Nara at 1: Retooled and wonderful

The Moët & Chandon was flowing and the sushi flying a few days ago at Nara's birthday bash. For chef/owner Donald Chang, the party wasn't just a chance to wish his baby a happy first birthday, it was also a time to take a deep breath and assess the many changes Nara has been through in the past year.

And there were many. Chang's concept for a modern Korean restaurant infused with Japanese flavors was grand at the outset - almost overwhelmingly so. He turned the former Katsuya space at West Ave into a multi-menu extravaganza with at least four distinct sections with its own dedicated bill of fare: the main dining room with abundant Korean/Japanese hybrid offerings; a sushi bar; a private dining space featuring a traditional Korean grill menu; and a 10-seat chef's table with a six-course set menu.

Despite the warm welcome he received (the Korean community flocked to the Korean chef's hot spot; foodies were titillated by the inventive menu), Chang realized he might have bitten off more than he could chew. "It was overwhelming," he said of the opening months. Eventually, the menu was edited and the physical layout of the restaurant reconsidered.

Today, as Nara enters its second year of business, the restaurant has been transformed. There's a new food menu, a new wine menu and a new cocktail menu. There's a new entrance, too, on Kipling (instead of the original entrance in the West Ave courtyard). The private space for traditional Korean dining has now been replaced by a new bar. The bar at the former entrance is now part of a private dining room. Even the enormous cherry blossom tree that was the focal point of the original bar space has now been moved to the courtyard of the private dining area. And even Nara's name has morphed: The restaurant is now called Nara Sushi & Korean Kitchen. The name underscores Chang's new vision to emphasize the sushi menu (after all, he made his name at Uptown Sushi) and remind the public of Nara's contemporary Korean fare.

"This is a new face-lift from where we started out," Chang said. "It's the new everything."

And sort of a new lease on his chef life. Chang said that the changes allow him to spend less time in the kitchen and more time on the floor working the sushi bar. "My primary trade for 23 years has been behind the sushi bar," he said, adding that he is offering a weekly selection of six to eight sushi items available only at the sushi bar. "I finally get to do what I really, really enjoy doing."

He's also letting go of any resentment he had at initial criticism about not focusing on either just Korean or just Japanese food. "I found it odd that people wanted to corner me into being one or the other. You can be both," he said. "I'm trained in Japanese. I'm Korean by birth. I know both (cuisines). It doesn't have to be any more than that."

Both cuisines are shown the love on a menu that has sushi and specialty rolls on one side and Chang's Korean tributes on the other. The Korean offerings show Chang's culinary prowess at its best: Korean barbecue soft tacos (bulgogi and Korean fried chicken with curry) served with tortillas instead of steamed buns and an indulgent butter made from rendered wagyu fat; Korean hot rock grills (wagyu short rib, Texas ribeye, pork collar); and "Texas-size" sharing plates including a whole Gulf fish that can be fried or roasted, a Texas wagyu tomahawk steak with kimchee three ways, and Korean-style pork shank with sautéed kimchee and fried soft tofu. He has kept some winning dishes from his original menu: Nara beef tartare; Korean-style chicken wings with wild Texas honey; open-faced soup dumplings; hot stone vegetable rice bowl; Korean oxtail rice cake; and Atlantic black cod in Japanese red miso.

A lot may have changed about Nara over the past year, but one thing has remained consistent: Chang's dedication and optimism. "I wanted everything to be right. I'm OCD, so when it isn't right it drives me up the wall," he said. "We might have underestimated ourselves, but at the end of the day, we found resolutions to problems, and that's what counts."

And that might be the best birthday present Nara could get.

Pork Belly-chojang romesco, toasted pine nuts, confit garlic and pickled fennel

The Nara Roll-Bulgogi, pickled radish, carrots, egg omelet, spinach, sesame seeds with hand-pressed sesame oil

The Hamachi-sesame leaf pistou, fried sesame leaf, avocado and grilled cucumber