by Andrew Chalk
If it’s a one-of-a-kind happy hour that rows your boat then head to Nobu, in Dallas’ Crescent Court Hotel, from 5-7pm Monday to Friday and all night Sunday (6-10pm). Edibles (all $10) include five cold and six hot dishes, as well four sushi maki (two for $10).
My favorite appetizers were the Tuna Sashimi Taco (tuna, rice, and scallions with a little aioli all wrapped in nori) and Black Cod Lettuce Cups, which featured a succulent hot chunk of black cod in the aforementioned lettuce cup topped with kataifi (filo dough). It was the combination of the savory earthy taste of the cod and barely sweet crispness of the kataifi that pushed the mouthfeel of this combination to the limits.
Beverages include six specialty cocktails (all $9) such as Lychee and Elderflower Martini and (my favorite) Kikori Old Fashioned. Japanese whiskey, denizens of the dark spirits will recall that Japanese whiskey making was learned from the Scots and the best known have a structurally similar style to Scotch. Kikori breaks sharply with that tradition, being made with rice. It is therefore a single-grain, not a single-malt. I suggest you try it straight up or water on the side as well.
Five wines by the glass (all $8) include Cambria ‘Clone 4’ Pinot Noir from the pinot wonder-terroir of California’s Santa Maria Valley.
The three beers (all $6) are well-known Japanese lagers.