Bully Boy
Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 12/12/22
Nestled in a small spot just off the Beltline, Bully Boy is hidden in the Two Urban Licks parking lot, yet when you enter it’s almost like a greenhouse oasis, low lights, large tables, and a glowing ‘oysters’ sign. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing it is a foodies dream with everything from sushi to duck spring rolls to Miso Black Cod and even a market priced A-5 wagyu dish. On top of that, they have several different sake to choose from as well as great cocktails, a large wine list, and more. Let’s find out more.
Starting with the sake and cocktails, we opted to try two different Sakes, the Koji Sake – Junmani Daiginjo ATL Edition that was our favorite, it is crisp and smooth cold sake and very sippable with any of the dishes. The other one was a rose, pink sake called Mukai Shuzo – Ine Mankai, which was still very good, floral, and fruitier than the other. For our cocktail the staff recommended the Gin #5 cocktail and we couldn’t have been happier. It is a floral gin that starts out tangy and then a smooth fruity end with cherry liquor and orange flower water and vermouth. It had a great balance.
For our shared plates, we tried a little bit of everything from crispy brussels sprouts to beef Negimaki, as well as Duck Spring Rolls, and their amazing King Kong Roll. Starting with the crispy brussels sprouts these were delicious with a sweetness and earthiness up front and then ended with a crunch and savory of the sauce. We’d never tried Negimaki before so we took a chance on it and we are glad we did! The wagyu beef was tender and meaty with a good rich flavor it surrounded crunchy and tangy cooked scallions that rounded out the bite with tang and crunch.
Something you have to try when you go to Bully Boy is their sushi! One of the rolls we tried was the King Kong Roll. Cool and tender salmon and yellowtail, sweet and spicy tuna, creamy avocado, a fantastic roll to pair with a crisp sake! The flavor was so good, no wasabi was even needed! Finally, the Duck Spring Rolls were a great twist on a classic. Crunchy and flaky outside, tender pulled duck inside that had rich flavor and the typical cabbage and carrots, but they added peppers as well for more tang. Yum.
On to our next course we pulled out all the stops and went for the pricey A-5 Wagyu and the Miso Black Cod! As for the beautiful and well-presented A-5 Wagyu it arrived in a smoke dome! It’s like meat butter surrounded by a smoky, charred skin and topped with gold flakes. It goes perfectly with the tender marinated mushroom assortment. But we must admit that the Miso Black Cod stole the show! HOLY GOD, this must try dish is sweet and tender cod paired with a rich miso sauce and pickled vegetables on the side. Put the fish, miso sauce and veggies together for an incredible sweet, earthy, rich, tangy bite. We cannot recommend any more highly!
We enjoyed the King Kong Roll so much, we also got the Ping Pong Roll. Wait, those rhyme! This is a must try with cool and tangy pineapple atop a spicy tuna roll with a balsamic glaze. It starts out with the sweet, cool pineapple and then the spiciness of the tuna and the richness of the balsamic glaze hits you on the back. Delicious! After all of that, they do offer a mochi dessert. It’s three seasonal flavors, ours turned out to be mango, matcha, and strawberry. If you are not familiar with mochi, they are chewy and fruity outside with ice cream inside and these are accompanied with fruit. We liked them all but we found you can mix and match them for best bite. I personally liked the matcha and strawberry together, almost like chocolate strawberry ice cream.
One of the best meals all year!! BRAVO!
