Food Explosion - 30th Birthday Style

So my sister's 30th birthday just passed, and considering what a special day that is -- she disagrees -- we celebrated in style.  Meaning, we ate a lot.  A LOT.  To be fair, the eating started pretty early, since our mom was going to paradise (California) and wanted to have a family dinner before she left.  

I'm not really going to talk about that meal, though, because we went to Shoya Izakaya and...I mean, a little short snippet will not really do justice the love and reverence I have for their food.  Serious.  So good.  Sashimi...yakisoba...crispy chicken skin...grilled sake onigiri (!!!!!!)....Mmmm.

But, back to the birthday festivities.  My sister chose to eat at Miller Union for her actual birthday, since both of us had never been before.  We decided to get the farm egg - highly recommended - and rabbit rillette for appetizers, the duck breast and quail for entrees, and the vanilla custard and blackberry pie for dessert.

It was all really good, and I particularly loved that they had blueberries in the duck breast dish and figs in the quail dish.  Typically, I'm not super down with fruits in my salty foods - that pineapple fried rice? Not for me. Hawaiian pizza? I'd rather just have the ham - but these entrees really worked.  The sweetness of the fruit wasn't overbearing, it was a nice complement to the meat.  My one complaint would be on the blackberry pie.  It was delicious, but they served it with some sort of citrus sorbet, and this really bothered me, because all I wanted was some vanilla ice cream to pile on top of the pie! 

Side note: whatever that chocolate cookie thing they had on the side of the custard...it's like crack.  And it's probably best I have no idea what it is.  

Then the weekend came, and the real food explosion happened.  As follows...

1. Parish

Oh, man.  Delicious brunch.  HEAVY brunch.  Between the three of us, we got the fried oysters and grits, the fried green tomato benedict, and the fried chicken benedict.  Also, my sister ordered a single bloody mary that was not even halfway finished (I haven't found a taste for them.  And it was pretty strong).  I don't usually steer towards ordering grits, but I liked theirs.  Lots of texture, and a nice balance for the fried oysters.  

2. Inman Perk

We stopped by here after brunch for some caffeine to help us wake up before heading to the World of Coke.  Great coffee, and they have Jake's ice cream!  I am still searching for that Panda-monium green tea flavor, though, haven't seen it since the actual Jake's stores were still open.

3. Einstein's 

No pictures of the food since the lighting is pretty dim.  But a simultaneous thumbs down/thumbs up for this place.  My sister had made a reservation for dinner here for a big group of her friends, which, as we learned upon arrival, was forgotten.  No reservation.  For a group of 20-some people in Midtown on a Saturday night. Horror! Luckily, they had room to seat us at a couple of different tables, and our waiter was really accommodating.  I remember that my beef was good, but not much else.  We did bring a Sweet Hut taro cake with us, and that was probably the highlight of my meal.  

4. Late night snacks

Yes, late night snacks.  Which included Steak and Shake (unavailable in Cali), swiss chard, rice, turkey and tomato pasta, and Sublime donuts.  Maybe some Sweet Hut pastries.  Three girls.  Yikes.

5. Jang Su Jang

This is one of the go-to places we take out-of-towners.  It's nice and there's something for everyone.  This meal ended up being our 4PM "lunch".  No need to reiterate how much I love this place.  I tried their bossam for the first time, and it was awesome - so meaty, but almost light and refreshing as well with the accompanying pickled radish and cabbage.  

6. VMA's Medley!

Anyone who knows my sister knows we were NOT missing out on that 'Nsync reunion on the VMAs!  Which meant watching TV for a couple of hours late at night.  Which means snacks.  Which means picking up food from Dan Moo Ji and beverages from Bambu.  WHICH equates the best ending to a weekend ever.  

Don't miss out on the tuna kimbap or the chicken wings from Dan Moo Ji.  I knoooow the tuna thing sounds weird. I know it does.  But it tastes awesome.  And they have the best pickled radish cubes and fish cake! As for Bambu....honestly any number you choose for the che will be good.  It will all have a medley of chewy, jello-ey, sweet, possibly fruit-y STUFF that you'll have no idea what it is, but it tastes good anyway.

So....yeah.  I'm still full.

OH MY TORO - Taka Sushi and Passion

Happy Belated Birthday to my adorable, forever-young Mom!

And birthdays in my family mean one thing: awesome birthday dinners.  My siblings and I usually have no trouble whatsoever picking out where and what we want to eat -- this has ranged from Canton Cooks, to the Optimist, to home-cooked kong ba bng (Taiwanese for braised fatty pork belly over rice), all which have been enjoyed fully.  But when it comes to my mama?  I think she's so used to just going along with the food we want to eat - we are a family that does not hesitate in indulging in our cravings - that she rarely ever has something in particular that she wants to eat.

And in those few and far between times?  It's always something kind of weird and short-lived, like the Wendy's fish sandwich, or some sort of vegetable thing they used to have at Chili's.  We joke that if she likes something a lot, it's going to be taken off the menu soon.

For this birthday dinner, we originally had reservations for Tomo, but after looking at a couple of Yelp reviews, we changed our location to Taka.  I was particularly stoked for this, since I've been following Chef Taka's blog for quite a while now.  It's actually a really interesting read.  He talks about a lot of the fish they get in and posts up pictures, while also posting articles regarding health, diet, and exercise. Confession: sometimes I do skip the articles because a.) they make me feel bad about my very sedentary lifestyle and b.) I'm more interested in what treasures he found in Costco or what different Japanese dishes he is preparing.  Or the quality of the tuna for that week!

And I was not disappointed.  Me and my sister opted for the chirashi - "DUH," says anyone in my social media network - and we convinced my mom to go for the Omakase, chef's choice.  Awesome decision.  The chirashi had a lovely, diverse selection of fish, and my mom loved her dishes.  I was worried because the waitress let us know they were going to use a lot of pickled wasabi as the sauce for the fish, and my mom typically can't handle too much of that sinus-clearing sensation, but it was super nice and more flavorful than tingly.  AND THERE WAS TOROOO!  I feel like I have to use all caps/more volume when writing or speaking about fatty tuna to appropriately convey my excitement.  I think at some point my mom was disappointed because the waitress hinted there may be uni (not today) but this definitely took care of that.  It was the last dish of the omakase, and the perfect ending.

I was a little disappointed because the waitresses talked really fast when bringing the dishes (it was pretty busy that night), so I didn't quite catch what everything was.  But it was all delicious, which is what really matters.  Anyway, I'm of the opinion that when it comes to sushi/sashimi, pictures capture much more than words really can.  Enjoy!

 Chirashi $29.  So much fish, and all of it so tasty.  They had the raw sweet shrimp, which I don't even think I've had in Atlanta.  Also, that tamago was. SO. good. So sweet. So smooth.

The following: $50 Omakase, in order

You should definitely check this place out for some quality sushi! They have a lot of sushi rolls, too, if that's more your thing, and I'm sure they're awesome, too.  OH and I almost forget to mention their plum wine sangria! Mm Mm Mm.

I do still want to try Tomo at some point.  Any opinions on that place?