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Soto in Atlanta: newest prix fixe tasting menu

Gifted Gourmet

By Gifted Gourmet
in Southeast: Dining

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Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

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And why shouldn't he leave???

This town has no appreciation for for cuisine other than bar food....

Beg to differ with you on this statement, peacockfoodie ... I think that has begun to change noticeably ... the recent article in the AJC (which I will locate momentarily) says otherwise ... here it is ...

"Every city in the United States, from a food standpoint, is developing at a separate time. And there's nothing wrong with that. Atlanta's come a long way in 10 years." "I've been aware for a long time that Atlanta is kind of rising in its position in the rest of the country," says Johnson Studios principal Bill Johnson. "It used to be you had to go to New York or L.A. to see new stuff.  Amick has his hands full at home — preparing for the proposed June opening of Trois — a three-story bistro behemoth at the 1180 Peachtree tower under construction.

"The only thing that makes a great restaurant city is great restaurant operators. For that, Atlanta's become a great restaurant city. A place like Rathbun's would be successful in the West Village." 

John Kessler, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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ned

ned

Posted
Posted (edited)
And why shouldn't he leave???

This town has no appreciation for for cuisine other than bar food....

Beg to differ with you on this statement, peacockfoodie ... I think that has begun to change noticeably ... the recent article in the AJC (which I will locate momentarily) says otherwise ...

Is that the same AJC that quite recently took a bunch of lame and innapropriate shots at Seeger's?

Edited by ned (log)

You shouldn't eat grouse and woodcock, venison, a quail and dove pate, abalone and oysters, caviar, calf sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, and ducks all during the same week with several cases of wine. That's a health tip.

Jim Harrison from "Off to the Side"

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peacockfoodie

peacockfoodie

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The fact remains that the southeast is losing one its most gifted chefs to NYC (or where ever he is going) should tell us all something.....

We all know if there was support for great chefs in Atlanta Soto would have no reason to close and leave. The same goes for Seeger. The same went for Chef Menard at the Ritz. The same also goes for Joel. Everytime I go in any of these restaurants, they're empty. What gives???

The media also does nothing but berate what these chefs repetitively give to the city. Praising what Bob Amick does has nothing to do with raising Atlanta's cultural profile. That is merely just more bar food, a flash in the pan.

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therese

therese

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Posted

We all know if there was support for great chefs in Atlanta Soto would have no reason to close and leave. The same goes for Seeger. The same went for Chef Menard at the Ritz. The same also goes for Joel. Everytime I go in any of these restaurants, they're empty. What gives???

They knew you'd be there?

Because, other than Seeger's, these restaurants are generally pretty busy when I'm there. I've not been to Seeger's since the re-do, and since there are fewer tables now he may be managing to fill them.

Can you pee in the ocean?

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Voodoo

Voodoo

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Posted

We all know if there was support for great chefs in Atlanta Soto would have no reason to close and leave. The same goes for Seeger. The same went for Chef Menard at the Ritz. The same also goes for Joel. Everytime I go in any of these restaurants, they're empty. What gives???

They knew you'd be there?

Because, other than Seeger's, these restaurants are generally pretty busy when I'm there. I've not been to Seeger's since the re-do, and since there are fewer tables now he may be managing to fill them.

Point blank, Soto moved because the Atlanta market did not challenge him. He tried to do something challenging, but the prix fixe menu did not go over well from a business standpoint. Atlantans aren't ready for 4 hour meals with $100+ price tags.

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LizR

LizR

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Posted

We all know if there was support for great chefs in Atlanta Soto would have no reason to close and leave. The same goes for Seeger. The same went for Chef Menard at the Ritz. The same also goes for Joel. Everytime I go in any of these restaurants, they're empty. What gives???

They knew you'd be there?

Because, other than Seeger's, these restaurants are generally pretty busy when I'm there. I've not been to Seeger's since the re-do, and since there are fewer tables now he may be managing to fill them.

Point blank, Soto moved because the Atlanta market did not challenge him. He tried to do something challenging, but the prix fixe menu did not go over well from a business standpoint. Atlantans aren't ready for 4 hour meals with $100+ price tags.

To be fair to Atlanta diners, Soto mis-managed the prix fixe transition badly. I went three times and saw scores of clueless, casually-dressed walk-ins turned away with a comment like "we are full tonight". No one explained the concept to them, there was no singnage outside explaining what had changed, etc. A little more TLC and info would have made a big difference, I think. They should have had some flyers, like a sample menu, to hand out to those they turned away. They also were going after a somewhat different demographic, and they should have spent some money taking out ads trumpeting their changing format. A choice of, say, two different tasting menus would also have been a good idea. If folks didn't want to sit through the 17 courses, why not offer them 10 for a lesser cost. Plenty of restos do that.

Also, it really did suffer from timing issues at times. Don't get me wrong, I think that the first prix fixe meal I had at Soto was one of the very best of my life, and I emailed all of the local reviewers in an attempt to get them to cover the omakase so that he would have some more patrons. All I am saying is that they could have done a better job in explaining it all.

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Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

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Liz, I do very much appreciate your different and completely sensible explanations for the possible problems with Soto.

It is easy to simply say that the town could not fully appreciate his work and that made him think he needed to relocate to someplace where he could receive proper appreciation for his numerous skills. It is quite another to explain some of the problems which you have mentioned clearly and explained as well.

Thanks for your "fair and balanced" approach, Liz!

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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LizR

LizR

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Posted
Liz, I do very much appreciate your different and completely sensible explanations for the possible problems with Soto.

It is easy to simply say that the town could not fully appreciate his work and that made him think he needed to relocate to someplace where he could receive proper appreciation for his numerous skills. It is quite another to explain some of the problems which you have mentioned clearly and explained as well.

Thanks for your "fair and balanced" approach, Liz!

Thank you for your kind words. :smile:

The whole Soto thing was just so sad in the end, especially when it was evident that he was really stressed and not having a good time.

I am hearing good things about Taka, though.

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