Residents of and visitors to East Atlanta Village have a brand new eatery to check out. We Suki Suki, a somewhat suggestively named Vietnamese restaurant, has just opened it doors. WSS is apparently a straightforward banh mi shop offering four renditions of Vietnam’s answer to the po boy. Located in the former Village Ice Cream space, WSS also provides bubble tea addicts (aka me) with an opportunity to get their fix for just $3 a pop. A little more 411 for you after the jump.
After a strong first encounter with Octopus Bar, the late night East Atlanta eatery in So Ba’s porch, I returned last night eager to enjoy a repeat appearance. I was stunningly disappointed. Nearly all of the goodwill Angus Brown and Nhan Le had garnered crashed in a blaze of “unglory.” This meal was such a disconnect and such a complete 180 from my first experience, that it is incumbent upon me to relay some portion of the updated experience.
Octopus Bar runs from 10pm until 3am on a daily basis (sans Sundays) and it’s a completely different execution than is So Ba’s. Whereas So Ba is a dedicated Vietnamese restaurant, Octopus Bar is a culinary potpourri of dishes mostly in the $8-$15 dollar range. To my surprise, the menu for last night’s meal was significantly reworked from my initial trip. As nothing on the menu informed me that it would change with any frequency, this was an observation doused in apprehension.
I must, in all fairness, give credit where credit is due. A few months back, as my West Coast food orgy impended, I got an email from one of my best friends. Though he’s a guy who finds food as interesting as petrified wood, he happens to call East Atlanta home. Consequently, he tipped me off to Octopus Bar, a restaurant within a restaurant set to takeover late night at So Ba in East Atlanta Village.
After a little asking around, I found out that Octopus was the brainchild of So Ba’s Nhan Le and one Angus Brown, who serves as the executive chef and last collected a paycheck from the Steven Satterfield helmed Miller Union. While I’ve had little positive to say about So Ba, simply hearing about this odd couple of the culinary world piqued my interest.
Since that initial offering of info, the project got some airtime thanks to Atlanta’s sauciest of servers. Fast forward to late last week and I was finally able to settle in and see if there was anything good about Octopus. Turns out, there was a lot to hang our hats on after one meal at the East Atlanta restaurant/bar.
By now, many of you who read this blog have probably already heard about So Ba, a Vietnamese endeavor down in East Atlanta Village. The restaurant comes courtesy of Vietnamese national Nhan Le. Though Le grew up in California, it hasn’t stopped him from opening a bevy of Asian themed restaurants in various Atlanta neighborhoods.
In addition to the failed White Elephant Thai, Le’s also owns Wasabi Sushi Lounge, which has been rocking right along in Castleberry for some time. I’ve actually visited the latter several times and have always enjoyed myself (though the sushi can miss from time to time). Despite So Ba’s thematic departure from Wasabi, Le’s childhood gave me hope for decent grubbing. Open several months, I finally found the time to get on down to EAV when Mr. & Mrs. Mandy asked me to celebrate another lap completed. I swear to all things holy the dude looks the exact same as he did in college. Grovel! But we digress … let’s get on with things shall we?
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