Tag Archive for: brussels sprouts

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!

Ph’East: Stamp Your Passport to Eastern Flavors

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 7/5/20

Being a hot day in Summer, we opted for the little bit of shade on a patio around the corner from Truist Park. Far to our right, there’s a guy with his guitar singing the greatest 80s and 90s rock and pop hits. As he sings, people tap their toes, sip on bowls, dig into poke, and try new beers and cocktails at the recently opened Ph’East. Just outside Atlanta in the Battery complex, Ph’East has several hawker stalls that includes our new friends at Poke Burri and Lifting Noodles Ramen, as well as the Tap at Ph’East. We sipped, slurped, and noshed our way to an international journey outside American, right from Atlanta. These days, we could all use a little vacation, so join us on a little trip to Asian flavor and tiki islands. Do you have your passport?

At the heart of Ph’East is the Tap at Ph’East beer bar where you can grab a cocktail, an IPA, a stout, and even a glass of wine. They have something fun every day of the week, our favorite is Tiki Tuesday and they have the perfect drink for it: Scorpion. It’s Tiki Heaven! Marrying a taste of the islands with rum, cognac, orange, lemon, and more, it reminds us of a drink you would sip under at a beach bar on a hot Summer day. Don’t forget the little umbrella. Plus, we sampled some new local beers like John’s favorite the Nolan IPA from Reformation, which he describes as refreshing and slightly hoppy on the back! I (Liz) got a new stout, The Breury Bakery BA Stout with vanilla, cinnamon, and cherry. It’s a hefty and boozy stout! Overall, they have a great assortment of cocktails and beers for any drink lover!

We’ve been anticipating visiting Poke Burri ever since we had a sample at Atlanta Food & Wine Festival a few years ago. They won best of the fest and we remember why! From spicy tuna nachos, sushi donuts, poke burritos, poke bowls, and even dumplings, Poke Burri has some of the best poke and sushi in all of Atlanta. Everything in our feast was delicious, but our favorite has to be the spicy tuna nachos. It has to do with the addition of the fried wonton chips. The spiciness and richness of the tuna juxtaposed with the creaminess of the avocado and spicy mayo then comes in the crunch of the fried wonton chips all comes together to make a wonderfully complete bite. Something that we really wanted to try was the sushi donut. The delicate salmon and avocado wrapped around rice with hints of creamy mayo and spicy siracha. What really made this bite was the sriracha dollops. I added it to the top and dipped in soy sauce for one great mouthful. Tip: pick it up like a donut and dip in sauces! It’s so fun.

If you know us, Poke bowls have long been a favorite of mine (Liz) and this one didn’t disappoint! It was everything you’d imagine from the meatiness of the salmon and spiciness of the tuna to the avocado to the rice and soy base, it is a spicy, creamy bite. Add some soy sauce to complete it! Perfection. Going from sushi to traditional Asian fare: dumplings. These packed a punch with meaty and delicious pork middle, the perfectly fried crunch of the shell, and you add in soy sauce. That’s some fried goodness. Let’s not forget what Poke Burri does most: sushi burritos. We actually got the spicy fried chicken and it was perfectly spicy and crisp that mixed well with the crunch of the carrot and tender sushi rice. Yum.

Pivoting to ramen, we were floored by the ramen and brussels sprouts at Lifting Noodles Ramen. The build your own ramen bowl can be vegan, vegetarian, or as meaty as you want! The pork base is Tonkatsu style, which means the bone has been soaked in broth to give it an almost milk-like consistency. We opted for the pork base because of this cloudy, creamy base that’s perfect for the earthiness of the kale noodles and the meatiness of pork belly. Yes, we said kale noodles. Get them. Now. Noodles can just be an additive to the bowl, but the kale really brings a unique, earthy, and delicious flavor to the entire bite. We added almost everything you could to get as much flavor and textures to round out the experience. We called it everything and the kitchen sink. Plus, this bowl packs a ton of rich, deep, crunchy, earthy flavor without being salty. So smooth and delicious, you’ll slurp to the bottom. As far as the brussels sprouts are concerned, they were perfectly crispy and earthy topped with sweet and spicy chili sauce that was the right balance of both sweet and spicy. Overall, it was a wonderful side. Something fun we tried to put some of the brussels sprouts in the ramen. Do you think we liked it?

Now that you’ve stamped your passport, what’s the one thing you’d love to try from Ph’East? Where would you go first? Invite us, we could use another trip soon.