Wagaya Emory Village

Their original location on 14th street is a gold mine, I don't know if it was their business plan or just plain dumb luck that made them an overnight success with no end in sight. It's not high end sushi by any means but their menu caters to everyone no matter how shitty their palate is. The quality is above average and their price point is spot on... I have always enjoyed my meals there. It's always packed with entitled Tech kids that come in every week to to get their sushi/ramen fix, it's easy to eat well when daddy treats you like a princess. Shit, when I was in college... with your mom, I could never afford to eat sushi or Japanese... All I had was slutty Chino slop. Well, it would also help if there was a sushi joint in my college town. Hell, that shithole bumblefuck hick town my college was in was a total goat rodeo. No, seriously, they actually had goat rodeos and bovine bingo for entertainment, that's how hillbilly that fucking town was in upstate NY. It was gorgeous country up there, though, but it was also the inbred capital of NY state. There were so many mutant townies roaming around the campus looking for handouts... I still clearly remember these two sloths that came by the frat house every week asking for free booze and food. There was Mumbles who had the education level of a hamster and couldn't speak proper Engrish with the 3 teeth left in his mouth and then there was Bubbles who had goiters all over him and looked like the cousin of Joey Merrick...You know, the I am not an animal dude. Both of them always asked for a couple of cans of the Beast and some leftover pizza or wings... And I usually give it to them because who the fuck can eat after looking at those two grotesque creastures' mug, bless their hearts. Most of the time I would take a shower immediately and then cry myself to sleep right after encountering them. But with age and wisdom, I learned to eat anything, anywhere and with anybody, even with disgusting looking beasts nearby... You can always find them at a Denny's or The Ponderosa.
Let's get back to Wagaya... Now, after having so much success and a sushi boat load of fucking cash in the bank, they decided to take on the Emory kids in the Emory Village strip. They took over the old Bad Dog Taqueria space which became the Dankbaar Taco shortly after the Bad Dog chef/owner ran over and killed her "friend" with her car. But let's let bygones be bygones and see if the curse is still inhabiting this space. The inside seems a bit smaller than their original location... Not that there is anything to be worried about here since it was dead as fuck on a Friday night, not a goddamn single Emory dork in sight. Perhaps it was the taco curse or it could be the lack of a booze license that kept the Emory children away... Shit, they don't booze anyways so that couldn't be it. And they are definitely not looking for loose change between the cushions and under the car seats to pay for their next meal because their parents are filthy rich. Perhaps it was the ridiculous closing time they have here on a Friday/weekend, these motherfuckers were breaking down the kitchen at 9:15 PM... Or perhaps no one knows about them yet since they just opened and gave zero fucks about promoting the joint, zero PR, zero notice, they just opened up the fucking doors one day and expected Emory suckaz to instinctively flock here like the salmon of Capistrano... But they got the girthy rotund pouch, instead. Since, they did not have their booze license yet, I was forced to trek all the way over to the CVS for beer on the other side of the road. I had to waddle back and rush my order in since they wanted to close down... Luckily, I already knew what I wanted. Boom. Let's go see if this location will become a big hit like the original with the Tech kids or will the rich Emory kids continue to be obsessed with the sushi burritos and sake juice boxes at Boru Boru. Since, they were in such a rush to close up shop early on a Friday night, I couldn't sample as much as I would have liked to but still... Let's see what they can do at the new location.

Spider Roll. I'm a total sucka for this damn roll... I order it every time I see it on a menu, it's a sickness because it's a crap shoot... It's 50/50 on whether it will be good or total crap. This version here at their new location was just ok. I assume part of it had to do with the staff wanting to get the fuck outta there STAT. It tasted like a rush job and it was put together sloppily. It didn't taste like anything except a dry and crunchy mass. Smeared the entire tiny lobe of wasabi on the roll and it barely made a dent in the taste buds department. The dried up ginger was bland and flavorless... Jesus, are you sure y'all didn't thinly shave a fingerling potato, instead? I was not impressed with this small spider roll... Makes me not want to order this ever again here... Boy, shut yo mouth! You know your weak ass pouch will order it again. Time forgets all tasteless memories.

Tonkatsu. It was pretty decent... Had a nice crispy panko crust and the pork was tender and moist. It coulda been pounded down just a tad bit thinner to give it more mass on the presentation but it was totally acceptable.

Chuka, tonkotsu, gyoza, karaage, rice. For $19, this is still one of the best deal-a-meals in town. You get to pick a ramen option (tonkotsu, miso, shoyu) and comes with a couple of snacks. The tonkotsu was pretty decent but not as good as the original. It lacked the fatty richness of the collagen, not that the original shop had an incredible sticky tonkotsu... The egg was cold and almost hard boiled. But overall, it was acceptable and hopefully they will become as consistent as the other shop with time. It's not world class tonkotsu but for a quick fix at that price point it's totally doable. The gyoza were barely warmed through and the meat filler was a bit bland. I assume they source the dumps from the same vendor, but it just didn't taste the same... Could just be opening kinks.

Kaarage. Up close and personal... It's a nice batter crust, crispy and not greasy but the chicken itself was a bit chewy and dry. I lurv me all kinds of fwied cheekan but this left me baffled a little.

Sashimi & Udon, tempura, inari. Another one of their classic combos. This tasted a lot better but if you look at the dishes on here, it's quite simple to prepare. The sashimi was firm and pretty fresh. The inari were plump and tasty. The tempura had a nice little crispy batter and tasted just right. The udon was just as expected, kinda hard to really fuck that up, noodle and broth.

I like that they opened another location on the other side of town instead of somewhere in midtown or Buckhead. But I know this location was selected because their business model is to target the student demographics with lots and lots of parental money. The opening week(s) will be a little rocky at first because they haven't gotten their routine down yet but once they get their shit together, I think they will slay it here nightly and fill up another sushi boat load of loot and sail it all the way to the bank... They just need to stay open later on the weekends. This will be definitely be on my rotation radar.

1579 N Decatur Rd
Atlanta, GA 30307
http://wagaya.us/