So what was by all accounts the best Japanese chef in Atlanta has resurfaced in New York City with the opening of his restaurant Soto later this week at 357 Sixth Ave. Chef Sotohiro Kosugi came to Atlanta from Japan to lead the cuisine at a now-defunct Japanese hotel where the Hyatt Buckhead now stands, and moved his show across the street next to Disco Kroger in an unassuming strip mall when the hotel changed hands. Now comes the news that Soto has landed in another sushi-hungry town where the competition is fierce among the two-syllable sushi destinations (Masa, anyone?). Anyway, I was always blown away by Soto before he closed the first time, and hope to visit on some future trip to NYC. New York Magazine reports that Architect Hiro Tsuruta, known for his sleekly minimalist designs of ChikaLicious and Momofuku Noodle Bar is behind the design of his new digs – a far cry from the strip mall from whence he comes.
Category Archives: Food
Spice Market
Back in NYC for business this week. I obviously miss Amy and the little man tremendously, but do enjoy the chance to enjoy some good food here in the big apple. Headed to Jean Georges Vongerichten’s Spice Market last night with a vendor after a late meeting around 6:30pm. The place is in the recently-trendy Meat Packing District. Surprisingly, the hostess showed zero ‘tude and seated our party of three immediately, albeit in the slightly less posh downstairs.
I happened to think the design of the place was pretty spiffy – it really reminded me of an exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum I saw a few years ago of a home moved there from China which dated back to 1800, and had been occupied for over 200 years, with the added bonus of good drinks and better food – and the prices are not unreasonable for a fun night out. And the food was great – including at least one dish I’ll remember for a long time to come. Read on after the jump for more about the food…
Continue reading Spice Market
Eating my Way Through NYC
So this post is more about food than anything else, but let me highlight the beautiful little dumpling morsels seen above, caught through a window of a joint in Koreatown. As far as work goes, I spent most of last week at meetings in the city, punctuated by a couple of fun dinners with coworkers and friends. First up on Tuesday and Wednesday were a couple of Internet Advertising Bureau events. I spoke on a panel discussing ‘New Mediums, New Challenges – How Ad Operations is Being Redefined.’ Former coworker Mike Stoeckel (now of Fox Interactive) was the moderator, and Tim Messier from Weather.com, Jared Iwata from Microsoft and I had an energetic discussion on podcasting, vodcasting, mobile, video syndication, AJAX and the general implications of Web 2.0 technologies on existing counting, ops and reporting methodologies. Wednesday featured more IAB meetings, including a joint publisher-agency ad ops summit at the NYC ‘Googleplex’ which only opened recently – with quite the cafeteria, let me tell you! Thursday and Friday was a return to all things Turner as we kicked off several major ad technology projects that will keep my team busy through January. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the awesome dinners I had while in NY. First at a great Argentinian steakhouse on 9th Ave with my fellow AdOps council members, then a great selection of gourmet pizzas featuring lobster and bacon on one and a white clam topping on another delivered to my old coworker and friend Hart’s place in Chelsea. And finally, a fun outing with coworkers Lauren Gardner and Beth Kuenzi to Koreatown for some hardwood charcoal goodness. That evening was topped off by cheescake (multiples for some of us) at a 100+ year-old bakery in the East Village. Yummy. Photos are here for your salivating enjoyment.
Seeger’s Soldiers On…
Guenter Seeger began his career in Atlanta in 1985 at the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead. Since then, Atlanta has had an apparent love-hate relationship with this uber-Chef. Noted as much for the food as for the awkward service at his eponymous restaurant he opened in Buckhead in 1997, it was widely reported that he was going to shut his 5-star Mobil-rated restaurant down in late August due to $265,000 in back taxes and the pursuit of ‘other interests’. Well, investors apparently swooped in at the last moment to keep the illustrious restaurant running. So fellow foodie and friend Joel and I decided to go before Seeger ‘closed’ again. Our wives had their own date down the road at Nava – they were not so keen on the high-falutin food nor ‘tude for which Seeger’s is so well known. Well, they missed out – big time. Read on for more about the menu and the experience – including Joel and my ‘anniversary’ desert! Continue reading Seeger’s Soldiers On…