HIBACHI
Collin Eats: Greenville's best hibachiBY COLLIN LOY ON DECEMBER 19, 2013
Have you ever had that craving that has been sweeping through the halls of Rose? The new craving trend is hibachi and it is something of its own. This issue I went to three hibachi restaurants in Gvegas, hoping to find which would reign as best Hibachi in Greenville.
My first restaurant was Hibachi Japan off of Firetower Road. The first thing I noticed when walking in was the elegance of the restaurant. It looked like a very nice, sit-down restaurant. So I was already impressed. I ordered the hibachi chicken shrimp and steak with a sweet tea, took my ticket and headed towards the table full of white sauce. White sauce; the sauce of the gods. Seriously, eating hibachi without white sauce is not possible. The food came, and I dug in. I ate all of the meat (with white sauce of course) and then the vegetables and rice. My favorite way to eat the rice is with the white sauce. And this was probably some of the best white sauce I have ever had. The price was mid-range for a hibachi restaurant. I had a really good experience at Hibachi Japan. I ate some great hibachi, some awesome white sauce and watched ESPN. I was basically in hibachi heaven. Next, I went to Shogun Japan in Arlington Village. The presentation highly resembled that of Hibachi Japan. I waited at my table for my food as I watched the game of the century, the Iron Bowl. What a game, but that’s not why I’m here. Everything was going well, until I got my food. I ordered the chicken shrimp and steak hibachi, except this wasn’t the same plate that came to greet me like before. The portions were diminished, and I felt the meat was a little undercooked. The fried rice wasn’t to my taste and had too many vegetables. Plus, the shrimp still had the tails on each shrimp. So I had to take each tail off before I ate it. If any good came out of this it was the fact that there wasn’t a lot of meat, so I didn’t have to take that many tails off. But the biggest problem that stuck out to me was the white sauce. I was extremely disappointed. It didn't do white sauce any justice at all. It needed more mayonnaise and to be honest, it wasn't even white! More of a light orange/white-ish. My wallet and I are currently not on good terms after eating here as well, so that was a negative, too. All-in-all, I was not impressed with the hibachi. I can honestly say that I will not be attending Shogun Japan for hibachi ever again. My last visit was the Hibachi Express in the Tarje shopping center. Not going to lie, but it looked a little sketch walking up. A little small on the inside and about the size of my living room, I was a little nervous about what would show up on my plate. But to my surprise, I was relieved once my number was called. I ordered the chicken and steak hibachi with fried rice. Holy crap. I don’t even know if I can say that in these articles, but holy crap. I kid you not, the taste of this hibachi was incredible. The way the grilled onions and vegetables complimented the meat was tremendous. The meat had that grilled taste you get when you eat on the fourth of July. And the white sauce -- to die-for. Perfect with the fried rice. The best part, I spent the least here than I did at the other two restaurants. I will be attending this establishment for hibachi anytime. If I had to say anything bad about the place, it would be how it is a little on the sketch side. But it’s all worth it when that bowl of steaming hibachi and fried rice is placed in front of your drooling, wide open mouth. Yums. In conclusion, Hibachi Express stole the key to my stomach, followed closely (by closely, I mean extremely close) by Hibachi Japan. Hibachi is a great thing. And Hibachi Japan and Hibachi Express provide this great thing to people like you and me. They do a great job doing it, too. I was extremely disappointed in Shogun Japan. I’m hoping it was just a bad night for them. Anyways, you know what I think. Now it’s time for your decision. **insert clever catch phrase here** HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
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