Inside MiraePhoto by Andrew Thomas Lee Fudo founders, husband-and-wife team John and Grace Lee, quietly unveiled a contemporary Korean restaurant called Mirae in late October. Located on Dresden Drive in Brookhaven, it featured a concise menu and limited service while the Lees fine-tuned the details and shaped the larger vision. Now, Mirae is serving dinner five nights a week with a creative cocktail list and dishes that bring the Lees’ memories into the future. The word Mirae means future. To go forward, the Lees believe you must first appreciate the past. “Every dish has a story. Some are dishes we grew up with,” John says. Mirae’s claypot chicken features a crispy rice base that harkens back to the Lees’ respective childhoods. “My family was poor growing up in the rural countryside of South Korea, and the crispy rice bits at the bottom of the rice pot were considered delicacies. Grace shared the same experience,” he explains. “To be able to combine that nostalgia with a traditional common dish and introduce an elevated twist of our own is what Mirae is all about.” Shrimp toast, miso soup, bone marrow, and morePhoto by Andrew Thomas Lee Other dishes, such as menbosha, or shrimp toast, stem from more recent experiences, such as when the Lees traveled to South Korea as a family for the first time in 17 years. “Menboasha was our sons’ favorite [food] during the trip, and we wanted to represent that memory by offering a slightly different version to our guests,” he says. The menu offers shared plates to start, followed by artfully plated mains. Look for soy-infused Chilean seabass with cauliflower puree, nasturtium oil, and tuile; aged waygu don with goma abura, nori, nanatsuboshi rice, yuzu cream, and nama tamago; and uni and truffle pasta. Old fashionedPhoto by Andrew Thomas Lee Beverages include both New and Old World wines, plus Minhwa Spirits sojou, a variety of Japanese sakes, and Mizu shochu. Cocktails range from the Jade Highball with reposado tequila, shochu, matcha, lemon, and orgeat to the Rosemary Garden with Domaine de Canton, lemon, rosemary, and prosecco. A couple of IPAs and a rice lager provide options for beer drinkers. The Lees hope to portray the same spirit of hospitality that shines through Fudo, but not much else will cross over to Mirae. “It is a completely different concept with a different cuisine, and the dining experience is different as well. One commonality between the two establishments is how hard our team works to bring our ideas to life and offer the best experience to all of our guests,” John says. Pasta with Bafun uni and trufflePhoto by Andrew Thomas Lee Chilean sea bassPhoto by Andrew Thomas Lee The 5,000-square-foot space is a bit more elevated than Fudo with a bonsai garden in the center of the restaurant, providing a stark yet complementary contrast to the exposed ceilings and stone walls. “All in all, I think it creates a harmony that is slightly unexpected at first, but it works out in such a unique way,” Grace says. “We wanted to offer a sense of serenity and warmth in an elegant atmosphere.” The post Mirae founders John and Grace Lee share the memories that inspire the modern Korean restaurant appeared first on Atlanta Magazine. ...read more read less