Erik J.'s Profile

Starting a new restaurant is never an easy task, so we can overlook some of the foibles that would affect any new enterprise - incomplete place settings, missing the paper sushi selection menu, multiple wait staff taking our drink orders, etc.

I'll lead with the fact that I absolutely hate hibachi places.  I think that the whole concept is this goofy kitschy American institution that should die a horrible painful death.  I had enough food thrown at me in middle school, i don't need to pay a chef to bobble some knives and light something on fire and throw zucchini at my head.

That being said, there are those who do appreciate fine knife juggling and zucchini flipping skills, and I can't really say that the hibachi-master at Koi was any sort of trained.  We watched a party at the hibachi table (there's only one) ooh and aah as the hibachi guy dropped his knives a few times and generally appeared to fumble around.  However, on some level, I wonder if that all just wasn't part of his act.  He did have surprisingly good aim with his zucchini flipping, and his clumsiness was, to a certain degree, entertaining.  If you're not looking for the most amazing hibachi show ever, or you're just embarking on a never ending journey of hibachi consumerism, Koi wouldn't be a bad place to start.

Having lived for a short while in Japan and having eaten at many sushi restaurants all across the country, I am always wary and skeptical of a Japanese restaurant that doesn't appear to have any Japanese staff.  I won't say that I'm some sort of sushi snob and that I will only eat nigiri prepared by someone who has had the full 10 years of sushi training, but I can at least appreciate when the fish is fresh and the other accoutrement is correct.

I don't go to a sushi restaurant because I want to eat a bowl of salad with ginger dressing.  i don't go because I want to slather my maguro (tuna) in a torrent of soy sauce and wasabi.  I go because i want to taste the freshness and texture and original flavor of fresh fish served in the raw.

I always try to hit on a few key items when I eat at any sushi restaurant -- miso soup, tuna, salmon, yellow tail, mackerel (saba), eel (unagi) and, if possible, a California or spicy tuna roll.  These are my personal gold standards for any good sushi restaurant.

My miso soup tasted very appropriate.  The flavor was not too strong, there was not too much seaweed or tofu in it to overpower what, to me, should always be a light and palatable soup.  More traditional Japanese miso soup may contain other ingredients like clams or other seafood, but as an appetizer miso soup this was just right.

I was pleasantly surprised when I began my sushi appetizer and bit into my hamachi (yellow tail).  No fishy smell, no fishy flavor, just the right amount of twang for this special fish.  The sake (salmon) was soft and appropriately textured.  The tamago (egg) was not too sweet.  The ebi (shrimp) was the "biggest" disappointment on the plate, but not because it was bad, it just wasn't as sweet as I'd care for.  The California roll left a little to be desired.

While perfect sushi rice is definitely something to behold, I can safely say that Koi's take is not there.  However, I have had far worse samplings and can also say that, to me, this rice will do.

Having gotten through the majority of my personal gauntlet, I decided to take the plunge and go for the rest of the performance with an additional order of tuna and eel.  To me, eel takes a great deal of culinary knowledge to get right.  Traditionally, the eel is grilled slightly, steamed, and grilled again (it is not raw) and is served with a sweet sauce made from eel drippings, soy, rice wine vinegar, and sugar.  Koi did not manage to be perfect here, but they were definitely in the upper echelon, and that means a great deal to me.

Tuna is one of those things that is extremely difficult to get right because the freshness is readily apparent in the color of the fish alone.  Koi managed to deliver a tuna that was slightly paler than it should be, but still had the smooth soft texture and not-fishy flavor that should be expected.

I, personally, would appreciate a few more traditional Japanese items on the main menu, but this really isn't that type of place, and there are others in Atlanta that I could recommend.

On that note, my final conclusion.  If you are looking for a very traditional sushi joint in Atlanta, be prepared to get spendy, and head over to Taka on Pharr Rd.  If you want to stuff yourself in a boisterous environment for not too much dough, try one of the Ru-San's locations.  If you're in the area and want a decent sushi experience for a decent price, you'll like Koi.  It's close to home, so we'll be back for sure.

Sometimes being an institution simply means that something has been around a long time.  I feel that Mary Mac's tea room falls distinctly into this category.

Sometimes the problem with starting out small and becoming an institution is that something is lost in the process.  Mary Mac's seems like the kind of place that, when originally conceived, probably was very special.  Good ol' southern cookin', straight from the heart to your plate, full of soul, spice and sass.

However, it feels like in the process of institutionalizing some of the soul, spice and sass were lost.  The dishes felt like they suffered from assembly-line preparation.  The fried chicken was slightly soggy.  The cinnamon rolls, while tasty, felt almost as if they were pre-packaged.  The cornbread wasn't as sweet as it could have been, the Brunswick stew not as tangy as it should have been.

If there is one thing that I love about mediocre food, it is too much mediocre food.  If you are simply looking to get stuffed to the gills, Mary Mac's tea room won't disappoint.  While the ambiance is very your mother's dining room, the quality and thoughtfulness of the dishes are very Boston Market meets wanna-be eats.

I would love to love this place, but, unfortunately, I can not.  Try Daddy D'z for outstanding BBQ or head to the Watershed for really good fried chicken, and leave this institution for those who have been institutionalized.

For an independent gallery this place is quite cool.  I can't say that I have many to compare to, however.

Most of the art here is on the cartoony/charactery side, but all of it is supremely executed.  If you are looking for stills or portraits or landscapes, this is probably not the best place.  If you are looking for interesting creatures, everything from ink to acrylic paint on book covers, small sculptures, t-shirts and other clothing and miscellaneous articles or some interesting pen and ink sketches, this is quite a gallery.

Despite the wide variety of pieces and styles, I can honestly say that I found myself interested in most of the pieces, and wished I had piles and piles of money to spend on them.

Most small paintings or inks start at $100-$250 and most larger pieces are in the $1500-$3000 range, so to me that makes this gallery "pricey," but I'm comparing it to the art at Bed Bath and Beyond so that might give you an idea of my price range.

We also saw Blast Off Burlesque here and the show was amazing, so perhaps their "theatre" might be another option for you.

I don't often eat steak.  In fact, I really don't often eat red meat if not for hamburgers.  However, if steak always tasted like it did at Stoney River then I would eat it all the time.

Now, take this into account - you are going to pay more than $20 for a decent entree at Stoney River.  You will probably, compared to some other restaurants, think that you did not get a lot of food for your money.  Do not be alarmed.  The portions are appropriate - a rare find!  I would gladly pay more than thirty dollars for an entree if it was the perfect amount of food perfectly seasoned.

I may have only worked in a butcher, and I may not know the best way to cut or trim a porterhouse, but I know amazing flavor when I taste it.  Whether the "legendary" fillet, the coffee-infused steak, the tenderloin medallions, or even just the chicken and garlic mash, flavor was certainly not absent here.  Even the vegetables were appropriately crispy, and asparagus is extraordinarily easy to ruin.

The desserts were well executed as well, and I think here is where Stoney River made up for the lack of entree portion size.  One particular chocolate cake on the menu is as tall as a steak knife - and even comes with one!

This is not the type of place that I would run to every time I wanted a nice meal.  However, it is probably one of the few places that I would run any time I wanted a nice steak.  Compared to some of the more "famous" steak houses out there (Ruth's Chris in particular), this is definitely one of my tops.

Being a New York ex-pat I think that I can say that I know a thing or two about pizza.  First things first -- if you are looking for New York pizza, this is not the place.  That, however, is not a bad thing.

The Loop Pizza Grill is a little bit like a mix of a corner cafe, California Pizza Kitchen, and a pub/tavern.  With a selection of beers (and even wines), a great selection of tasty thin-crust pizzas, and other dishes, the Loop has something for most palettes.

For those of you with a sweet tooth, strangely enough, the Loop offers hand spun milkshakes.  Now, you might think that a pizza place, or a pub, certainly wouldn't be the best place to go get a milkshake.  But, to be frank, there are not many other milkshakes on this planet I have had that tasted as good.

Now, there are other places in Atlanta to go when you really want an amazing slice of pizza.  However, if you're in the mood for fresh ingredients, tasty thin crust, a good ambiance, outdoor seating, or you just want an amazing milkshake, the Loop is the place to be.  I will definitely be returning.

I really wanted to hate this place.

I wanted to hate them for taking almost 45 minutes to seat me. I wanted to hate them as I watched tables turn over slowly, and watched the room full of people waiting for them and watched empty tables go unfilled.  I wanted to scold them and write a terrible review for the lousy bread and the wilted salad.

Then the crab cakes came.

These crab cakes were seriously good eats.  Having been on a recent trip to Columbia and eaten at Timbuktu, I can't even remember those crab cakes.  Perfectly browned on top, huge chunks of delicious rich crab meat throughout.  No bready fillers or binders.  Just serious portions of serious crab.  While some people might take offense, there were even some bits of shell occasionally, but those only added to the homeliness of it all -- they really seemed like something your grandma would slap together.

I can't say that I'm a crab aficionado.  I can't even say that I'm crazy about crab cakes.  But I know what quality seafood should smell, look, feel and taste like.  This is it.

Would I go back again?  If I had the time to kill I would, or I'd go back after 8:00P when the crowd dies down a little bit.  I could also have gotten carry-out or eaten in the little side restaurant.

Overall, this place was certainly worth the price.  The service left something to be desired, but the crab cakes more than held it up.

What got me in the door was the fact that they brew their own root beer. Being a huge IBC fan, I figured it was worth a try. Somehow I missed the fact that they only serve pizza, but that really wasn't such a bad thing.

The atmosphere on a Sunday evening was odd to say the least. It felt like a strange combination of a frat house and local pub all in one. Most of the people there seemed to already know each other, and the rest (like myself) stuck to ourselves. Can't say if this is a good singles spot based on my experience.

Now, the food was quite good. I had a buffalo chicken-style pizza and enjoyed it. For the price, definitely plenty of food. The root beer was certainly plentiful for the little money it cost, and it definitely tasted good. A little under-carbonated for my affections, but a pleasant flavor for sure. I don't know if I'm a fan of the small mugs and the ice.  How about a big frosty mug full of the stuff? It may be root beer but that doesn't make it not beer!

Overall I'd certainly go back if I found myself at the Courtyard Marriott again. Being that the Courtyard was damp/humid and kind of funky and had crappy air conditioners, I don't think I will.  But I'd probably make a trip just to hit Pub Dog.