austin: uchi happy hour

Posted by twoyangs on July 21, 2011 in Blog, United States | 2 comments

Thanks to a tip from Danny’s brother, we visited Uchi in Austin, sampled a lot of Tyson Cole’s inventive food, and managed to come out with only a minor dent in the wallet.  Uchi serves what they call a “Social Menu” every day between 5-6:30PM.  Considering the cost of the regular menu, it’s a great deal but the prices end promptly at 6:30PM.  Book a reservation (they’re on Open Table) and come out!  We tried almost everything, and here’s how we ranked them, from least favorite to favorite.

negihama: baby yellowtail, scallion

uchiviche: salmon, striped bass, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, cilantro

shag: tempura roll, salmon, sun-dried tomato, avocado

walu walu: oak-grilled escolar, candied citrus, yuzupon, myoga

crunchy tuna: bigeye, avocado, tempura flakes, cucumber

**bacon steakie: pork belly, watermelon radish, citrus, thai basil

**machi cure: smoked baby yellowtail, yucca crisp, asian pear, marcona almond, garlic brittle

**hama chili: baby yellowtail, ponzu, thai chili, orange supreme

The dishes with asterisks are the ones we highly recommend.  The bacon steakie is just pork belly goodness.  Susan’s favorite was the hama chili with the fish melting on your tongue and complemented well by the citrus elements and a bit of heat.  Danny loved the machi cure because of the creativity and playfulness, although it was hard to eat everything in one bite.  Each dish on their Social Menu range from $4 – $6, but keep in mind that you need to place your order by 6:30PM.