While today marks my one year anniversary of living in Dallas, I still only know a few people and, working 7 days a week, I don't get out all that often. Luckily, I've let myself be talked into visiting my friend who works at Top Knot on multiple occasions, to varying degrees of wild success. I've never been one to mind sitting alone at a bar and striking up a conversation with the people around me, which is what inevitably happens at TK, with the delicious small plates being easily shared between newly-made acquaintances.
The last time I visited, a chef from Barbados, John, who was in town to work in the kitchen of TK and Uchi Dallas, sat next to me. He asked about what I was eating, which was all amazing, and we ended up sharing plates and chatting for a couple hours. He then invited me to join him for dinner the next night at Uchi. I've heard only amazing things and have never been, so I immediately agreed.
What followed was one of the most stunning meals of my life. We ate more than what is pictured below, and I left feeling satisfied and not overly full. Most of the dishes were almost too pretty to eat... but after a minute or two of staring we got over that fairly easily! The restaurant itself is beautiful, with rich woods and an open kitchen giving it a casual feel, even as you eat like a king. We sat at the sushi bar, with Q as our chef for the night. Because John had spent a couple days working in Uchi's kitchen, he had seen a lot of the dishes and made sure we tried as much as possible.
Desserts pictured first, because why not!
Above is the peanut butter semifreddo and pictured below, the fried milk. Both were amazing and mixing the two (thanks to our server's advice) made them even better!
Scallop sushi, courtesy of chef Q. Simple yet delicious (and I'm not usually a fan of raw scallops).
Pitchfork roll - wagyu beef, crispy leek, avocado, and yuzu kosho
A beautiful bite when you add a squeeze of lime.
Ham & Eggs - pork belly, yolk custard, espelette
Anything from TK or Uchi involving pork belly needs to be consumed.
Bacon steakie - pork belly (because, yes!), radish, citrus, herbs
The combination of the citrus, herbs and pork. . . so rich yet light at the same time, I have no idea how they do it, but it was glorious.
Pictured above: gyutoro sushi - 72 hour short rib over rice. Described by the server as "steak butter," this was one of the best bites of food I have ever had in my life. Rich, smooth, balanced. I could have eaten 10 more.
Pictured below: hama chili - baby yellowtail, ponzu, thai chili, orange supreme. Tied with the gyutoro for the best part of the meal. The orange supreme and lightness of the fish, with a little salt to bring out all of the flavors, was an amazing combination. Each bite was refreshing and again, if someone had brought 4 more dishes of this out, I would have been in heaven.
We also had (before I realized I should be taking pictures of the beautiful food) the Uchi salad (hydroponic baby romaine, edamame-jalapeno dressing) and machi cure (smoked yellowtail, yucca crisps, almond, Asian pear - to be eaten like nachos), delicious, finger-food appetizers. The only dish of the night we both agreed wasn't our favorite was the duck nabe (mushrooms, farm egg in a flame-roasted bowl to make the rice crispy), which was a little on the spicy side and missing some of the depth and richness of the other dishes. Also I loathe mushrooms and no amount of duck and rice could cover up that taste for me.
I now dream of this meal. If I can ever get back and have another dinner at Uchi, I would die a happy girl. I love food, but my dining experiences thus far haven't been close to this. To eat such breathtakingly delicious food in such an unpretentious atmosphere, where the staff dazzle you with their passion for their restaurant through their food and drink knowledge, is to be converted into a true food lover.
