Uchi
May 24th, 2008I’m going to take a quick break from recounting our trip to Thailand to tell you about our Uchi experience.
Siam and Meow are in town for Memorial Day. We’d really like to see them move down from Dallas, so we’ve been giving them the hard sell of Austin. Last night we did margaritas at Freddie’s, went to see the bats, and had Thai Passion for dinner. Today, we went to Hamilton Pool, went to Home Slice (best pizza in Austin), and went shopping on South Congress.
For dinner, we went to Uchi. I’d never been before, but my book on Austin restaurants rated it as the best restaurant in the city. Six of us went, and it wasn’t too much of a wait before we had a table. Plus, we got to warm up with some sake at the bar.
Uchi is one of the few places in Austin where you can order family style. They bring out the dishes, place them in the middle of the table, and everyone digs in with their chopsticks. The family style concept is one of my favorite things I enjoyed about Thailand. All meals are served this way. Everyone gets a chance to sample all different types of food, and it’s fun to boot. It really also is a good bonding experience. If you go to a typical restaurant in America, everyone orders their own dish, and someone orders something that you like better, well, you’ll have to order it next time you’re there. That doesn’t happen in Thailand.
We order a bunch of different dishes, and the flood of food begins. Uchi is a sushi restaurant, by the way. I’ve had a decent amount of sushi here (and some in Tokyo), so I’m familiar with what to expect. Jon’s girlfriend, Connolly, has never had sushi before, and is a little leery.
The first dish comes out, and it’s amazing. The next dish comes out — also amazing. In fact, we have about 15 different sushi, sashimi, and beef dishes, and they’re all spectacular. The presentation is perfect, and our waiter prefaces every dish with a description of all ingredients and the best way to eat it. Every piece of fish seems to melt in my mouth. I think it’s safe to say Uchi deserves its rating.
Big props to Jon for treating us all. Even his girlfriend says she likes sushi now. I’m still basking in the afterglow of the meal, and I don’t want to put anything else in my mouth, lest I ruin any remaining tastes on my tongue.
If you’re in Austin, you need to go here. Plus, it’s less than two miles from my house. Come visit, and I’ll take you!