Dissapointment at the Teppanyaki Table

I have a bone to pick with Benihanas. In days past, Mike and I had a ritual of going there every year for his birthday. Since moving to the Desert we have enjoyed many meals at Kobe and Hibachi as well. Part of the appeal of these places is of course the very fresh food being cooked right in front of you. There is also something to be said for the awkward / fun communal style of eating with people you don't know ( sometimes you get to join in on a horrible first date = fun, but other times you are stuck with a family of bratty kids = not so fun ). Certainly the real reason why people eat at teppanyaki restaurants is the"big show" the chef puts on for you. Now let me say that I have seen my fair share of these culinary productions at teppanyaki restaurants all over the country. Sometimes, you get a fabulous bit of entertainment out of it,while other times the chef seems, well, over it. You never know what your going to get - but at least you can always count on the requisite shrimp flipping, onion volcano, and the ever popular "beating heart" fried rice. if the chef is on his game you end up with something that is one part culinary mastery, one part pyrotechnics and one part comedy show. It can be really cool, even when you've seen it a million times.

Well last night we visited our old Benihanas in Santa Monica for old times sake. The first thing I noticed was that they have raised their prices - considerably. Ok, understandable, times are tough and all. The next issue for me was the wait. Used to be you would get seated and pretty shortly thereafter you'd have a nice cold beer and a hot bowl of miso soup in front of you to get you going. Last night we waited almost 35 minutes just to have a drink order taken. Not a good way to start off. Oh and by the way - we were flanked by awkward couple and bratty( "I am NOT gonna eat that!" ) kid family all the while.

When our chef finally graced us with his presence almost an hour after being seated, he proceeded to prepare our food for us without one single, solitary trick. No moves - nothing. No shrimp flipping! Not even the beating heart! There was a failed attempt at the onion volcano at one point and then it was over before it even started. And p.s Mike ordered medium rare steak and I upgraded to filet, which I like medium - and both came out WELL done. It was very disappointing.

Poor Benihanas. I'm not sure that they can justify charging 35-45 dollars per person for that meal without all the silly tricks and entertainment. Then it just becomes what it really is - average, overpriced Japanese food.