MF Buckhead

A short while ago, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting MF Buckhead. A sushi restaurant, MF Buckhead joins MF Sushibar and Nam as a creation of owner Alex Kinjo.

The Executive Chef at MFB is Fuyuhiko Ito, formerly of Nagano, Japan. Chef Ito started his cooking career at seventeen. He began working in Izakaya restaurant as a dish washer, working his way up. He has now been in the business for twenty-five years.

The son of musicians, Ito is a trained cellist, and a true artist.

Chef Ito

It was my pleasure to be in the company of Suprina Berenyi. Ms. Berenyi is an accomplished, well educated chef, who studied at Cornell and NYU, as well as Le Cordon Bleu Paris. She operates Suprema Gourmet as a Chef/Nutritionist.

Suprina Berenyi

I was fortunate to have such a lovely, educated dinner companion, since I know nothing of sushi. Suprina took the time to explain everything, step by step and morsel by morsel throughout our meal. She taught me everything from how to properly hold the chopsticks and sushi dining etiquette, to the pieces and parts of each dish. I learned how it should taste and the texture the dish should have. Thank you Suprina!

Dining Room

Of the restaurant itself, I will say that it has a deceptively small appearance. It is intimate, yet roomy as it stretches out for the length of the building. The room has a very sleek design and modern appearance. There is a VIP room above the sushi bar for a private group setting.

At our table, the white tablecloth and the natural textures of the dinnerware enhanced our experience.

As for the food, Suprina will forgive me as I quote her when I describe some of the dishes we sampled, in no particular order:

Yellow tail

Fresh yellow tail with a zest of lemon, cilantro, jalapeno pepper and grated wasabi.....Hamachi had a luxuriously unctuous feel in the mouth. It practically melted before you could chew.

Seared Tuna

Seared tuna served with ponzu, scallions, pan fried garlic and hot sauce.& Maguro ( Tuna) on green shiso leaf- extremely fresh and the pairing was excellent.

Grinding the Wasabi Root

Our server is specially prepared the fresh wasabi root by grinding it on shark skin. Fresh wasabi is less pungent, and suits the subtleties of the fresh seafood we enjoyed.

Shrimp Tempura Roll

The shrimp tempura roll with fresh avocado was delicious! I had no idea I was actually going to like sushi!

Nigiri Maguro, Hamachi, Sake and Toro

The next plate had four different fish - Nigiri Maguro (Tuna), Hamachi (Yellow Tail), Sake (Salmon) and Toro (Fatty Tuna). Although the fish was superb it was the rice that was the show stopper.....yes the rice it was perfectly sweet and the temp was the perfect offset to the fish to bring out the best texture! Very impressive.

Chilean Sea Bass

The Chilean sea bass was cooked on a Japanese Robata grill called a Binchotan it is fueled with special oak wood charcoal, that is also imported directly from Japan. The grill temperature reaches 900 degrees and flames are fanned by hand to achieve perfection! A sensory privilege that should not be missed! It was indeed the masterpiece of our meal!

I cannot take credit for this review. Suprina wrote every plate description so that I would remember. I learned quite a bit that day, and hope for another opportunity to learn from her.

I would like also to thank Chef Ito. True to his word, his sashimi was delicious! I intend to return...