Nakato or Nakaton't?

Nakato is one of the older Japanese restaurants in Atlanta. They opened in 1972. Sheesh, that's older than me. 

Also, I didn't realize how large it was. Maybe it started out small like other Japanese restaurants, got used to the American lifestyle, and got fat. But who cares if they got fat? As long as they served good food. 

They offered all fads of Japanese cuisine: teppanyaki style, izakaya style, and sushi. They didn't have ramen though. Maybe they missed out on the current Korean owned, Japanese style ramen fad. I should come back in a month and see if they added ramen to the menu. 

Anyway, we opted to go for the non-hibachi side since I'm not a big fan of teppanyaki. To me, teppanyaki is just fried rice with fancy meats. Fried rice is fried rice. It's what Asians make when they have leftovers. 

The miso soup they gave us before our meals tasted too salty. But it was your basic miso.

The miso. So thick your spoon is stuck there.

I tasted the jalapeno roll. It didn't taste that bad. Instead of relying on the heat from wasabi, you get the heat from jalapeno. They did offer wasabi still.

The other rolls didn't taste too bad either.

Jalapeno roll

Tempura Moriawase was a huge mountain of fried goodness. It came with a large dish of dipping sauce with some shredded daikon and other stuff to mix in with your dipping sauce. I'm not a big tempura fan, but it did taste good. Although, I don't know how much of the fried batter my stomach could take.

Tempura Moriawase

My omakase looked a bit tame. The sushi tasted good, but I didn't think it was anything special.

Omakase. The Chef surprises you with 9 

I liked it overall, but I wasn't too impressed. They seemed like another average Japanese restaurant to me. You can find 100's of simliar quality Japanese places here in Atlanta.

I also don't think it's a great value for the quality or quantity of food we got. But I think they have specials going on occasionally. They had coupons on restaurant.com. They also had the happy hour special, which I think is still going on, where you get 5 plates for $15. You just have to search around to see if you can find a good deal. Then I would think it would be worth it.

Even though I mentioned the place was big, it still had a nice atmosphere. And the service was 5 star quality, so it could be a good place to impress your date.

Also, if it's your birthday, have them sing you their version of Happy Birthday. Heck, even if it's not your birthday, say it's your birthday so you can hear it. The song is awesome. Overall, Mr. Kitty gives Nakato 3 paws up. 

Nakato 

1776 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

Atlanta, GA 30324

(404) 873-6582

http://www.nakatorestaurant.com/

Bocado or Bocadon't?

I forgot to take pictures again, so I'm going use pictures from Foodspotting.

The Burger

I tried their famous burger they copied from Holeman and Finch. They even used the same Holeman and Finch bun and the cuts of meat. Holeman and Finch's burgers taste awesome, does Bocado's compare? Kinda. Bocado's version seemed like a poor man's version of Holeman and Finch's burger. 

First, the burger wasn't very juicy; it seemed a bit dry. Also, they didn't have the red onions. I think the onions are essential since they add a lot of texture and flavor to the burger. So I felt like the burger was missing something. Their ketchup wasn't homemade like H&F's either. The patties seemed smaller too, perhaps about 3 oz each instead of 4 oz.

I dunno, I didn't get the OMG WTF, THIS IS AWESOME!!!11! feeling as when I first bit into a H&F burger. Maybe since I had the H&F so much I became jaded. They meat did taste decent and they seasoned it well with salt. It's not a bad burger, but not H&F quality in my opinion.

I also didn't care much about the fries either. They just felt too greasy to eat. 

A poor man's version of H&F burger

The Famous Lobster Roll

I also tried the lobster roll. It came with a small bowl of tomato bisque. This dish seemed special since they only serve it on Saturdays. The lobster rolls didn't live up to expectations to me. It tasted good, but not mind-blowingly good.

I think my problem was the lemon zest that I wasn't expecting. I was expecting more of a buttery lobster instead of a cold, lemony lobster. I never had lobster roll, so I didn't know what to expect. A lot of people I know loved it though. So maybe I'm just weird.

I did like the tomato bisque that it came with. It didn't seem heavy like regular tomato bisques. It tasted very light and refreshing. I don't think Bocado used heavy cream in the tomato bisque. I heard they used wine instead.

Overrated Lobster roll, underrated tomato bisque

The Real Star of Bocado

The highlight of my meal wasn't the famous burger or the lobster roll, it was the roasted pablano, pimento cheese, fried green tomato, and bacon sandwich. The combination of those ingredients made this sandwich into pure, Southern style magic. I would go back to Bocado just for that sandwich.

Forget the burger, just get this.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I wasn't too impressed with Bocado. I guess I got caught up with the hype of the burger and the lobster roll. I should come back and try their other stuff, maybe there's some hidden gem in their menu–like their pimento cheese sandwich.

I did learn that H&F makes good bread. The lobster rolls and the burgers used H&F bread. And the bread seemed high quality and had a good taste to it. I need to find some of these H&F breads for my own burgers and sandwiches. Mr. Kitty gives this place 3 paws up.

Bocado Atlanta
887 Howell Mill Road
Atlanta, GA 30318
http://www.bocadoatlanta.com/