Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/41419
SakéRising A IT'S NOT ALL WHISKEY AND BEER IN TEXAS by Anthony Head / photo by Kirk Weddle saké distributor recently told me that Texas may be home to as many as 6,000 pan-Asian restaurants serving an awful lot of saké. He also said that West Texas (of all the lonely, dusty places) has grown 200 percent in its saké consumption recently. In fact, he was on his way to El Paso to groom more accounts. Out there, he said, they like to drink "redneck saké bombs" by sinking a shot of saké into a Pabst Blue Ribbon. He's a busy man keeping the state sated with saké, but make no mistake: Texas hasn't always been this way. In fact, it was just back in 2003 when Uchi (www.uchiaustin.com) opened and quickly established itself as one of Austin's (and Texas's) most exciting contemporary Japanese cuisine and sushi restaurants. Uchi's Executive Chef and partner Tyson Cole remembers, "It was a great time for Asian food, especially sushi, but not a particularly good time for saké. Not many people drank saké. And what they did drink was mostly hot." Cole (named in May as the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: Southwest) had trained intensely for more than a decade in Japan and elsewhere with master sushi chefs, and he knew saké deserved better than its current stateside reputation. "Saké is one of the three main ingredients in Japanese cooking, so it was thoroughly integrated with all my training," he explains, adding that his deep appreciation for drinking saké actually came a bit further along his culinary path. Even though Austin is a very food-centric city, saké remained fairly mysterious to Cole's diners in the mid-2000s, so his priority was to train his staff to confidently describe saké's versatility and how it can be an exciting diversion from white wine when paired with the food. Today, there are 19 sakés on Uchi's list (about ten are available by the glass); of those, 18 are brewed in Japan, including Uchi's proprietary Zero Sen Saké produced by Kizakura. Uchi even has a saké sommelier, Dahl Smith, who received his certifica- tion from John Gauntner's professional course. Smith appreciates much of the tradi- tion and history of saké (he's even a fan of the hot stuff), but says for the typical diner, just forget all that and pour it for them. "You can try and discuss the many variations, and how it's palate-cleansing—but when I'm working I just try to give people tastes all night long. It really is the best way." Cole agrees, which is why Uchi hosts Saké Socials for happy hour. "With a menu of five to eight seasonal dishes and a relaxed atmosphere, the Saké Socials become a way of learning something new," he says. "Try the food. Try the saké. Come back and try some more." As for saké's future in Texas, Cole thinks it looks bright: "I'm happy with the pro- gression of food's importance in our culture, and in Austin. Adventurous appetites are very good for saké." 112 / the tasting panel / september 201 1 Chef Tyson Cole at Uchi in Austin.