The One Sushi plus - Brookhaven - Atlanta Georgia

You can find The One Sushi + at 2523 Caldwell Rd NE Ste 1000, Brookhaven, GA 30319 in the Brookhaven Village community. This is part of that large row of buildings along Dresden that has Kaleidoscope on the corner - The One Sushi + is on the back corner as the building forms an elbow along Caldwell Rd. I found it easy to park on the street but your experience may vary - during prime times this area gets quite busy.

I met a few friends at The One for lunch -  the double-door entry is on a truncated corner with "The One Sushi +" on a large white sign above the entrance. The interior is industrial-modern which seems to be the norm these days. There are several abstract paintings on the walls, mostly swashes of color. There's a rather expansive bar with back-lit colorful bottles - I liked the atmosphere quite a bit but there are many hard surfaces to expect a high noise level when they get busy. For this lunch it was busy but not too bad.

Prices seem to be fairly typical with a pretty heavy emphasis on alcohol based on the menu. My dining companions like sharable rolls over nigiri so I don't have a lot of opinion on the freshness of the fish. I thought the roll combinations good with a few atypical, most priced in the $11-15 range and fairly large.

The staff was very efficient and accommodating with our questions and requests. The restaurant seemed very clean, which you would expect from a sushi joint. I think we were in-and-out in about an hour.

(also posted to Yelp)

No Name Seafood Restaurant - South Boston - Massachusetts

You can find No Name Restaurant at 15 Fish Pier St E, South Boston, MA 02210 - this is by Trilling Way & Northern Ave on the waterfront. You basically walk back along a row of buildings on the pier until you see the sign.

This is a pretty no-frills seafood joint that's been here quite a while - I've heard it started out as a stand on the pier and eventually moved inside. The food is very fresh with an assortment of items caught locally served up fried, broiled or steamed. I've eaten here twice while on business at offices within walking distance - the food is good, plentiful and cheap.

 I've had an assortment of items here including fried and broiled - my favorites are the shrimp, scallops and lobster - you just can't visit Boston without getting some bits of each of these. I've also had a few choice fish items. I also liked the Seafood Chowder. The slaw is more creamy than tart but I still liked it too. The fare is simple and good - the only negative is the Sam Adams beer - yeah I know it's a staple of Boston and if you're going to get it anywhere, this is the place, but I'd prefer an ale over the local lager - just my preference.

I've always experienced good service here - even as part of fairly large parties the food has come out quickly and refills on beer prompt. 

(also posted to Yelp) 
 

Maji Tea Bar - Johns Creek - Atlanta Georgia

You can find Maji Tea Bar at 5725 State Bridge Rd Ste 110, Johns Creek, GA 30022 between the Pike Nursery and John's Creek High School. The entry is a bit weird - you sort of pull into Pike and swing left into the shopping center (it's almost hidden and the street sign is short and difficult to see - Google Maps shows "Upscale Resale" as the top sign in street view so I'm not sure of the shopping center's name) which hosts a number of businesses. Maji is on the corner and there's plenty of parking.

I was invited with a small group of people to sample what the recently opened Maji Tea Bar has to offer and listen to the owners talk about their products and business. The interior is spacious with your usual small tables and chairs and a counter towards the back-left. There's a counter extending to the right against the wall for singles or quick-snackers and the WIFI was exceptionally fast. I found the sound level to be pleasing with only some noise reflection as the place opened and regulars started to pour in - fortunately we were allowed entry prior to the opening time (12:00 noon) which provided us room to focus on what was being said and presented to sample. Frankly the space could hold many more people than there are tables to support them so it's very open. The place is immaculate, even the restrooms.

Maji has a trio of friend-partners with an idea of bringing Taiwanese products into the US, providing subtleties in teas not typically found through normal restaurant suppliers. First let me say that I found the base teas used at Maji to be exceptional - if you like unadulterated teas, you'll find these traditional Taiwanese-sourced teas to be amazing and flavorful. This is great quality tea and not the bitter-crap typically used to fill tea-bags. It's very aromatic and really deserves to be sampled prior to any flavorings added - it just doesn't need to be adulterated. Their base-teas (served iced) include the following:

* Jasmine Tea - green tea flavored with jasmine - highly fragrant
* Taiwanese Tea - oolong tea varietal, very floral and delicous
* Oolong Tea - another semi-fermented teal with strong fruity accents
* Breakfast Tea - the traditional black-tea familiar with most Americans - bold with hints of citrus

After tasting the base-teas we were shown the various flavorings available for the team - fruit, gels and boba - and given two flavored teas and two fruit teas to taste:

* Lychee Oolong Tea - I love this sweet and citrusy tea
* Peach Jasmine Tea - I can see a lot of people liking this one
* Passion Fruit Taiwanese Tea - This was delicious and probably my favorite
* Mango Fruit Jasmine Tea - real fruit in this teal, also delicious

We were then presented with three Milk Teas - I honestly liked all of these for slightly different reasons, but would have been happy with any of them (they can also do these using non-dairy milk). These were all sweetened but not so sweet that they seemed like desserts:

* Maji Brown Sugar Latte
* Honey Oolong Milk Tea
* Rooibos Milk Tea

At the end we were given a Waffle Ice Cream and some of the hot snacks they're recently begun to offer:

* Maji Waffle Ice Cream - Instead of a waffle cone, this dessert is presented inside an actual waffle - awesome idea and delicious.
* Maji Snacks - Popcorn Chicken - I thought these really good, really more of a chicken finger except made with real chicken. The crust is light with a hint of spice and salt/pepper.
* Maji Noodles - these are simple noodle bowls - the one I tried had a bit of sambal chili paste and steamed broccoli - something to break the food craving without getting you too full.

The owner who spoke to us indicated that he and his family lives in John's Creek and that his children attend the local schools. Along with the proximity to John's Creek High School, many students visit in the afternoons after classes. Maji also supports local athletic teams so they appear to be heavily invested in the local community - kudos to them for this and also providing a safe kid-friendly space. I liked Maji quite a bit, the concept, the products, the owners and their desire to make a go with this business all speak to me. I think you'd like it too!

(Also posted to Yelp)