Who Can Resist Knife Twirling?
Written: Oct 26 '04 (Updated Oct 26 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: entertaining - and the food's pretty good!
Cons: entertaining food is a little expensive
The Bottom Line: Benihana is a fun place for birthdays and chef antics,
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| megugrrrl's Full Review: Benihana |
(Originally written in Dec 17 '00 in the wrong category, moved with the help of jdhauer.)
One of the best things about being laid off is that people are always wanting to cheer you up by taking you out to eat, and each set of friends tries to out-do the other. Last night, I was treated to Benihana, which is usually reserved for birthdays because you get to pose for the Polaroid camera with a ridiculously obnoxious straw hat and a fat little porcelain Buddha. Despite the lack of birthday antics and the possibility of having to share a table with obnoxious tourists, Benihana is a fun experience everyone should go through at least once.
In the simplest terms, teppanyaki means “fried on a steel grill”. The teppan, or giant burger griddle, is where the food is cooked right before your eyes by a master chef/ 2-bit comedian/ performer. Your teppan table seats around eight people and you will probably be joined by others (if it’s a Benihana in the Bay Area, your chances of sitting with tourists who think they are in Japan are highly probable). It’s not that bad. You engage in a little small talk, and the chef is pretty good at entertaining everyone.
We shared a table with a family from Phoenix; mom, dad, sister, and a jaded pre-teen youth by the name of Dustin. Everyone sat in a square horseshoe where you can watch the chef prepare everyone’s meal as he (ya, it’s traditionally a he) tosses around knives, spatulas, salt shakers and to the delight of the family at our table, flips food around (shrimp tails and full bowls of fried rice). The knife-flipping is guaranteed to enthrall even the most cynical child, who was seated right next to me. The chef we had possessed mad skills – he didn’t drop or miss a single thing, much to the chagrin of Dustin.
Food:
Before all the entertainment, you get starters – soup and salad. The soup is a watery but super delish broth with sauteed onions and mushrooms, and the small salad has a tangy gingery dressing (so good they decided to bottle and sell it on site.) You can also order other appetizers (they have a full sushi bar) or whet your appetite with big fruity drinks (you know, with the paper umbrellas spearing pineapple chunks).
Then, pushing a little cart with everyone’s raw food, your chef arrives. Most of the faire is combinations of steak, chicken, lobster or other seafood, most to order. Vegetables (zucchini, onions, mushrooms) are sautéed in a sauce and divvied up amongst the eaters.
While Benihana’s is a carnivore’s wet dream, there is a small spot for vegetarians (if you don’t mind your food being cooked on the same grill as cow.) Since the food is made to order, you can get yakisoba($16.00) (fried noodles with special sauce and vegetables) without the chicken. But other than that, there is little for a vegetarian to choose from. I ordered the Splash ’N Meadow ($22.50), steak and shrimp, respectively. The Splash (shrimp) was fresh and the Meadow (beef) was tender and cooked to order. Nothing spectacular. Each diner gets three little bowls for dipping sauce, supposedly for meat, seafood and all-purpose. Unfortunately using the sauces (which are good) tend to give everything the same flavor.
Everyone also gets a bowl of steamed rice, however, I recommend ordering fried rice because your chef can perform some egg tricks for everyone – our chef balanced the egg on his spatula and kept flipping it up in the air and catching it with his spatula again, until he cracked the egg on the spatula’s side to scramble it. He finished the egg routine by flipping the empty egg shell into Dustin’s plate. Everyone clapped for that one, even Dustin.
Service:
While the food is good, I think the main reason behind Benihana’s popularity is the knife and spatula flipping, accented with corny, oftentimes painful puns and one-liners. Witnessing the skill and finesse of the chef is truly entertaining – the clickety-clack of the knife and spatula on the teppan while you watch, hear, and smell your food sizzle, and then hearing the all the other chefs in the room going off, is really an experience.
While the chef also serves you your food, you also have a waitress (yes, it’s usually a she) who takes your order, serves you appetizers and big drinks. I’ve been to Benihana maybe a dozen times and the service from the waitresses have always been great, not exceptional, but great. The exceptional part is meant to be filled by the chefs.
(I know, I know, for someone who proclaims to seldom patronize chain restaurants, I seem to be writing about them a whole bunch. I recant my snotty statement; I guess I do eat at chain restaurants and actually enjoy them… I think I just held the notion that only unique restaurants were to be reviewed – silly me.)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
megugrrrl
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Oakland
Reviews written: 147
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