served with a tangerine-infused olive oil and a sanbai zu sauce (flavored with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar and dashi), pieces of tangerine and micro-greens snipped from their growing containers at the counter.

"That's probably my favorite thing," Uchi chef-owner Tyson Cole said in a phone conversation last week. When he first began eating sushi, he loved white fish, such as escolar, with ponzu sauce. With the seasoning and oil he has added, the dish has risen far beyond the basic one he initially adored.

A twist on the Mexican classic, the uchiviche ($9) also delivered an outstanding flavor combination with its brightly colored mix of salmon and striped bass with tomatoes, orange bell peppers, cilantro, garlic and Thai chilies.

The hamachi cure ($17) brought a more unusual fusion of flavors — cold applewood-smoked Japanese yellowtail sashimi, asparagus and Asian pears — in a harmonious play of smoky, sweet and pungent notes.

From the kitchen, two of the nightly specials — the chibitori ichichigo ($19) and the kimo hatchimitsu ($23) — demonstrated the already popular restaurant's growth. Both, produced by chef de cuisine Deegan McClung, exhibited a captivating, graceful aesthetic.

The chibitori ichichigo featured brined Hill Country quail that had been flattened before cooking. The quail were served with delicately fried squash blossoms coated in tempura batter with nori (dried seaweed), slices of Japanese pumpkin and caramelized figs.

As incredible as that dish was, the kimo hatchimitsu was even more exquisite. It paired seared foie gras with toasted triangles of brioche, saffron foam and a grilled peach topped with local honeycomb — with a sheet of caramelized sugar for garnish.

Dessert, the work of pastry chef Philip Speer, kept pace.

The sake-rice panna cotta with housemade green apple sorbet and apple foam ($9) and the the fondant made of dark chocolate and spicy wasabi ($8) were as sophisticated and enticing as anything in Austin and far beyond.

Now all parts of what began as a stellar sushi bar are equal. Uchi has achieved a balance that few restaurants attain, earning it a place among Austin's few five-star restaurants.

drice@statesman.com; 445-3859