Below please find my review of Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse, first posted to Facebook, and presented here as one big ol’ re-post.  I hope you will enjoy,

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MENU: https://ukiahrestaurant.com/our-menu/

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REVIEW

Posted to Stu Helm: Food Fan Facebook page on  07/21/21

Last night, Dawn and I celebrated our birthdays at the brand new Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse, and WOW. I’m here to tell you that Asheville has yet another world class restaurant in our midst. Every bite of every dish was superbly delicious! The staff was professional and friendly, the atmosphere was light, and elegant, the vibe was lively and got pretty bumpin’ as the night went on. I was out of town for their press opener, so this dinner was my “tasting,” and the kitchen made all of our decisions for us, starting with these incredible oysters! They were truly some of the best I have ever had, and Dawn said they were thee best she’d had. Fresh, silky, briny, kelpy and served with a delicate yet flavorful sparkling sake mignonette. I’m going to give this entire experience 5 stars out of 5, including the oysters. You gotta go, you gotta get these oysters. More words and pics to come…

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Posted to Stu Helm: Food Fan Facebook page on  07/21/21

Our birthday dinner at Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse last night is an instant contender for my 2021 Meal of the Year award! These two dishes — Tuna w/ wasabi soy broth and scallions, and sliced hiimachi w/ white ponzu, serrano peppers, and herbs — were exquisite. The fish was perfectly fresh, silky in texture and sublime in flavor. The sauces were punchy and the greens, especially with the himachi, were equally fresh and flavorful. Again, 5 stars out of 5 for this meal, and these dishes.

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Posted to Stu Helm: Food Fan Facebook page on  07/21/21

3 more insanely delicious dishes from our five-star birthday dinner at Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse last night: Pork and Shitake Mushroom Gyozu w/ black pepper ponzu and “dancing” bonito. Broccolini spears w/ bacon maple miso and crispy shallot flakes. Tokyo Street Corn w/ Kewpie mayo, togarashi, nori dust, miso butter, and bonito.

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Posted to Stu Helm: Food Fan Facebook page on  07/21/21

This thing. THIS thing!!! Holy moly, y’all. This thing is one of the greatest things in the fucking world. It’s a deep fried, crispy tempura Beech Mushroom w/ Tokyo Ranch and Onion Ash. When the kitchen at Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse brought this thing to our table, I was like, “whaaaa….” Then I started eating it, and I was. like, “Wow. Wow wow wow.” At one point I turned to Dawn and said, “this thing is like a dream come true.” This thing is a superstar dish, Y’all. SUPER STAR. And an instant contender for my 2021 Deep Fried Thing of the Year award. YOU MUST TRY.

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Posted to Stu Helm: Food Fan Facebook page on  07/21/21

The final two dishes I’ll feature from our birthday celebration at Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse last night are the Grilled Wagyu Hanger Steak w/ Shiso Chimichurri and the dessert, which was not listed on the menu, and the Chef told us they were still dialing in. I don’t know the name of the dessert, but it was, like, a chocolate profiterole filled with citrus chantilly cream, and topped with a very flavorful caramel sauce. The dessert was very tasty, and as far as “dialing in” anything, the only weak point might be presentation. Every other aspect of it was great! The steak… good lord, y’all. Not since Nightbell have we tasted such a delicate, well prepared, melt-in-your mouth steak dish. And the chimichurri was so thick and oily, it was almost like cream. Gah. To. Die. For.

Aaaand that rounds out my review of our meal at Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse last night. Thank you to the staff and kitchen for providing us with one of the all-time best meals we’ve ever had, and a wonderful all-around experience! I urge the eaters of Asheville to get there, and try the whole menu. Dawn and I will be back to eat it all, that’s for dang sure! ❤

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Rick and I also discussed Ukiah on The Asheville Food Fans podcast…

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