Playing with your food

When I was out with the girls on Thursday evening, I learned that there are two new restaurants in the area with hibachis at the table. Now, when I hear the word "hibachi," I think of a small charcoal grill. I was so excited. I remember going to a restaurant somewhere--now I am thinking it was in Hawaii, which means this memory lingers from when I was in the 8th grade. Memories are curious, but evidently my life revolves around food.

Anyway, this was an ordinary sort of place with large booths, and along the wall side of the table, there was a little hibachi grill. They would start it up when you sat down, and later, they would bring a plate of marinated meat, very thinly sliced, and I think you got to sort of cook it yourself on the hibachi. I suppose there was rice and veggies to go with it, but my memory is a little vague on that front.

Last night we called up the closer of these two new places and asked how long their wait was. No wait! So we went on over, and when the hostess asked if we wanted a hibachi table I said yes please. We walk to the back room, and I am surprised to find the Benihana style grill with the table wrapping around it, you know where they juggle the knives. Except our chef just juggled a spatula and a fork. (See how helpful blog-writing is? I'm not likely to forget the word for spatula anytime soon!). He also twirled the egg for the fried rice on the grill and joked "egg roll". (He tried twice to hop an egg off the grill--with the spatula!--into his jacket pocket. Both fell and broke on the grill instead, but hey.)

We sat down anyway, with another couple that came in when we did. Had a very nice time talking to this other couple, and the food was good. (I had scallops--mmm, so tender.) I was the only one of the four that caught the piece of shrimp the chef launched at each of us from his spatula. (I figure that is mostly dependent on the aim of the chef, so I figure we both got lucky.)

Well, enjoy your Saturday--we're off to Costco!! :-)