A restaurant whose menu features Korean and Japanese dishes nestled side by side makes perfect sense when you look at a map — but less so when you consider the grief and animosity that have bound the two cultures for generations.
But a culinary detente has been worked out at Uoki, a sunny room at the corner of Washington Street and East Sixth Avenue. The menu is dominated by Japanese dishes, but a full page is reserved for Korean classics such as bul-go-gi, a type of beef barbecue, and kimchi, the potent, all-purpose dish featuring fermented vegetables.
While it’s not destination dining — fans of Sushi Sasa and Sushi Den will stay right where they are — Uoki has its own cohort of neighborhood loyalists, ranging from hungry students to the elderly gent who came in and asked the waitress for “the usual — the chef knows.” (He did.)
Despite the stone’s-throw proximity of Japan and the Korean peninsula, the two cuisines don’t bear the sort of similarity you get between, say, Guatemalan food and the food of Mexico’s Yucatan region.
Korean food is generally simpler, a more rustic fare reflecting the nation’s traditional rural roots — and the long economic subjugation that came to a halt when the Japanese military occupation ended after World War II. This is country cooking, contrasted with the more refined big-city Japanese fare generally offered to U.S. diners.
A Korean combination plate, packed with bold flavors and arriving in an enameled bento box, spoke to that culinary contrast. At $7.50 for a lunch portion, it was a meal designed to fill the bellies of diners, including the group of young women at a nearby table who chattered about such topics as their calculus class and the new Natalie Portman movie.
The combo plate featured bul-go-gi, sliced smoky strips of ribeye resembling the meat found in a properly prepared Philly cheesesteak. The beef was tender and smoky.
The other meat on the platter was pork bul-go-gi. Again with the thin- sliced meat, but this time with a spicy go-choo-jong sauce whose kick came from a liberal dose of red chile flakes.
An accompanying Korean-style empanada was a crispy, fried pastry half-moon packed with ground beef and cabbage, with a soy-based dipping sauce. Savory, but not inspired.
Miso soup was a disappointment: tepid and somehow bland, lacking the subtle, salty bite a warm bowlful of that soup usually delivers.
A free-standing dish of kimchi rice proved more successful. At $6.25, it was a mound of light, reddish-hued grains infused with the classic pickled vegetables (celery and onions among them) tossed with red pepper, and hints of vinegar and mustard. Topped with minced scallions and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, it functioned as an excellent side dish or an entree in its own right.
The kimchi is also available in a soup version, which resembles Chinese hot-and-sour soup and promises similar sinus-clearing relief during flu season. Another soup, the yook-ke- jung, was packed with peppery beef slivers and glass noodles.
Uoki, housed in the butter-yellow space that was once home to Seoul Food Restaurant (the new owner, enamored of the wordplay, kept the neon sign), also boasts a full sushi and sashimi bar. Its menu is expansive but not expensive, studded with such staples as unagi, the classic barbecued eel, and the obligatory California and Volcano rolls.
While the fish is fresh — Uoki is Japanese for “happy fish” — some of the sushi dishes had presentation issues. The avocado was falling apart on one roll and had definitely entered guacamole land, a departure from the artful plating that sushi chefs pride themselves on. Faring better was the hamachi, two delicate pieces of yellowtail tuna.
Uoki’s noodle dishes are worth seeking out, including anything featuring the thick, luscious udon noodles.
The restaurant also has a beer-and- wine license and offers Japanese bar staples such as sake (hot and cold) plus Korean soju, a fiery distilled beverage resembling a sweeter version of vodka.
Service is friendly though somewhat nonchalant, echoing Uoki’s, casual, pull-up-a-chair vibe.
William Porter: 303-954-1877 or wporter@denverpost.com
Uoki restaurant
Japanese-Korean 701 E. Sixth Ave. 303-837-4380 (Good)
Atmosphere: Bright, cozy space with butter-yellow walls and lots of light.
Service: Friendly, laid- back.
Beverages: Wine and beer list, plus some Japanese and Korean bar beverages.
Plates: Entrees: $6.25-$8.95. Sushi and nigiri: $3.95-$12.
Hours: Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.. Dinner: Monday-Friday, 3 p.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday: noon-10 p.m.
Details: Casual, neighborhood place. Limited street parking can be a problem.
Two visits
Our star system:
****: Exceptional
***: Great
**: Very Good
*: Good
