Collins

Chawanmushi - either hot or cold Oyako donburi - love the simple stuff, plus mom made it all the time growing up Unagi donburi Kamameshi (probably spelled that one wrong) Curry - still working at beating mom out for best curry in the family...

Hmm...that got me thinking about a thai iced tea or vietnamese coffee flavored ice cream....lots of smokiness, but also appeal for those with a really sweet tooth...

It would NEVER fly, but I swear to you, I'd buy durian ice cream (OK, maybe a vanilla with a hint of durian) with walnuts. The names, of course, are endless, but I'm liking Stink Pot or Yuck Mouth at the moment. Love tea-flavored ice creams, so a few that come to mind are... - Green tea laced with lavendar honey would be obvious, but damn tasty. - Green tea with adzuki beans (an homage to japanese restaurant desserts) - Black tea with lychee and perhaps some almonds

Thanks for the update - much appreciated!

Just wanted to bump this - anyone know when and if some new episodes will be airing? Haven't seen (or heard) anything lately and wanted to get the latest word on the status of the show...

Voodoo - the night we went, believe dinner lasted about 2 to 2 1/2 hours or so...nothing too long. The beauty of Mon/Tue is the restaurant is pretty quiet, so it really moves at whatever pace you want it to...if you just wanted to eat and not really chat up the staff, you could probably plow through the 7 courses (that's what we had) pretty quickly, but I think that would really be a mistake. As far as cost? It's a STEAL - we literally told them we felt like we were stealing from them. 7 courses WITH paired wines for each course came to roughly $85-$90 per person....absolutely filthy! I was stunned... By the way - when Chef Blais came by, he was wearing a t-shirt that said "I heart Mayonnaise"...wonder if anyone knows where to find one like that? Would wear it PROUDLY!!!

Thanks, Melissa for a nice "warm up" to the episode! Had the pleasure of dining at ONE a few weeks ago and had the tasting menu, which was absolutely phenomenal, but more to the point, about as much fun as I've ever had in a restaurant. Chef Blais was not working that night, but did stop by the restaurant later and made a point of coming over and saying hello and making sure everything was great. Chris and Eli (forgive me if I spelled that wrong!) were beyond gracious and my girlfriend and I had a fantastic time interacting with them and talking shop, so to speak (sounds presumptuous on my part, i realize). They spoke about ICA a bit - definitely watching their tongues about details...gotta love those NCA's! Got me really excited for the episode - I know they're going to do a great job and really show the viewers just what Chef Blais and his team can do! It's been discussed on this board before in a separate thread, but if you love food and want to really experience a unique approach to cooking and dining, you MUST, MUST, MUST go to ONE and do the tasting on a Mon or Tue night. It is a truly fantastic experience on all levels - from the service to the food to the interaction with the staff.

LOL - seriously, Michael...how did you think Michael did last night? I thought he put out some interesting dishes (was a little surprised at the lower scores for originality), but Morimoto was "on" with all of his stuff. Just my 2 cents, but I think Michael can feel very good about his performance.

Yeah - that was probably my favorite moment of the show. Also watching Tony stagger out after the dancing was hysterical...can't imagine the hangover he must've had!

Wow - great show tonight. I think your love for Vietnam really came through, Tony. Thanks for that episode - you showed a wonderful side of the people, culture and food. And Sang is definitely the bomb!

Drew beverage duty at a company party (non-alcoholic, unfortunately...if I could have brought alcohol it would have made life a lot easier...stupid office rules...). Figured I'd make something with an island/tropical vibe, so found a recipe involving coconut milk. Got to the office and put all the ingredients in the fridge...went to make the punch that afternoon when I found out that coconut milk doesn't stay rich and creamy when you refrigerate it. No one mentioned the floating white "chunks" (that's the nicest, most aesthetic description I can muster) in the punch, but I did move quickly from utter humiliation to outright enjoyment watching everyone try to discretely pick these blocks of coconut from their mouths and put them in napkins, on plates, anywhere...priceless!

The california roll comment was more tongue in cheek than anything else - I'd be very surprised if it was available at Soto...more of a comment on what I consider Atlanta's slower adoption rate of true ethnic foods. I totally understand your POV on people not wanting to or being able to invest such a lengthy period of time during the week. My comment about it being a shame was more directed at what Soto wanted to do versus what he's being "forced" to do as a result of the change. I was really rooting for this format to work because it was what he truly wanted to do and seemed to enjoy doing greatly.

Thanks for the article - REALLY hate to hear he went back to the a la carte madness, but perhaps business was just a little too slow, unfortunately, for him to keep things completely omakase. It's a shame - he creates some of the best examples of Japanese cooking in Atlanta...some really pristine and austere in their makeup and others involving more modern approaches...but the city still wants to go back to california rolls and a la carte orders. Makes you wonder if he'll continue with the effort of juggling both approaches - I couldn't agree more with the article's author when he talked about how happy and peaceful Soto was with the omakase format.

When I made our reservations, I was informed that it would take roughly 2 1/2 to 3 hours for the meal (which I was planning on based on the earlier posts - one nice advantage of egullet!). Not sure if everyone is being told the same - I would hope so. My one fear is watching them turn away the walk-ups. I realize (and completely agree) that this is necessary to help Soto with his food costs and planning, but I'm fearful that a lot of folks who aren't aware of the new format will simply say "screw it" and go elsewhere or not be willing to devote the time and energy to a meal of this scope.

OK, time for the menu... "Pot" Dobin mushi soup (great start to the evening - light, clear broth with shitake in the background, plus shrimp and some flounder to eat out of the pot) "Tray" Sashimi - chu toro and shimfuri tuna with sumi ika shomen broth Sushi - negitoro roll (chopped fatty tuna and scallion) and zuke tuna Hasson dish - cured mullet roe (SO good), steamed sea eel, monk fish liver pate inside a shitake mushroom, slow steamed abalone (one of my favorites for the night) and garlic pepper toro "Cup" Yellow pepper mousse with grape tomato, fried ginger julienne and steamed lobster (you've seen the picture - it tastes much better than it looks) Chawan mushi - steamed egg custard with shitake and shimeji mushooms (a dish from my childhood...really put a smile on my face) Egg plan with a sweet miso and foie gras sauce with "a touch of balsamique" (ridiculously good...thought this one could have/should have been served in a demitasse or espresso cup because of the color, but oh my god was it good) "Bowl" Tempura fried founder with shiso leaf, served in an agedashi broth (essentially age tofo, but with a piece of flounder tempura...nice) "Spoon" (Three spoons with just a taste of each...left you wanting more...until you ate the next spoon!) Uni capuccino (playful approach to uni and it works) Octopus julienne with an asian pear vinaigrette (the only dish I could find a fault with...and it's a minor nit, but I thought the vinaigrette was a little too sweet and overpowered the tako) Idaho Kobe grade beef and foie gras with dashi broth (Soto himself comes out to spoon the broth onto the dish - such a nice touch and it makes it a little more personal experience...even if he's making the rounds to every table!) "Aji tataki" Japanese horse mackeral with ginger soy sauce (as a big mackeral fan, I loved this dish...I was surprised how light in texture the aji was) "Flash steamed with flash scallion oil" (this was the description - probably needs a little work! ) Seared Japanese red snapper with ginger and scallions (done in a similar fashion to Nobu's new style sashimi...Soto was not shy with the ginger - which added a very spicy bite to the dish) "Sunomono" Mackeral and ginger roll, Uzaku fresh water eel, snow crab with kimizu sauch (guessing there was yuzu in this - the sauce was delicious), japanese cucumber and wakame seaweed "Beef tataki" Idaho Kobe grade beef with ponzu and daikon radish "Tartare" (you picked one of two) Hamachi tartare - yellow tail with wasabi tobiko and pine nuts, served with soy sauce froth (this was definitely my favorite of the two - the fat in the hamachi really went well with the spicy crunch of the wasabi tobiko, plus the pine nuts added great texture) Tuna tartare - tuna with pine nuts, cucumber, pear, scallion, sesame oil and avocado (good, but not quite as good as the hamachi...the maguro just didn't have enough...character, I guess) "Refreshment" Asain pear sorbet with pear and frozen plum wine (very nice, acidic, but sweet course that was a nice break at this point) "Soto's popular item" (you again picked one of the six options) Aoyagi clam carpaccio - live aoyagi clam with ginger soy and truffle oil (I'm a sucker for truffle oil, so this was a relatively easy selection. The clam had great texture and the whole dish had a very fresh feel to it - could have been the result of the sorbet) Steamed sea eel with micro arugula (the eel was tremendous...firm and tender at the same time and even though it was steamed, it had just a taste of char - maybe he grilled the eel first?) Other options were two different lobster preparations (one broiled and the other steamed), hamachi kama (nearly went for this, but was craving the taste of truffle), and a broiled langoustine dish. "Fried and Broiled" Fried karei and atlantic sole with ponzu sauce Fried soft shell crab (had a hint of curry in there somewhere...I swear I tasted it) Asparagus, kabocha squash and lotus root tempura with a tea salt (great, I repeat, great tempura...crisp and not oily in the least...the lotus root was fantastic - crunchy, fresh and sweet) "Sushi" (you pick 3 of 12) We went with chu toro (2x), seared Japanese red snapper, live scallop (2x...tender, light...simply fantastic), and sea eel Final course is a choice green tea, red bean or plum ice cream So, there you have it...15 courses - all perfectly prepared. Everything as fresh as possible and left as uncomplicated as possible...very pristine. The bill? $78 per person...I have NO idea how he's doing this, but I am not going to question. It's simply the best deal you can get in Atlanta for this type and amount of food. Oh - almost forgot about the question regarding the sake pairing. It was NOT offered the night I went - don't think that was a normal thing for Soto. We went with several different sakes throughout the meal and the tempura and fried course was crying out for a beer! A couple of notes regarding service - it's just fine. Not quite "5 star" caliber, but certainly they are very attentive, patient and more than willing to take time to try and explain what you have in front of you. The best part is Soto himself - he made it a point to come out to each and every table after their meal and ask how everything was - he really wants this to work, I believe, and I would encourage you to tell him just how much you enjoyed not only the food, but the format as well (provided you do enjoy it!). I was a big fan of Soto before the format change and you can count me as an even more avid fan now. Looking forward to the next experience!

Went to Soto Saturday night...very, VERY impressive. I'll post all the "gory" details a little later, but suffice it to say that Sotohiro is finally doing things his way with this format and he seems to be very happy with the result (I know I am!). If you're in Atlanta, love Japanese cuisine (believe me, this is so much more than just sushi) and have 3 hours to "kill"...you owe it to yourself to make the trip to Soto. For those afraid of the 15 courses (with multiple components per course), Soto is trying to scale back some of the portions - he mentioned he's still trying to figure out the right amounts - so it really doesn't seem overwhelming at all (then again, if he offered 30 courses, I would still be frothing at the mouth for more at the end of the service!). Again, details coming later - think it would be nice to post the menu we had so you can see how much changes/remains on a day to day basis against the other previous posts.

Canton House is currently closed while they renovate. Not sure when they plan to re-open, but I want to say sometime this summer (anyone know a better timeframe?).

Kudos to Joel Antunes...he's a tremendously talented chef and it's good to see his work being appreciated.

Are you serious? Cat Cora as an Iron Chef? Hmm...

Shh...please don't invoke their names... One other thought - I'm really looking forward to seeing Alex Lee on the show. Of all the challengers they have lined up, he's the one I'm most interested in watching.

Steingarten knows food...period. However, the problem I have with him is how pompous he seems. This could completely be the product of editing, but in the first two episodes (plus the ones they ran last year), he just comes across as if he feels he knows more than the chefs. Other comments...Kevin Brauch really adds nothing to the show. His constant mispronunciation of the ingredients (did anyone catch "mar-JOR-um" last night...not to mention his horrendous butchering of "kombanwa") is enough to make me cringe every time he starts to rattle off what's what in the next dish. I do agree about the new chairman's lack of charisma - the problem is, the original Kaga could never be replaced. His hysterical faces and dramatic flair were, to me, one of the main reasons I enjoyed the show - you never knew what he was going to do next. Could be after the...dare I recall it...Shatner episodes, the producers decided to downplay the chariman's role. All in all, I've tuned in two weeks in a row and will continue to watch. It's nowhere near the original, but it's still entertaining and there are enough high points to bring me back each Sunday night.

Went to the DFM last weekend - was able to get sweetbreads which were absolutely fantastic! Have not been able to find them anywhere else, so I was thrilled they had a section selling offal...believe they had calves brains as well (I'd be interested in any recipes anyone had...I'll give anything a try!), along with the usual kidneys, livers, etc. It's definitely worth taking an hour or more and just rummaging through everything - I have a hard time focusing on what I intended to buy...too many ideas kept popping in my head!

Just curious if anyone has been to TWO.urban licks to see if Richard Blais is there? I'm very curious to see how he would impact the menu they offer - which is definitely a Southern/New Orleans lean.