Sushi in Austin. Darn Good too.

I'm working in Austin for the foreseeable future on a pretty exciting project. While I'm sad to be away from my family, it does afford me an opportunity to try new restaurants!



Texas is land of BBQ, is it not? Well, it certainly is not the land of Korean BBQ because the restaurant I tried on Thursday was bad, bad, bad. Come on people, just because you're the only game in town doesn't give you the right to waste my calories. Korean House Restaurant & Sushi Bar. Don't go there.

On to better experiences! If someone told you that you were having sushi in Texas, what would your reaction be? Mine was: "OK, crazy man. I'll go but you do know I'm from the Bay Area, right? That's next to, like, the ocean." Then I ate at Uchiko and I happily ate my words. That was a month ago. 

This past Wednesday, my friend and colleague Andre and I ate at Uchi, the predecessor to Uchiko. Andre and I met each other in Buenos Aires a few years back when we traveled on business for our previous employer EA. We bonded over big, sweet Argentine steaks. As luck would have it, we are now both at Zynga.

The executive chef at Uchi (and Uchiko) is Tyson Cole. Just last month, he was nominated for his 4th James Beard award. I've heard people call his food fusion sushi. That is too generic a description for what I tasted. To start, he finds the freshest sushi I've had outside of Japan. Then he adds flavors that are unconventional, untraditional but purposeful. It speaks of a chef that truly understands flavors. Can't wait to go back ... but will skip dessert.
  

Amuse Bouche of Cucumber Sorbet

Maguro Sashimi and Goat Cheese: bigeye tuna, fuji apple, pumpkin seed oil. Signature Tyson Cole style. Amazing combination of flavors and textures. If someone knows what the brown sauce is, let me know. It is perfect with the goat cheese.

Hot Rock: Sear It Yourself Wagyu Beef with Ponzu Sauce. I can't lie. I like a little red meat to ground a meal of sushi. This is gimmicky but come on! How fun is it to cook little slices of beef on your own little hot rock? Makes me wonder if I could do this in the desert if I found a rock. And little slices of cow.

If you are in the mood for plain o' sushi, you will be rewarded with the freshest sushi you can get your mouth around. Up front is escolar. Buttery goodness. Supposedly, you shouldn't have too much of this fish because it has wax esters that cause unpleasant side effects. Well, ahem, let's not talk about it because we're looking at food.

Bacon Steakie: Gaaah! I ate it. I died. Pork belly, watermelon radish, little slices of kumquat, thai basil. The pork is cooked karaage style, that is, dredged in ginger, garlic, soy sauce, cornstarch and deep-fried.

I had this at Uchiko and it blew my head open. As you can see, they didn't get the best avocados so it wasn't as good. It still blew my mind a little. Scallop with avocado with spicy aioli. Your first taste is the soft, almost creamy scallop. Then the avocado, then the kick comes in. You don't see the aioli so it surprises you.

This is Lemon Ice, Fresh Cream, Green Strawberries. Those are arugula flowers, so beautiful. The cream is dehydrated and looked like dry cottage cheese. The server comes with a little pot of housemade strawberry soda and pours it into the bowl to rehydrate the cream. While I love Cole's food, I do not like his desserts. I don't mind the avante garde techniques but the flavors just do not come together for me. Lemon ice isn't tart enough, cream isn't creamy enough. I had the same experience at Uchiko. Out of four desserts there, I disliked every one especially the one with tobacco flavor ice cream. Gross.