Instead of dealing with all the malarkey, tomfoolery and rigmarole on the night of July 4th. I headed up El Norte on Buford Highway with my foxy foodie gal pal... destination: to nosh on some incredible sooshee by "Art" Hayakawa.
I started giggling like a school gurl when I pulled into this wacky stwip mall at the sight of the Korean Brazilian joint with a bunch of ex-pats doing the Asian squat on the curb and eyeing who comes in and out. This new stwip mall is clean but has that creepy vibe to it... most of the store fronts have tinted windows. "What do I get for $10" came to mind. Cuckoo cuckoo! But hell, I was there to grub on some tasty raw fish and no Grudge was gonna stop me.
Once inside, you pretty much focus on the delicacies that is available that night. The decor is plain and simple. It took about 3 seconds to know what I wanted on the menu... omakase. At $65 for the "upgraded" version, it was a steal compared to other joints. The sake menu on the other hand took a bit more time, about 15 seconds... but in the end an awesome tasting one was had for $50/ bot.
The omakase is different every night but the chef's selection was spot on. Everything was fresh and top quality grade. The otoro was like butta. The sweet shrimp tasted like it was just swimming a minute ago. The sashimi/ nigiri of tuna, salmon, snapper, octopus, etc. were all exceptional. The special shoyu (soy sauce) that was poured oh-so sparingly was refined and brought out the flavor of the fish even more. The tempura was tasty, after all it's tempura... extra filla for da belly. The tuna roll was something I didn't expect on a omakase... hmmmm. The only thing that woulda made this a 5 star review (I rarely ever give 5) if only he had swagged some uni and monkfish liver on my plate. I think we missed the rest of the live scallop... by that much (Get Smart style).
If you have any questions throughout the course, don't ask Art... ask Tiger! He speaks not one rick of Engrish... which makes it even more amusing. He throws your prates rike ninja stars, so be arert! And the most important thing to remember... eat your sushi rice or get the 1000 yard stare from the man aka 'Sushi Rice Nazi'. "Why you no eat wice? Sooshe wice expensive!". I love how he comes out from behind and starts snapping photogs of everyone... thanks pal, could you keep that stereotype alive anymore? Hell, take all the pics you want, just keep that sooshee coming!
Domo arigato, Mr. Art Hayakawa.
Domo...Domo.
GEPPU!
5979 Buford Hwy
International Plaza, #A-10
Atlanta, GA 30340 (770) 986-0010
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