Uchi Uchi & more Uchi

Alright, so even though I’m still not ready to write about it, I figured it was about time that I recount my ahmazing dinner at Uchi. Yes, I said ahmazing which means it was way better than amazing!

I was invited by my awesome friend to eat there for my birthday. I have to admit that I was skeptical at first because I am not the biggest fan of seafood. And by not the biggest, I mean that I will not put it in my mouth or, least of all, on my plate. Yuck! Ok, back to the story…I checked out the menu online, which is what I always do and I saw a few selections that looked not to seafoody (my spell-check is telling me this isn’t a word, but I don’t care). So I gave the green light to Uchi.

When I found out the only time we could get reservations was on a Sunday at 6 pm I figured this was due to the fact that Uchi just opened and people were scrambling to try it. When I arrived on Sunday, the place was a madhouse! BTW it is located in the old building that used to be Felix’s in case anyone remembers that place. For those of you who do remember, the place has been transformed into a Zen/natural/chill restaurant.

Thank goodness my friend had made reservations because we would have been waiting for hours, literally, to eat. The minute we sat down at our table, our adventure began. Our waiter was definitely into the food and describing it, in detail, to our table which only added to the overall experience. He gave us a few pointers and then added that we could either order for ourselves or “trust him” and he would bring us out whatever dishes he felt like. Guess which option we chose? Surprise, we ordered for ourselves. This was after he brought out some kind of raw fish with oranges so he could feel our palette. Well, 3 out of the 4 palettes weren’t feeling it so we played it safe.

Like any sushi place, Uchi has rolls and sashimi but they also have hot & cold tastings which are about 4 or 5 bites or pieces. The whole thing is like a Japanese Tapas place. I think I like that style better because then I can try A LOT more food without having to steal bites off of my dining companions’ plates. I mean, I’m all for subterfuge & thievery but most other people aren’t.
On to the food!!! We placed our order which included about 10 or so different things and then we sat back & waited for the smorgasbord to begin. I wish that I could remember what order everything came in but I seem to think that no one really cares. So, I won’t think to hard about it. I’m just gonna go in order as I see things listed on the menu.

First up: Sasami Yaki, which is a grilled chicken breast with lemongrass & cilantro. This was probably the most boring dish of the night but in no way does that mean it wasn’t yummy! In fact, this was hands down the moistest chicken I have ever had. I believe the waiter told us they marinate the chicken for about 48 hours before they cook it. The flavors were subtle but I appreciated the combo of lemongrass & cilantro.

Second: Dew Bee Chicken, which is a very peculiar dish. It comes out & it looks like a sushi roll, but it definitely isn’t. I have to admit that I’m still not sure where the chicken was in the dish but I definitely tasted the caramelized pork belly they placed on top. It had a sweet taste to it which wasn’t overpowering.

Third: Tomato Katsu. This was by far the least favorite dish of the night. Being a southern girl, I love myself some fried green tomatoes so I jumped at the chance to try these yummies. Well, either it’s not green tomato season or the Japanese aren’t familiar with how to season them but, either way, they were far from being ripe and the seasoning was nowhere to be found. I was disappointed because even the aioli dip that came on the side was underwhelming (& I am a sucker for anything with mayo in it).

Fourth: Brie Ringo. I can’t decide if this was my favorite but it is definitely up there. The sweet potato chips are sliced so thin they can barely hold the tempura fried brie that sits on top of them. But that doesn’t worry me because the distance from the plate to my mouth isn’t far. On top of the brie is a compote of sorts made with apples. Ok, when I saw this dish I was torn because I am not a fan of cooked fruit but my love of cheese won out & we ordered it. I am so glad we did because I could have eaten 2 plates!

Fifth: I ordered a bite of the Nasu which is a piece of Chinese eggplant on top of rice. I wasn’t sure how it would look when it came out but I almost didn’t care. The “bite” was almost too big for me but I managed it & I loved it. Of course, one bite costs about 2 bucks so I only ordered one piece. Now, I must add that my dining companion ordered the Boquerones and something that had fish roe in it. I did not partake in these dishes but she loved them. This is a good sign for everyone that likes that fishy stuff.

Sixth: Bacon Tataki. Pork belly seems to be all the rage in the US and Uchi is no exception. They have this lovely staple all over their menu & I’m not gonna argue with them. The pork belly in this dish melts in your mouth. It was a top dish of the night. I was nervous about the espresso fish caramel it says comes on the dish because I couldn’t figure out how you would caramelize a fish but I learned it was caramelized fish sauce with some espresso in it. My fear abated, I dug into the dish with fervor. My companions & I couldn’t get enough. This was one dish where it seemed there was more than enough food to go around. It took us a while to finish it off but that may have been because we were savoring every delicious morsel.

Seventh: the Shag. Ok, this was the scariest dish that I tried. I do not like seafood & this one was loaded with it. It has salmon, avocado & sun-dried tomato and is topped with fish roe. Yuck! But the bites are so small I figured I might not even be able to taste it so I tried one. Now, while overall I didn’t like it there were some flavors that stood out. The spicy aioli on top was yummy as well as the weird black sauce they give you for dipping. I wouldn’t order this for myself.

Eighth: the Pitchfork. I was excited about this roll that has Wagyu beef along with avocado and comes topped with a crazy amount of thinly fried leeks. I really liked this one because I like myself some red meat. Also, the crispy leeks were a hit with the whole table even if they seemed to have trouble making it into our mouths. Oh, this would be a good time to tell you that Uchi only gives you chopsticks to eat with. Some people were eating with forks but it doesn’t seem like the waiters are very eager to give them out.

Ninth: the Bond. This was my pick because I needed to make sure that something without seafood made it to the table. This roll comes with avocado, sun-dried tomato & gobo (whatever that is). There is an option to add salmon but I denied that! Anyways, this was really yummy even though there is almost nothing on it. I think that’s what surprised me about Uchi. The dishes were all so simple but there was so much though put into every single ingredient that went on the plate. I can appreciate that at a time when it seems that every single restaurant is trying to add all these crazy weird ingredients to a dish that already has 20 other ingredients.

Tenth: the Ham and Eggs. Ok, I love myself some pork belly & I also love myself some fried egg which means I loved myself some of this roll! Shredded pork belly is fried then rolled up in rice and served with egg yolk dipping sauce. Umm…could it get any better than that? I don’t think so. This was also a fave of the night & I don’t think it needs any explanation.

For dessert we ordered the lemon gelato, peanut butter semifreddo and the fried milk. I had a bit of the lemon gelato and I was surprised how calm it was. There was no overpowering tart/sour lemon flavor. It was very smooth. The peanut butter semifreddo was awesome except for the weird apple ice cream thing they serve on top. It was not necessary to serve that at all. It also came with pulverized peanut brittle which was awesome & peanut butter powder which was even more awesome. The powder turns into peanut butter when it hits your mouth! How cool is that? But, my favorite dessert was the fried milk. They don’t actually fry liquid milk. Instead they fry pastry cream which has been coated in corn flakes and tempura fried. When you bite into it, the cream spills out & it’s warm and ahmazing!

All in all, I would go back to Uchi again, if you couldn’t already guess. The attention to detail on every plate was appreciated and didn’t make the place feel like an uppity restaurant even though they could have gone that rout it they chose to. It feels like a place you can hang out with your friends at the bar after work or even a date. I’m so happy I had the opportunity to try this place out.

Rice Box

So, it's no secret that food trucks are definitely becoming more and more popular in Houston and I definitely can't get enough of them! They basically force you to try foods you normally wouldn't see on your basic 4-walls restaurant menu. They also make us Houstonians who are addicted to A/C to get outside and enjoy fresh air!

This past weekend was my birthday and my sister and her husband offered to take me to lunch. I am the worst at making most decisions let alone where I'm going to eat for my birthday. That is, until I heard about the Rice Box Food Truck. It's important to know that Chinese food is one of my all time faves so I was automatically drawn to this truck.

Now, I have never seen the movie Blade Runner but I am told this truck looks like the one from the movie. Until last weekend, I thought Blade Runner was the movie with Wesley Snipes where he fights vampires. Boy, I was wrong (thanks Michael for updating me). Anyways, there is no way you could think this truck serves anything else besides Chinese food. It's red and comes complete with hanging paper lanterns & golden bull statues. It would be like stepping into another land except for the traffic rushing by on Westheimer.

Alright, now on to the best part: THE FOOD!!!! I ordered the General Tso's Chicken and my dining counterparts both ordered the Sweet & Sour Chicken. We were informed prior to ordering that the Rice Box is a chicken truck, they do not serve pork. Now, I'm a pork kinda girl but I actually didn't mind the absence of it. The wait wasn't bad at all, maybe that's because we were one of the first customers of the day. If you are at all worried you won't be full after eating your lunch, you can stop worrying right now cause the portions are huge. Coming from a girl who likes to eat and who can put away a surprising amount of it, I could not finish my meal! Each entree comes with a heaping serving of white rice, then a layer of what I think is cabbage then your chicken with sauce and an eggroll. Btw: all the sauces are made from scratch so if like that atomic red sauce on your sweet and sour chicken, this is not the place for you!

Ok, back to the food. The eggroll, while not being the best ever (I'm more of a spring roll gal), was actually tasty besides the fact that it was crazy hot. But I ate it anyways! The General Tso's was the perfect level of spiciness. The chicken was in small enough pieces so you don't feel like a wild animal trying to eat your prey. Before I even dug in, it was the smell that got me. It just smelled perfect. There is no other way to describe it. I was probably full about 3/4 of the way through but I persevered until the end! The rice was perfectly cooked, not too mushy or sticky. The cabbage layer gave the meal a little bit of much needed crunchiness as well.

I would love to tell you that I sampled my companions dishes but by the time I came up for air, they had already devoured their portions. I'm gonna take that as a good sign though. It must have been delicious!

Now, I know I said the food was ready quickly, I'm not sure if this is the best place to go if you only have an hour for lunch. Unless you can get there relatively fast, it might be better to enjoy on the weekends.

I would recommend this place to anyone who enjoys Chinese food. Even if you aren't the biggest food truck fan cause you still equate them with the roach coaches of the past you should still try it, at least one time.

The truck serves lunch from 11-3 at Anvil on Westheimer in Montrose almost every day.

Just wanted to send out a quick update....New Posts Coming Soon!!!!!

Shattered Glass

For months we have been trying to fit in a real gem of a restaurant and we finally thought we found one. Of course, that meant we had to venture out into BFE (aka The Heights). This seems to be the up and coming area for restaurants. Unfortunately, we sampled all we needed to in this area. Was it worth the drive all the way down I-10? Debatable!

Primero Uno: The restaurant is named The Glass Wall. However, for such a see-through name, it was not nearly glassy enough for our tastes. Would you like to pay to valet your coche right in front of The Glass Wall? I would! Not! It would have been easier for me to park my own car than go through that glass tape!

For a Thursday night, the restaurant was totally empty. The bar was hopping though. This makes us question the quality of the food. Maybe it was the staff keeping people from the dining room. Upon seating, we were presented with a small token: a dish full of green liquid we could only guess to be oil. This gem was followed 30 minutes later by the lackluster bread. Not impressed. Keep this in mind; know what you want before you get there because you only have one chance to order. After this chance, your waiter will disappear for what seems like hours on end.

When we finally ordered, we chose to start with some appies. Skip the corn chowder! Do not look at it on the menu or in person. It is nasty! Absolutely no taste. Recommended if you have no taste buds. The crab cake is good if you are really hungry. But it is very small: no Texas portions here so leave your stomach at home. The one diamond in the rough was the beef brisket that came with the most lovely potato salad we have had the privilege to eat. This is when you call your stomach on the cell phone, apologize for earlier, and say "Hey! Get your ass over here for some good lovin'." That is all we have to say about that...

The mains were pretty much along the same line. One gentleman in our party ordered the salmon. He ate it all so it must have been delicious. Since we don't fish, that is all we have to say about that... If you are tempted to order the pasta, wake-up, get in your car, and drive to the Olive Garden. This is the only time we will ever mention this hell hole of a dining experience. I would have enjoyed O**** G***** left overs more than the pile of blah I paid over $20 for.

On a lighter note (or fattier note), the potato chip crusted chicken fried steak was pure perfection. That is of course if you forgo the mashed potatoes. They tried to fancy up the potatoes by calling it Mashers but we all know what this means. A side dish that the Chef can make and forget about until the little Hispanic man plops it on your fried steak with an ice cream scoop. Done.

What really makes this glassy wall totally see-through is the "well trained, fine dining" wait staff. All we can say is "You know you paid too much when the water guy clutches the rim of your glass with his been-there-done-that hands." PUke! Oh! A shout out goes to the Manager:

Dear Manager of Glassy Disappointment,

I believe I saw you breeze by my booth about 15 times last Thursday night. In answer to your missing question, "Yes, the service is fantastic!"

Thank you for a forgettable experience that I have already told 6 people about.

Silly Girls

Done!

Super Real Italian Food!!!

OMG! This is no Olive Garden. PUKE!! BTWs we hate the Olive Garden! Damn you Fettuccine Alfredo!!

Arcodoro (you must say it with an Italian accent)was a great place. In honor of Passover, we tried a new Italian restaurant. The place was really authentically decorated and cooked! We even got to chose our own seating: a very awkward decisions. A grown up game of musical tables.

The bread basket was to die over! Quite an assortment of carbs. I would accept this bread basket as my meal any day of the week. It had little baby crescents and rosemary bread! Looking back now, I'm not sure if it was so delicious because of the ingredients or my intense level of hunger. The ingredients are in the lead.

The service was just uppity enough for our taste without making me feel fat. At one time during dinner, I did a crazy hand gesture to the table and right away a little Italian man popped up waiting to take our order! Perfect! A little Mario! Where's Yoshi?

In all seriousness, this is the most authentic Italian food we have ever had outside of Italy. (Not to boost, it's just that we've been there enough to tour the Tuscan countryside!) Speaking of feeling obese, the food was so good, we gladly paid for the smaller portions. We are watching our figures and are on Project Hawaii mode.

We give it a Molto Mario Luigi Scucuzzi Ristorante!!

Prego!!!!!! (not Newman's)

The Spiciest Pickle in Town!!!

The Spiciest pickle in town dances a little jig on your taste buds. The SP on Kirkwood and I-10 lives up to its namesake!

After many months of "I wish we could"s or "do you think its open"s, we finally found the time to visit.

The SP exceeded our expectations. We were a expecting a little mom and pop place that catered to the weird and pregnant. While it did use the pickle theme throughout the restaurant, besides the pickle-shaped table, it did not go overboard. The place offered paninis and sandwiches (the Ps are huge). The Double Dilly O is a great deal; you get half a sammy, soup or salad, and a drink for less than the price of a regular panini. And how can you pass up a name like that?!

Each meal is accompanied by a little sidekick. What is it you may ask? Well, it is a very spicy pickle!! And we thought it was just a name. The real kick of the pickle is not discovered upon first bite. Only after a few more may you discover the pure spice in the SP.

We ate everything on our plates!! I mean every little morsel. I like the Roma panini with mozzerela, basil, and tom toms. The Sausalito Bandito was a huge hit at our table, too. Excellente!! Who knows what it had on it? Pure Deliciousness I bet!!

Although regular readers know that we do not condone the digestion of tuna, we hear from an unidentified source that the Sinker was extraordinary.

We definitely think this place rocks!! We give it Three Dills Up!!

P.S. The soda fountain machine dispenses Barqs root beer!! A reason in itself to go.

Stalk Much?

Don't get me wrong, I love going to a restaurant that prides themselves on service. But, I think I might have found the one place where I was almost begging the waitstaff to leave me alone!
Ciao Bella is a pretty yummy Italian restaurant, but I'm not sure if the price is worth it. The highlights of the meal were the Bolognese, the sauteed artichoke and the zepole (donuts rolled in powdered sugar). I have a feeling that the meal would have been way more delicious if there had not been at least 10 waiters standing about 5 feet from out table.
Having an audience while I eat lunch is not what I had in mind when I woke up this morning! I have no idea what they were doing but I think this is a job that I would be very good at. Watching people eat would probably be one of the easiest jobs that I could ask for. It really sucks that I already spent so much money on my education.
So, walking into the restaurant, everyone is very nice & says hello. When I reached the table is when the spectacle began. There was one guy to pull out the chair, another to lay the napkin in my lap & another to bring me a glass of water. This was only the beginning. I kept thinking if any of the waiters actually had something to do or maybe these weren't even waiters to begin with. Was this my secret fan club that I have always been hoping for? So, maybe they weren't there to worship me but a girl can dream!
On, to the food...The meatballs were less that spectacular. It seemed like they might have had too much breadcrumbs or something like that in them. Skip the spaghetti and the Fedelini Al'Amatriciana. They sound like different dishes, & they should have been, but they were the exact same thing. The star of the meal was the Bolognese. It was a tasty delight!!
It's hard to say if I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. I think that I would but I would definitely warn anyone to go when it is busy (in order to avoid an audience) and don't expect the food to be anything close to authentic Italian.