More Gold, Less Glitter

Kenichi has a salmon-skin salad that is smoky and sensuous. It also has a lengthy sake list that runs both hot and cold. We chose the cold Devil's Mask, with a clean, crisp attack and a lingering dry finish. Though this was one of the cheapest sakes on the menu, don't be afraid to splurge. Premium sakes do not cause hangovers.

Kenichi has a crispy pekin duck leg confit that is exactly how you would expect it or maybe wish it to be: crispy rich skin, and tender and moist meat that practically shivers itself off the bones.

Kenichi has near-perfect little dim sum purses with rock shrimp, ono, sea bass, shiitake and a little kick that could be wasabi but may be a Texas chili pepper. These can be dipped in hot mustard, cilantro and oyster sauces.

Finally, Kenichi has a service staff that knows the menu near-cold and they repeat every detail—ambient noise permitting—before submitting the check. Still they often come off sullen and terse—part of the hip pose no doubt.

But what we liked best—even more than the sushi, even more than the hot rock at 1,000 degrees and the salmon skin salad that, come to think of it, smelled a lot like great sex—was the ono, citrus-marinated and pan-seared rare. It's sweet, delicate and white on a plate that chatters with different flavors and colors: bright green Chinese broccoli, deep purple Peruvian potatoes, rusty slivers of crispy sweet potato. Finish off with mato-san's hot balls or tofu beignets with honeycomb, kafir lime salt and a scoop of vanilla bean gelato that would be a perfect candidate for a kabocha "galette" ball merger.

The Victory Park noise and glare and scrubbed noir glam infects every dining experience in this trough of Dallas glitter. Only it's less so at Kenichi—slightly less so. 2400 Victory Park Lane, 214-871-8883. Open 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Sunday. $$$-$$$$.