Uchi, houston -- Review...

Wife and I had the pleasure last night of dining at Uchi in Houston. I will try and upload some pics but no pictures really did the food justice. The bottom line, if you don't want to read further, is that this was a unique experience,worth the price of admission, and we will be back.

We chose to do the 6 course tasting menu which is meant to be shared by a couple. It is listed as market price which turned out to be $93 today. While they said it was a chef's tasting, they allow you to order 2 "cool tastings," 2 "hot tastings," 1 sushi, and 1 dessert. We started by adding the 72 hour sous vide short rib served sashimi style, AKA Gyutoro, and an off menu serving of Brussels Sprouts. Both of these were fantastic, the sprouts were maybe a little sweet but the short rib was up there with one of the best bites of food I've ever had.

They encourage you to eat all ingredients on the plate with every bite because that is the way it was intended. I must say that as they served our selections, switching from cold to hot dishes, it became more and more obvious they were right and I wished I had made it a steadfast rule earlier on in the meal.

First up on the tasting menu was Hama Chili which was raw Yellowtail with Ponzu, orange, and thai chilis. This was the star of the raw offering. Just surprisingly powerful flavors that improved as you chewed.

2nd, Walu Walu which was seared Escolar served in a bowl with an amazing broth. This was the star of the hot dishes and, again, a little bit of everything in a bite just seemed to make it develop as you chewed.

3rd, Uchiviche, basically a ceviche with salmon, striped bass, tomato, garlic, and cilantro. This was very good but not near what we've had so far.

4th, crunchy tuna roll, raw Bigeye Tuna, Jalapeno, Cilantro served just like you'd see in a sushi joint. Again, this was very good but not up to the obscenely high bar previously set.

5th, Jar Jar Duck which is Duck Confit, served in a jar and filled with smoke from one of those pocket smokers. This was rich, earthy, smoky, and just a tad sweet, very good.

About this time, I guess my wife had told the waitress it was my birthday and she brought us an on the house seared foie gras served sashimi style, that was absolutely divine.

We finished with their "Fried Milk" dessert. Basically, this is fried pastry cream that is served with ice cream, and some kind of chocolate coated crisp. Both my wife and I are savory over sweet people but this was fabulous. Not overly sweet but perfectly balanced with hot/ cold, salt/ sweet, and soft/ crunch.

In all, this was a unique experience that I'm sure isn't for everyone. The portions are small but they add up. It is a nice change of pace and for 8 small courses, 2 Sakes and 2 glasses of wine totaled $180 before tip. Service was as fast or slow as we desired and really attentive. The waitress even took the time to add the tastings up a la carte to check against the blanket charge and chose the lesser of the two. If you have the opportunity, you should go...