Sake Hop

It was one of those chilly, drizzling kind of days that don’t do much to motivate you to get out. So, I didn’t go out, at least not until later in the evening. And then I didn’t go far. A new place had opened up in my neighborhood so I thought I would just stroll down Atlantic Avenue a few blocks and pop in.

888) Soju



This restaurant and bar named after a Korean liquor is located at 145 Atlantic Avenue. It is fairly small but dramatically decorated with a decidedly Asian bent. A heavy wooden top to the bar that also has a heavy wooden front. The bar chairs are also wood and some of them have red cushioned seats. The wall directly behind the bar is brick with a single wooden column in the center with three wooden shelves sprouting from each side. Bottles of sake and the stronger soju (soju is distilled whereas sake is brewed) and other unknown wines and liquors sit on them along with glasses, candles, a Buddha like statue, and what look like some skull shot glasses (not particularly Asian).

A large bouquet of flowers sits on one end of the bar and a couple of stalks of lucky bamboo sit on the other end. The lights over the bar are classic style lanterns complete with red tassels. To the left of the bar is a painting of a dragon head that would make a good design for a tattoo.



Wine bottles with candles in them are mounted on the wall on the bar side of the room. There are also little candles on the bar. Hanging from the ceiling in front of the bar have exposed bulbs but are surrounded by curved, almost shell-like sculptured shades that surround them. A row of tables along the wall opposite the bar sit in front of a wooden bench and have small wooden chairs with black sits on the other side of them. Little candles sit on the tables. The walls are deep red and have small lights mounted on them with the same shell-shaped shades around them that the ones hanging from the ceiling had. They also have red tassels hanging from them.

The bartender was quite friendly and we chatted a bit about the neighborhood and how much it has changed. He used to live in the neighborhood. The only minor complaint that I have is that they serve the sake in small water glasses so when you get a drink the glass is only filled about a third of the way. Sake should really be served in a smaller glass set in a wooden box and the glass should be filled to overflowing. That is the traditional way. I got there when the place first opened, shortly after 6:00 P.M. and I and the Mysterious Chinese Woman were the only two people in there. We decided to stay for dinner so I ordered a bottle of sake to go with the meal. By the time we left the place had pretty much filled up so business must be good for this relatively new restaurant.

I had a glass of Fu-Ki Sake at the bar and then half of a bottle with dinner. I finished it off after I got home though. Once its been opened, well you know it won’t keep. At least not in Bar Man’s house.

Just one bar for the day bringing the total to 888 and leaving 112 to go.