Hot Dish Review

Despite being less than five minutes from my condo, I hadn’t visited Park Tavern in over five years. There was a time when AD and I frequented the place, sitting by the fence that separates the restaurant from Piedmont Park, our bare feet in the sand, drinking cheap beer and chain smoking. Then we’d go across the way to The Highlander to play Nudie Mega Touch. If you don’t know, don’t ask.

Park Tavern was also the scene of a couple of Halloween parties that I can’t actually remember, but the photos are proof I was there….once as a pregnant majorette with pigtails, smoking a cigarette. Super classy.

The warm weather had LC and I hankerin’ for a relaxing afternoon on a patio. Tired of our regular Mexican patios he suggested Park Tavern….perfect for April Fools Day, I thought. The place was always full of ‘em.

A few things had changed over the years. Soft sand was replaced with big pebbles. An entire Asian section, including sushi, had been added to their otherwise standard bar food menu. Other things had not changed at all, like the crowd of young wannabees, trustafarians, and dogs. Yes, schnauzers, terriers, corgis, and great danes shared the sunny patio with us silly humans.

Our brief wait for a table gave us the opportunity to grab a drink at the bar inside. LC tried one of their specialty brews that the bartender swore tasted like Fruity Pebbles….and it did! I finally decided on a glass of bubbly. Just then, the hostess escorted us to our table, one of the hightops with cushy brown pleather barstools. At last we could take a deep breath and reeeelaaaax as we watched the sun set.

I couldn’t bear the thought of another plate of hot wings, onion rings, or crispy fried things, so we opted for the Asian side of the menu, starting with the Baja California roll and the Wagyu beef lettuce wraps. The roll, requested without cucumber, was packed with crab stick and avocado, then topped with more crab and avocado, drizzled with wasabi mayo and sprinkled with sesame seeds. We added a good dose of bright green wasabi that made our eyes water.

After polishing off my glass of prosecco I switched to nigori to compliment our Asian snacks on order. Nigori is cold unfiltered sake with a mild, milky, nutty flavor and a surprisingly high alcohol content.

Served with strangely bland kimchi and flacid, flavorless sauteed mushrooms, the strip of sinewy steak was doubtfully the pricey cut of Wagyu advertised. The cilantro mentioned (and quite likely the deciding factor in my wanting to order this appetizer) was nowhere to be found. Nonetheless, we wrapped the ingredients in the cups of butter lettuce. A great idea, but not well-executed.

Still feeling a twinge of hunger, LC and I decided on one final Asian appetizer, the tuna tacos. Now, you know I don’t even like tuna, but sometimes if it’s good quality and served rare (or raw), I’ll give it a go, like the fantastic tuna tartare chef Scott Serpas makes at his restaurant. I was apprehensive about it, sorta like ordering foie gras at Chili’s.

Imagine my surprise at the five little triangular tacos, crispy wontons filled with thick slices of seared tuna, avocado, lots of cilantro, radicchio slaw with a slightly sweet dressing, and wafer-thin slices of fresh, hot jalapenos. They were awesome! I could have eaten ten of them.

As the sky grew darker the patio became illuminated, alternating between green, blue, and red lights. My tiny sake cup was empty. I promised LC we would return on a lazy Summer day sometime soon for more people and dog watching. As for the ghosts, there were a few, but they turned out to be harmless.

500 10th Street NE 404-249-0001

One recent afternoon, just at dusk, I stopped by my friend BB’s upscale pub and restaurant, There, under construction at Town Brookhaven off Peachtree.

A few behind the scenes photos and a shot of tequila later, BB and I found ourselves at another newish restaurant in the development called Stir Crazy….a clever, yet silly name for the obvious, an Asian restaurant specializing in stir fry. Another corporate concept, this one can be found in twelve states, from Texas to New York.

Diners can create their own combination of veggies, protein, and sauce, or order off the menu, a la carte. The usual suspects like Mongolian Beef and Kung Pao Chicken share the laminated page with specialties like Bangkok Noodles.

BB and I ordered sake, hot for him, cold for me, and a couple of appetizers to start. Vietnamese lobster rolls were an upscale take on the classic basil roll, with rice noodles, cilantro, julienned veggies and peanuts, with chunks of real lobster meat. Regardless, the flavor failed to stir me crazy.

Wok seared tuna sashimi melted in our mouths, flavored with soy wasabi sauce over a salad of grilled shitake mushrooms and arugula. Very nice.

We decided to split an entree enticingly called Blazing Noodles, flat wheat noodles, snap peas, carrots, scallions, and Fresno peppers, and fresh basil in a spicy chili sauce, choosing beef as our protein. The requested sriracha sauce wasn’t even necessary, as the dish was adequately spiced….unusual for a cookie-cutter restaurant that likely appeals to the masses.

Although not a laminated menu kind of guy, I’m sure BB will find himself dining at Stir Crazy frequently during those long, long restaurant hours soon to come.

804 Town Blvd. 404-855-4437

One of my all-time favorite foods and a staple in my diet, basil rolls are light, fresh and healthy. I especially love Surin’s. Filled with vermicelli rice noodles, mung bean sprouts, shrimp, and basil leaves, they are not nearly as photogenic as they are tasty! I always order an extra sweet and spicy sauce topped with grated carrot and peanuts.

Stop by the original Virginia Highlands location and you are likely to find Phillip behind the bar, dispensing cocktails and good humor along with expediting to-go orders.

I make a batch of edamame sprinkled with coarse kosher salt to eat with the basil rolls. And maybe wash it down with a little Nigori cold unfiltered sake? Maybe.

810 N. Highland Ave. 404-892-7789

I don’t know how this place is still in business. Not because the food is bad but because it is located in Atlantic Station which seems to be suffering a slow, agonizing death. It’s a shame, really. The place is dark (as in almost no lights), decorated in rich reds with a cool Japanese mural on the far wall. Owned by the Dolce Group based in Los Angeles, Geisha House is part of their lounge and restaurant empire, known for high profile investors like Ashton Kutcher.

My colleagues and I visited Geisha House for an early dinner last Thursday night and found ourselves practically alone in the vast space. The six of us shared several dishes, starting with the ubiquitous edamame. CM and TB ordered a bottle of white wine and I had a small bottle of cold unfiltered sake. SC got a Sapporo.

For starters we decided to get two orders of the sauteed calamari and shrimp and one order of the fried calamari. Guess which one everyone preferred.

The sauteed seafood dish came with rice. Our server, although polite, didn’t bring any utensils other than the chopsticks. Since we were all sharing it became clear that serving spoons would be appropriate, otherwise we’d be sticking our chopsticks in the rice and calamari after they had been in our mouths. Now, granted, I don’t mind that if I’m with my man, but this was a group of co-workers. We don’t kiss each other and I don’t think we want to double dip with each other either. So I asked for serving spoons which seemed to baffle our server. She said they only had small ones. OK then, bring the small ones! I didn’t ask for a freakin’ ladle. Whatever, we need serving utensils so we don’t contaminate the rice with dirty chopsticks, get it chick?

Neither calamari dish was terribly exciting. Standard fare. We decided on some sushi rolls for four of us while KMA and GGP both ordered the salmon entree. TB ordered the chicken skewers under the “Robata Yaki” section. Don’t even get me started on Robata grilling. All I can say is MF Sushi in Buckhead has the only one in Atlanta. I can guarantee that Geisha House cooks and staff don’t even know what robata means.

Two Ocean Dragon rolls were made with shrimp tempura, crab salad, avocado and eel, topped with eel sauce and tobigo. Not bad. CM and I wanted to try the lobster roll listed under “Light Rolls” (as in low calorie or low carb). Lobster, lettuce and spicy sauce were wrapped with rice paper. So it was sorta like a basil roll, without basil. And the spicy sauce wasn’t very. But it was creative, in that California-reinvents-sushi sort of way. I believe the other roll was Over the Rainbow. Again, a standard compilation of yellowtail, tuna, shrimp, avocado, blah, blah, blah. The food was thankfully secondary to the socializing….we were having a good time!

TB’s chicken skewers were pretty tasty. They came with three sauces, one of which was simply sriracha.

JW, a rather sexy bigwig investor, showed up and shared a drink with us. The spiciest part of our evening, he let us in on some juicy details of Atlantic Station’s financial woes which will, eventually, put many of the businesses there out on their asses. Only the strong will survive and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Geisha House will not be one of them.

Want sushi? Go to MF.

First of all, my feelings about eating inferior sushi are about the same as drinking an O’Douls (alcohol free) beer….why bother? Diners that like the sushi at Ra probably think Trader Joe’s wine is pretty good too. Sad.

MF Buckhead is truly the only sushi in Atlanta worth eating. Check out my interview with Chris Kinjo in Atlanta’s Finest Dining last year. After dining there, all other sushi pales in comparison. So, I was not too excited to go to Ra last night, but it was with my friend AD and a fun group of girls and I thought I would give it a try.

Having read Cliff Bostock’s review in Creative Loafing recently, I already had a preconceived notion that it would probably suck. Oh, and it’s a chain. Even less impressive.

Taking advantage of an evening without rain, our group of 8 sat on the large patio. We started with edamame and I ordered a cold nigori sake from their extensive list. So far, so good. But Ra is more about fun than food. The atmosphere is festive, the location is close to midtown’s clubs and bars, so the crowd was young and trendy. I saw a lot of familiar faces.

Some of the girls ordered salads, others tried rolls. There are plenty of creative, Americanized sushi-esque appetizers and entrees. AD ordered the Tunacado which we thought was a roll but was simply thin sliced sub-par tuna and avocado with a creamy ponzu dipping sauce. The website claims the fish is flown in fresh daily….really? Ironically, I did not order anything raw at Ra but rather opted for smoked salmon and unagi (eel) nigiri. Both passable. I also tried the pork potstickers. The frozen ones at Whole Foods are better.

Service was a little off but, again, passable. The girls seemed to enjoy their food. Perhaps they are not sushi snobs like me, and that’s OK. The menu is extensive and this was just one visit but chances are the next time I crave sushi I will be ordering the amazing melt-in-your-mouth kampachi and the kickass duck or seabass from the robata grill at MF Buckhead.