Review: North
May 24, 2008
North, located in the Domain, has been on the Austin scene for less than a year. A Fox Restaurant concept, North is their first Texan venture, having previously dominated the Arizona and Colorado dining scenes.
North offers contemporary Italian cuisine in a modern setting. The inside features table dining (no booths), while the patio is spacious an allows for people watching. The bar area is small, but usually hopping.
Vegetarians have several options for dinner here. North offers soups, salads, pizzas, pastas, risotto, polenta, artichoke and vegetable sides which are either offered vegetarian or can be made vegetarian. Although many entrees surpass the $20 mark, the meatless ones can be had for between $12-$16.
In a recent visit, we had the side of creamy polenta, which was had an amazing cheese and savory flavor, so much so, that it was difficult to believe that there is no chicken stock in it (there isn’t). However, for $6, the portion was meager.
Review: Uchi
May 19, 2008
Uchi is a sushi restaurant, but they have a handful of vegetarian options. The restaurant is owned by Tyson Cole, a young chef who has received a lifetime of accolades, and was recently a contestant on Food Network’s Iron Chef America where he battled Chef Masaharu Morimoto. He lost, but that’s generally what happens to those who battle Morimoto.
I wound up sitting at the sushi bar, which was both gross and cool. Gross, because I could smell the fish, but cool because I was able to watch the sushi chefs work, and they are very talented with their knives! I started off with a sake that said it had hints of papaya ($8). I didn’t taste any papaya, but it was good sake anyways.
My appetizer was tempura battered brie with apple chutney ($9). This was pretty decent, but I thought it would have been better with goat cheese. For my entree, I ordered off the seasonal menu, and had a surprisingly amazing slice of cauliflower ($13). That’s right, the only thing on my plate was a slice of cauliflower in a sauce. I was wary about ordering it, but my waitress convinced me that it delicious, and it was! It was slow roasted and topped with a golden raisin sauce and fennel pollen. It was also surprisingly filling.
