Austin Restaurant Week Spring 2011: Uchi

When I attended the "Uchi, The Cookbook" signing party a couple of months ago, I was overjoyed to score a $25 gift card when I purchased a signed copy of Chef Tyson Cole's book!  What better way to use it than during Austin Restaurant Week! 

Austin Restaurant Week Prix Fixe Menu and Sake Social Menu!

I made early dinner reservations because I wanted to be able to get home early to do a boat load of school work.  This turned out to be another great deal because knowing how I can never be satisfied with just 3 dishes at Uchi or Uchiko (see the ridiculous amounts of food consumed during Sake Social and Austin Restaurant Week Fall 2010 at Uchiko and 2008 Chef's Tasting at Uchi), I'm bound to exceed the prim and proper 3 course meal.  I unabashedly added 4 sake social hour dishes to 3 orders of the Austin Restaurant Week prix fixe dinner so that our party of 3 shared 13 dishes.  Yes...3 courses just turned into 13 courses.  I have no self-control.  I got an inkling that this was a wee bit insane when the waiter thought that we wanted to share one order of the prix fixe menu in addition to the sake social dishes.  Nope.  That's not how I roll.

Even with all this food, the bill came out to be a 1/6 the amount I paid for the chef's tasting for a party of 4 back in 2008.  An aweome bargain!  And yet we managed to eat a feast that Louis the XIV would undoubtedly envy.

Zero Sen - yellowtail, avocado, shallot, yuzu, golden roe, cilantro 

Sakana Carpaccio - sliced daily selection of fish, citrus, olive oil 

We started off with the Zero Sen Roll with a sweet and spicy tamarind sauce and the Sakana Carpaccio. Although I've never had the Zero Sen Roll, it tasted familiar and comforting, but did not have the "wow" factor of other makimonos I've had at Uchi, like the Pitchfork (wagyu beef, avocado, caviar, leek crisp) or the Toledo Makimono (big eye tuna, chorizo, fried almonds, grilled garlic) at Uchiko. On the otherhand, I don't think every dish at Uchi has to have a "wow" factor to be considered a great dish. The quality of the ingredients and execution of the dish matter even more than creativity, and I think this is what makes Uchi so consistent. The Sakana Carpaccio was a simple and elegant dish.  The flavor is crisp, cool, and clean.  It's the perfect way to wake up your appetite.

Walu Walu - oak-grilled escolar, candied citrus, yuzupon, myoga 

The next dish was astonishingly amazing.  This teensy weensy, humble-looking "main course" was impeccably cooked.  The escolar was super crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.  I loved how the super citrusy yuzupon was used instead of regular soy sauce.  This was my absolute favorite of the evening.

Hamachi Baby Yellowtail, (I forgot the type of fish of the sushi in the middle), and the Hotate Spicy Scallop with Avocado

The be-lated first course (trio of sushi)  from the Austin Restaurant Week menu came after the luscious grilled escolar.  Fresh and simple, but it's too bad that this dish isn't conducive to sharing.

Hama Chili - yellowtail sashimi, thai chili, orange

Machi Cure - maplewood-smoked hamachi, yucca, asian pear, marcona almonds, white soy

Next up were the Hama Chili and the Machi Cure from the Sake Social Menu, which turned out to be a great pairing of yellowtail sashimi, one tangy and spicy and the other smokey, crunchy, nutty, and sweet.  I noticed that Uchi is partial to using yellowtail.  I think 6 of the 13 dishes that we ordered had yellowtail!  No complaints here, just an observation.  Well, I guess it's a great occurrence because I just learned from Sushi Encyclopedia that yellowtail is considered a luxury fish!

Bacon Steakie - pork belly, watermelon radish, citrus, thai basil

I had a version of Uchi's Bacon Steakie (twice baked kurobuta pork belly with green apple onion salad and Indonesian soy sauce) in the past, and thus thought that it would be the same.  The one I had in 2008 was sweet and caramel-ish.  Surprise, surprise!  This one is baked or fried to a flavorful crunch on the exterior, and the heavier preparation is countered the flavors of citrus and Thai basil.  I'll take either version anyday. 

Uchiviche - salmon, striped bass, yellow bell pepper, tomato, cilantro 

We never had the Uchiviche, which appears to be a staple dish at Uchi, so we went ahead and ordered it from the Sake Social menu.  This was delicious, but I preferred the complexity of the Machi Cure or the clean taste of the Sakana Carpaccio or Hama Chile.  The salmon had a rich, buttery texture as opposed to the sleek Sakana Carpaccio and Hama Chile.

Hamachi Nabe - baby yellowtail, koshi hikari rice, farm egg, soy broth 

The Hamachi Nabe smelled divine even from afar.  I was taking deep breaths to savor the aroma until the last spoonful of rice.

Shag Roll - salmon, sun-dried tomato, avocado, squid ink sumiso 

Craving one more rice dish, we squeezed in one last savory dish, the Shag Roll, from the Sake Social menu.  This was a popular move because our server was balancing 4 wooden planks of Shag Rolls when he set our order on the table.  This is fried makimono done right!  The batter was thin and crunchy rather than bready, soggy, and chewy at the majority of other establishments.  Forget the nasty "Dynamite Rolls" out there.

Jizake Crème Caramel with brown butter sorbet, ginger consommé

Lemon Gelato with pistachios, white balsamic, golden beet 

Coffee Panna Cotta with mango ‘yolk,’ white chocolate sorbet

Ah, dessert.  Uchi's pastry chef, Philip Speer, is a genius.  His creations never taste or look like their names or menu descriptions.  It's always a gastronomic surprise and delight.  I enjoy the guessing game before the dessert arrives in trying to picture how it will be plated, and I relish in the twists and turns of flavors.  We are so complacent about our dessert expectations - desserts are sweet, duh!  Well, I get a wake-up call everytime I taste the desserts here.  There's always some other flavor that balances out the sweet.  The most prominent example is the Coffee Panna Cotta, which is accented with an earthy chocolate and coffee "soil" that is speckled with something that tastes savory.

The lemon gelato was my favorite but is perhaps the more straightforward dish.  I was able to pick up the subtle sweetness of the beet from the glace, but I would've liked to taste more of the golden beet coulis. 

The most impressive dessert dish we had that evening was the Jizake Creme Caramel.  The brown butter sorbet floored us.  It really tastes 100% like brown butter!  On top of the tremendous deliciousness of the sorbet that was sitting on top of some crushed and toasted almonds, the server poured over it ginger consommé.  While cooing over the sorbet, we almost forgot about the star of this dish, the creme caramel!  When we finally got to it, we were treated to one of the smoothest creme caramel (or of anything in the flan category). 

I can't wait to come back for my graduation dinner!

What Do You Eat after Skydiving and Flying?

Thanks to the online discount certificates to restaurants and fun activities around Austin, I have been able to do things that I never thought I could afford!

My brother and I spent some quality sibling time learning how to fly a helicopter and airplane last week in Seguine, TX.  I also went skydiving November 2010 in Lexington, TX!  These two activities were among the highest ranked activities on my bucket list, and it feels so good to be able to check them off my list!  

My biggest concern was what to eat after piloting a plane and jumping out of one.  For both activities, I made sure to have a super light breakfast to so that I don't regret eating before doing the activities.  However, this made me super hungry after I finished doing each activity.

I was a bit queasy after skydiving because the gliding part was a bit disorienting.  The sudden change in direction when my tandem instructor showed me how to turn by tugging on my left arm made me want to vomit into the vast span of farmland below.  I survived and put on a brave, if weak, smile upon landing.  By the time I recovered a little bit from the motion sickness, I was definitely hungry.  But I didn't know what I could eat that would not make me feel worse.  My skydiving partner and I settled on sushi because it's a somewhat light option.

Getting ready to jump

Getting into position

Free Fall!

Parachute opening up

Gliding

Back on land

On the drive from Lexington back into Austin, we discussed all the inexpensive sushi options in Austin, and there really weren't a lot.  There was Sushi A Go Go, which we opted against because at that time, they only operated out of one trailer at Medical Arts, which was a bit inconvenient for us.  Finally, we decided to try Haiku in the Southpark Meadows strip mall.

For non-traditional maki rolls, these were pretty good!  The portions were huge, so one roll for each of us would've sufficed, but we ordered 3 just in case.  The sauces were a bit too sweet for my liking, but I just ate the rolls without the sauces.  My favorite roll was the South Park Roll because it was spicy, packed with my favorite maki roll ingredients, and didn't come with any sauce.  

South Park Roll - crawfish and fried tempura batter wrapped with snow crab, spicy tuna and wasbitobiko with avocado

Longhorn Roll - tempura shrimp, snow crab, cream cheese, smelt roe, and fresh tuna with spicy mayo and eel sauce

Tropical Roll - tempura shrimp, snow crab, wrapped in soy paper with salmon and fresh mango

Flying a helicopter and a plane was thrilling but definitely not as nerve-racking as skydiving.  However, so much adrenaline pumped through me while piloting for 30 minutes in the air that I felt weak again, this time from hunger!

Bro ready for take-off

Bro about to show off his hovering skills

Landed

Yup, the wing is my step...I feel super safe

Flying over New Braunfels

Landing

My brother suggested that we drive 30 minutes to San Marcos to have an early lunch at Red Lobster.  Now, now, I know foodies out there balk at the idea of eating at the Olive Garden  and Red Lobster chains, but it's just like how I think about the numerous Americanized Chinese food joints across the U.S.  They're not authentic; they're mutated versions of the original cuisines that should be taken as is and not compared to authentic ones.  It can still serve a satisfying meal, and we should let go of attaching "guilty" to "pleasure" when aligning ourselves with some of these establishments.  While growing up, my family frequented the neighborhood Red Lobster on weekends.  Hey, affordable seafood that tastes pretty good!  We're not going to put our noses up in the air!  

I recently tasted their awesomely addictive lobster pizza, so I didn't hesitate to order it again for my post-flight nourishment.  Judge all you want!

Lobster Pizza

Cutie Pie Wagon

Cutie Pie Wagon

After a day of classes, I decided to buy a snack.  I craved something...I didn't know what, just something from a trailer I haven't visited before.  After menu-shopping at the various trailers parked on South Congress, I settled on the award-winning Buttermilk Pie at Cutie Pie Wagon.  It was pretty expensive for this miniature pie, but it was quite delicious.  Not mind-blowing, but enough to satisfy my cravings and allowed me to re-fuel before a night of readings and papers.

Buttermilk Pie

Brunch at South Congress Cafe

My good friend, E, treated me to a delicious brunch at South Congress Cafe.  I've always wanted to try their Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict, but somehow never found the right time to brunch until this past December.  I thoroughly enjoyed my eggs benedict.  They're the best I've had!  I loved that the eggs are like mini omlettes rather than poached eggs (I'm not a fan of poached eggs).

Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict with Smoked Gouda Potato Pancake- topped with spinach bacon quiche and crispy prosciutto

Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict - topped with spinach bacon quiche and crispy prosciutto

E got a dish that I really want to try next time, the Quail Sandwich with Truffled Remoulade.  Mmmm!

Quail Sandwich with Truffled Remoulade - with bacon, caramelized onions, roasted portabella mushrooms, baby arugula and roma tomatoes

Quail Sandwich with Truffled Remoulade

Thanks, E!

IM Thai Cuisine

IM Thai Cuisine is a new Thai restaurant that has won me over with its delicious offerings and great service.  What is super great about this place is that you can taste the freshness of the ingredients. 

The Thai tea here is not too sweet, which is perfect.  I want my Thai tea to taste like tea and not some syrupy mess.

Thai Tea

We ordered the N3 Pad Kee Mao, which is stir-fried flat noodles with mushrooms, Thai chili, basil, tomatoes, bell peppers, and (choice of meat) beef.  The Pad Kee Mao is addictive.  The tangyness from the tomatoes gives this noodle dish a sharper flavor.  I used to think that I could never part with my Kua Gai at Thai restaurants, but this might be my new Thai noodle dish obsession.  I have to admit, my former go-to Thai restaurant, Madam Mam's, has gotten really lax with the quality of their meats. I detected some funky smell and taste in the beef several times in my beloved F11 Guay Teaw Kua Gai. The meat in my noodle dish at IM Thai does not have the stink of days/week old meat like at Madam Mam's. So-long Madam Mam, and hello IM Thai!

 

Pad Kee Mao

I originally wanted to try the C6 Duck Curry, but it wasn't available that day so I ordered the H2 Pla Pad Ped, crispy catfish topped with stir-fried bell peppers, fresh basil, lime leaves in a red curry sauce.  This really was a whole catfish.  The portion was huge!  And I did not complain.  This dish is so amazing that my dining companion and I nearly finished everything in the adorable fish fire pot.  Although the pieces of catfish was simmering in the curry, the fish still retained its fried crispiness.  The curry itself was sweet, savory, creamy, and spicy.  I highly recommend this dish.

Pla Pad Ped

Pla Pad Ped



Odd Duck Farm to Trailer and Gourdough's

The cluster of food trailers on S. Lamar is a dangerous place.  It's hard to order just one thing, and the food isn't exactly healthy.  But the food tastes too damn good to exercise self-control for the sake of health.

Odd Duck Farm to Trailer is only open for dinner on Tuesdays - Saturdays.  The menu changes every so often, but you can usually count on there being variations of pork belly slider and quail.  The wait time is rather lengthy, but the food is very well prepared.  I always get whatever pork belly slider is on the menu because it never fails to knock my socks off.

Shredded pork shoulder on toasted baguette with roasted corn and sweet onion

Slider with spiced pork belly, sauerkraut, jalapeno and arugula

Gourdough's is another lethal trailer at this location.  The doughnuts are made upon order, and thus are the freshest and hottest doughnuts you can get in Austin.  The doughnut is light and fluffy.  Perfection.

Gourdough's-Naughty & Nice doughnut

La Boîte Cafe: Follow-up

So last time, I wrote that La Boite's croissants were dense and were not flakey.  But after buying croissants early in the morning rather than in the afternoon, I realized that their freshly baked croissants are indeed flakey, particularly the almond croissants. 

Assortment of Croissants: butter, ham and cheese, and almond

I was even happier when I found out that La Boîte makes macarons, and not just the boring usual flavors, but bold and creative ones!  Below were the first macarons I bought from this bakery.  I have also tasted rose, guava, durian, pistachio with chocolate ganache, and chocolate with coffee cream.  Forget about the dinky Central Market macarons, these are much more satisfying!

Assortment of Macarons: (I forgot what the multi-colored one is), lemon, vanilla, fleur de sel caramel, plum, and green tea 

Austin Restaurant Week Fall 2010: Green Pastures

I apologize for not being helpful by posting about the Fall 2010 Austin Restaurant Week in such an untimely fashion.  Although reviewing these dishes is somewhat pointless now, to some foodies, just looking at the photos and descriptions of food is enough to brighten our day.

I have wanted to try Green Pastures's restaurant week dinner for since a couple of restaurant weeks ago.  I've read about and seen photos of their lobster tail appetizer of previous restaurant weeks and decided that I had to carve time out of a school night to take advantage of this incredible deal!  Every dish was delicious.  Green Pastures's restaurant week menu probably offers the biggest bang for a $35 prix-fixe in Austin.  I'll let the photos and the lengthy menu descriptions speak for themselves.

White Peacock at Green Pastures

South Texas Trio:

Bacon-wrapped Jalapeno-stuffed Texas Quail

Valencia Orange and Fresh Bay Pork En Croute

Ancho-Garlic Goat Cheese Chicken Sausage with Poblano Sauce and Navajo Bread

Valencia Orange and Fresh Bay Pork En Croute

Ancho-Garlic Goat Cheese Chicken Sausage with Poblano Sauce and Navajo Bread

Bacon-wrapped Jalapeno-stuffed Texas Quail

Sake Bombed Lobster Tail

BBQ Kirin Tempura Lobster Tail with Black Pepper Ginger Sake Butter and Sesame Scallions

Saloon Style Steak:

Brown Sugar and Tellicherry Black Pepper Cured USDA Prime Beef Filet, Roasted Sweet Potato, Cabbage Confit, Pasilla Essence

Texas Hydroponic Redfish:

Coriander Spiced Redfish, Steamed Crab Cake, Coconut-Jasmine Rice, Fried Cilantro, Curried Cashews and Lime-Long Pepper Butter

Green Pastures Bread Pudding:

Traditional New Orleans Style Bread Pudding with White Chocolate, Pecans, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg Served with a Jack Daniels Sauce

Koock Cheesecake:

Rich and Velvety New York Style Cheesecake with Raspberry and Blackberry Sauces