Omnivore Atlanta

How many Atlanta restaurants have to be knocked silly by the backswing of our anticipation before we all learn these words by heart: soft opening? I don’t mean two days of family-and-friends gatherings before the press release goes out, I mean a month or two of getting it together before anyone’s even heard of the place.

In Miso Izakaya’s case, the hype was hardly the fault of the owners. Unlike a certain pizza place that comes to mind, the restaurant had no propaganda machine whirling in advance of its opening. In fact, Miso’s opening reminded me a little of a slasher flick. We stalked this poor restaurant. So excited were we at the prospect of an intown Japanese pub, we trolled Edgewood Avenue for months, reporting on signs of construction, drooling at the doorway, whining about the delays. And then, in February when Miso did finally open, we pounced. Despite that the izakaya (which basically means place to drink) had no liquor license, we rabidly burst through the doors, an army of foodies, critics and bloggers, and declared boldly that … it sucked.

Continue reading the review of Miso Izakaya.

(Photo by James Camp)

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MISO HUNGRY: The dining room at Miso Izayaka

I received a small but noisy flurry of emails last week from foodies who went to the opening of Miso Izakaya (619 Edgewood Ave., 678-701-0128), a Japanese gastro-pub that has seemed to be on the verge of opening for months.

But when it finally opened last week, first-timers were disappointed to find that the izakaya, which takes its name from “sakaya” for “sake shop,” didn’t yet have a license to serve alcohol and was only serving sushi. Before I visited later that week, I called the restaurant and asked if it was serving its full menu yet. I was told that it was.

When I got to the restaurant, I asked again at the front door. “Are you serving your full menu?” I was again told “yes” and so we were seated. I did indeed find that small plates, the main feature of an authentic izakaya, were being offered, along with two entrée-style dishes. But I did not find the promised grilled, skewered items – the yakitori – or any ramen dishes. (more…)

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I’ve been anxiously awaiting the opening of Miso Izakaya (619 Edgewood Ave., 678-701-0128) for months. It seems that every time an opening was announced, it was followed quickly by a postponement.

The Japanese gastro pub finally opened last Monday but opening-night visitors were chagrined to learn they could only order sushi. The izakaya dishes themselves, “Japanese tapas,” were not available. Further, the restaurant did not have a pouring license and, as far as I know, still doesn’t at this writing.

I called ahead last Friday and was told the full menu would be available on Saturday night. Considering the history of postponement, I asked again at the door before we were seated and was told, yes, the full menu was available.

But soon after we sat down, our server thanked us for coming in and said she looked forward to our returning when grilled items (yakitori) and noodle dishes were available. Doh! Fooled again.

Our meal was a mixed success and my favorite dish was the cheapest — fried tofu with bonito flakes and a hot tempura sauce. I’ll have a more extensive report in my next Grazing column.

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Miso Izakaya is on the way:

Hello Cliff,

I read in your comment from Omnivore blog not too long ago that you drove by couple of times and did not see any activity at the restaurant space.

Here are some updated “work in” progress photos of Miso:

http://photo.xanga.com/Miso_Izakaya/5cd1d224293609/photo.html

Hopefully we will be open in January. Of course, I have been telling people that since July.

Happy Holidays,
Guy Wong

A new food blogger reports on our loss and New York’s gain:

Hi Cliff,

I am one of the many readers of cliffbostock.com [Yay!], as well as your various postings over at CL! I thought you would find this pretty neat: http://www.foodiebuddha.com/2008/12/16/top-chef-madrid-fusion-love-soto/. I just launched a few days ago, so there isn’t much content over there – in fact…all three of my posts are about Soto so far! But we’re working on a re-design and i have loads of content to push out!

Take care,
FoodieBuddha

Actually, The FoodieBuddha has posted a good bit since writing me. He also shares the bad news that Frank and Amy Ma have departed their latest venture, Fran Ma South on Briarcliff.

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I noted in a recent Grazing column that gastropubs are threatening to overtake tapas venues as the biggest trend in restaurant openings in our city.

The latest issue of Knife and Fork confirms that two newbies are coming to booming Edgewood Avenue — Bureau and Miso Izakaya, a Japanese pub I mentioned a few weeks back. A third, The Porter, is coming to Euclid Avenue in Little Five Points. It’s being opened by some former employees of Seeger’s.

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