Today began with a visit to Atlanta's High Museum to catch the Annie Leibowitz exhibit. It was exquisite. I came to tears several times at her beautiful photography.
We headed from the museum to have dinner at Geisha at Atlantic Station. We had very early reservations, and they seemed perplexed as to why we were there. We had noticed there was a lovely terrace upstairs and since it was a beautiful day, asked if we could go up and have a drink on it. We were informed it was not open yet for today. So we asked if we could have a drink at the bar, and were informed the bar didn't open for another half hour.
Very bizarre. Why would you have reservations accepted before the bar was open? So we looked around and then asked if we could be seated since there really wasn't much else to do.
The ambiance inside Geisha is lovely. It is very modern, vibrant and dramatic decked out in rich red, luxe upholstery, mod light fixtures, and extremely high ceilings. Though I had to admit it was pretty dark in there. One guest just could not read the menu unless she held the table's candle over it! And as sexy as the atmosphere was, they couldn't seem to decide on their music selection as it moved from smooth jazz to rock in roll and back and forth. Strange.
The food and the service however were fabulous. Our server, Chrissy, was extremely friendly and helpful. She went out of her way to find a mundane piece of information for us, and frequently checked in on us as the meal progressed. The timing of the courses was steady, but not rushed. Presentation was clean and minimalist. She didn't balk when we asked her to split the bill.
All of us started with a flight of cold saki. All three were light, refreshing and balanced the flavor of our meals nicely. A little chilled edamame was served while we tried to decide what to order. First courses were individual: the miso with tofu and scallions was exactly that, a miso with shitake mushrooms was heavenly, the smoky flavor of the mushrooms delicate and aromatic, and a special hand roll, the Marilyn Monroll, salmon tempura, chiles and avocado was okay.
Second course was beef Robata-Yaki, or skewers of filet mignon and asparagus served with three sauces. The beef was juicy and tender, cooked medium rare and flavorful all alone. The mustard sauce was a favorite while the teriyaki was pretty much ignored and the chile sauce painfully spicy.
Third course was Pacific Tuna with Crispy white onions and an asian mustard sauce. This was fresh and light. And quickly gobbled up by my companions, however the snowfall of onions could have been a little lighter.
Finally we shared three types of sushi:
Heaven:Chopped Toro, Special Tuna, Spicy Tuna and cucumber
Red Samurai: Spicy Tuna and cucumber with Avocado, grape tomatos, serrano and a vinegarette
Pink Lady: Bobu Arare Shrimp, cucuber, Tobiko and Spicy crab with eel sauce
All three were delicious. Pink Lady was hands down the favorite, and I thought the Red Samurai with the vinegarette was very unique. One thing about Geisha is that the rolls are thankfully not overloaded with rice, and in fact you can order them with less rice or none at all. Additionally, they are wrapped in rice paper versus nori, which the consnsus was that we liked the change as it allowed the flavors of the fish to shine brighter without having to compete with the salty sea flavor of the seaweed.
For dessert we sampled a trio of creme brulee including a green tea version which was creamy and luxe, and a ginger pudding with green tea ice cream. The pudding was brightly flavored and paired nicely with the richness of the ice cream. A sugared ginger and fresh strawberry garnish was a surprising compliment.
Overall, the food at Geisha was very good at every stage of the meal. Everyone remarked that the whole experience was very pleasurable. While the prices may be a bit high here for those whom enjoy gorging on sushi, the extra cost is every bit worth it as the flavors were delicately blended and a step above most sushi restaurants. The saki also was a welcomed accompaniment to the meal. I am a changed woman; I will never drink warm saki again.
Ironically, about 6 hours later, I ended up at the Majestic, where I finished the night off with the french fries I was craving the night before, alas no gravy again...so I suffered with cheese and corned beef hash on my fries...The Majestic by the way is just that, majestic. It was the first restaurant I ever ate at in Atlanta, and we have visited many times, always late at night. Another 24 hour institution.
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