re: Soji - Mid City BR

So, definitely forgot to check back in...

Went Thursday with two other people. Very casual vibe, but still cool. Wait staff is mostly Mid-City hipster, so if that's going to make anyone clutch their pearls, fair warning. As a random note, there are multiple three sided booths, so if you have a group of 5, it's actually not too bad.

Anyway, started with Basil Gardens and Crane Kick cocktails. Both were excellent. Table got a bottle of the Green Ridge Junmai Ginjo (sake), which was very good. Tried the Japanese Mule, which was also good, but I preferred the other two cocktails. We started off with the Crudo (excellent), followed by the Pork Belly Dice (excellent), followed by the Wagyu Dumplings (good, but the chili oil was overpowering. My least favorite dish of the evening), followed by the table splitting the Thai Boat Noodles (absurdly good, with a depth of flavor that surprised the hell out of me), the Drunken Noodles (very good, but not quite as interesting as the spice takes over a little), and the Butter Chicken (excellent; probably my favorite Indian dish I've ever had in BR). At this point we were quite full (and a little buzzed) so we passed on dessert.

I was told that it's soft open this past week and next week, likely grand opening after that (full lunch and dinner service), and at some point in the relative near future, they plan on having their outdoor enclosed bar open until 2am and raman service until 1am. Obviously plans can change, so don't hold them to that, but I'm excited about the prospect for late night raman on the Government corridor.

Overall, I went in with high expectations and wasn't in the least bit disappointed. I'll probably see if I can make it in again at some point this week to explore the menu a bit more.