Posted by foodiebuddha
on July 07, 2010
Mark August 21st on your calendars ladies and gents. In a joint event with the Japan American Society of Atlanta (website), Taka Moriuchi, the knife slinging leader of Taka Sushi in Buckhead, is hosting a cooking class. It starts at 11 am and lasts until 2pm. For reservations, you need to email axistaka@msn.com. At only $30/head, this is a steal. Not only do you get to learn, but you also get LUNCH!!! Dishes on the schedule include soba and udon soup, okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes), and gyoza (dumplings).
[via Taka Blog]
Taka Sushi Cafe Restaurant Address & Information
375 Pharr Rd, Atlanta, GA 30305 // 404.869.2802 // Taka website // Taka menu
Posted by foodiebuddha
on June 29, 2010
Intown Atlanta has no shortage of burger joints and pizzerias. Consequently, it seems that this reality costs us the opportunity to enjoy true ethnic food, as framed by our natural ethnocentrism, without having to haul booty up Buford Highway. Enter Wasabi Grill, a new Japanese/Korean smörgåsbord in the Home Park section of The Westside. While it may not be the most authentic endeavor, Wasabi Grill, like Miso Izakaya and Hankook Taqueria, is an attempt to give urban Atlanta an alternative to the Americanized sushi bars and assimilated Chinese restaurants that most of us think about when the words “Eastern cuisine” are used.
Having replaced Mosaic Halal Café, you’ll find Wasabi Grill on 14th street just across from Jimmy John’s. Open just about a week and change, I strolled by a week ago yesterday for a little “Linner.” While there isn’t anything about the place that makes me think we’re about to witness a renaissance, it did okay given the circumstances.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on February 07, 2010
As I hobble through life with a Droid as my sole camera, it’s time for another one of my first impressions that really isn’t a first impression. Falafel King sits on the Emory campus just off the junction of Oxford and N. Decatur. Though it’s purveyors are of Korean lineage, this shack sized, spit using restaurant actually sells the oddly married cuisines of Japan (in this case sushi) and the Mediterranean. This odd mish mash of grub, combined with a distinct facade (displayed at right by babythekitten) and pocket book friendly prices, helps to draw customers from areas well beyond Emory.
In many circles, the King is treated as royalty. The reality is closer to something more understated; however, for a place that freshly pats down their chickpea mixture, they do just fine.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on January 21, 2010
It’s been several years since Taka Moriuchi packed his knives, left his position as understudy to sushi God Sotohiro Kosugi (aka the dude who ran the much discussed Soto), and settled in as the leader of Taka Sushi Café.
Much like my father, it took me some time before I warmed to the idea of visiting Taka-san in Buckhead. Even after Soto departed our fare city, something in me caused this undue shackling of obligations. Mind you, nothing about that decision had anything to do with the kind and approachable Taka.
Time passed and wounds healed, and so began my long inevitable decent into complacency. Yes, I finally started to drift in and out of this notable Buckhead establishment. As it happened, 24-months had flown by since my last soirée, well before the young Buddha was born within. Rather than try and recall experiences buried in the cobwebs someone might call “my brain,” a recent night cap inspired this infant impression.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on January 17, 2010
While playing with any convention is dangerous territory, it doesn’t mean it can’t be lighthearted and fun. I believe that statement is a perfect representation of Taka Moriuchi, the facebooking blogger who also happens to produce some of the better sushi in the city. Taka-san has a habit of mixing things up a bit, and his burger may just be his best attempt to date.
Japanese food is known for its artful simplicity and its tradition laden techniques. Still, that doesn’t mean that the cuisine is the least bit static. Many Japanese chefs, especially those of the sushi persuasion, are at the center of this movement. Here at this precipice stands the Menchi Katsu burger from Taka Sushi Cafe, that ever popular neighborhood sushi joint located in the glitz of Buckhead.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on October 28, 2009
Does this really need an explanation in awesome? I think not!
[via ffffound]
Posted by foodiebuddha
on October 04, 2009
Adam (aka guest blogger dude) and I were milling around the Westside a few days ago looking for a place to eat lunch at. Having spent the previous day gut busting around, I had a hankering for some sushi. A cheerful banter arose, so back and forth we went until Adam suggested Zen on Ten, an Asian bistro and sushi bar located in the still fresh Ten Side apartment complex.
Having only seen the place in passing, and with no real concrete idea of what to expect, we both settled in on the assumption that Zen on Ten would fill the role of the fast dining sushi option; in other words, what Moe’s is to the burrito, we THOUGHT Zen would be to sushi. Turns out, we were pleasantly wrong.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 29, 2009
Last week, a friendly reader sent me a link to the snippets article on sushi etiquette. The article gives us a fun and informative way to learn about the multitude of faux pas prominent in American sushi dining. Given that it covers everything from ordering to ojigi (bowing), it’s kind of a crash course. While I think a lot of this is highly contingent on the environment (for example: anyone brave enough to swallow Ru San’s crap need not worry about etiquette), it’s a worthwhile scan.
My favorite points:
- Don’t store your chopsticks in your rice. (THIS IS A BIG ONE!!!!!!)
- Don’t mix your wasabi in your soy sauce. Add a little dab directly to the sushi if you want a little more heat.
- It’s OK to drink your miso soup. Use the spoon or chopsticks to eat any larger pieces.
Again, some of these are more useful as others, use it as a guide, not law (unless you find yourself in Tokyo).
Posted by foodiebuddha
on August 05, 2009
If you read this blog with any regularity, then you are well aware of my absolute idolization of former Atlanta resident and world-renowned super chef Sotohiro Kosugi. Kosugi crushed us all when he took his game to the big apple. As it turns out, some people who read my review decided to stop in on Soto on a recent trip to NYC. What follows is a recap of their trip to his namesake sushi bar. While they are most definitely fond of food, I think it’s nice to get some perspective on here from people who aren’t “foodies.”
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on April 17, 2009
A restaurant review from the airport? Yup yup! My return flight landed just after 8:00 in the Post Meridian; the ideal time to go grab a bite. So I took the opportunity to check out One Flew South, the newly opened “fine dining” experience over in the E Terminal. Damn Delta for landing me in the A Terminal; alas, some exercise was in order. I tossed on my headphones, picked up my bags, and made the trek out to Hartsfield’s newest terminal.
Fine dining in an airport is hardly a novel concept. Why it took the world’s busiest airport this long to open a high end eatery is a question that remains unanswered. With a dearth of solid alternatives, a menu from chefs Duane Nutter and Todd Richards [his cool blog], and one heck of a friendly staff, this restaurant has the underlying elements of a successful endeavor. Though not without problems, this was easily one of the most thought provoking meals I’ve had in some time. While that internal dialogue may have been more about the circumstances than the food, I like a place that makes you think … whatever the reason.
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