Hibachi/Teppanyaki steak houses

[MaggieTheCat]

My family in Wisconsin went to a Japanese hibachi steak house yesterday and they were raving about the food. My mom said that she would take Minneyar and me there the next time we're up to visit, but the more she started describing the menu, the more I didn't think Minneyar would like it much. He's a bit of a picky eater; he doesn't like: lettuce, onions, shrimp (most shellfish for that matter), or eggs. The menu that my mom described was: Salad, onion soup, shrimp appetizer, fried rice (with scrambled eggs), mixed veggies (including onions), and your choice of meat. Out of 6 courses, Minneyar would eat 1 for sure. He might eat some of the other vegetables if the onion flavor didn't permeate the dish, and he'd eat the fried rice if the chef would agree to leave out the eggs.

I started looking around at local hibachi restaurants and the menus are basically the same at every one that I've looked at so far. 5-6 courses, most of which Minneyar wouldn't eat. We've never been to a place like this before, but it sounds pretty fun and interesting, but not if we're going to drop $30/meal for a bunch of food that Minneyar won't like.

So I'm wondering what other peoples' experiences with hibachi-style restaurants are. Will they do substitutions, even for an additional charge? Would the chef be willing to make things to order (like leaving out the onions in the veggie platter and the eggs in the fried rice) or is that considered an insult of some kind? Is the food/show worth the price if half the courses are unappetizing to one of the diners? If we never end up going to a place like this, it's not a big deal. I'm just curious what other people think.

[Greenday]

Well, I usually get a chicken/fillet mignon mix for dinner. I'll eat some of the rice. And I'll sip the soup. Most of the other stuff I won't eat. I'm not big on shrimp but it's damn good at my local place. And the meat...never tasted so damn good. That being said, is it worth the $30+ per person? Maybe. It's up to you if you really care about money or not.

[Bella_Vixen]

When I moved to GB, my coworkers threw me a going away party at a hibachi restaurant.

We all got to order what we wanted (I got chicken). There were no eggs involved in any dish.

The only time shrimp was even attempted to be forced on anyone was when the chef was flipping it at us to see if we could catch it in our mouths on the fly. I opted out because I can't stand shrimp anymore. But it was a trip to watch.

[taxguykarl]

For my birthday, Mrs. TGK took me to a new one in our 'burb. The soup was a miso with some kind of green (I couldn't quite place it). She barely touched her salad (typical). As it was my birthday, they included some free saki and a slice of cake.
As to your queries, just ask ahead of time--all they can do is say no.

[Lurking Sockpuppet]

Around here the veggies are cut fairly large so it would be easy to avoid the onions. I'm sure they would leave out the egg in a portion of the fried rice or he could just get steamed rice. Egg isn't in any of the other dishes. He could ask for extra soup instead of salad. As for the shrimp. My husband is allergic he just has the chief give it to me. Most of the places I have been also have a regular menu you could order of off if you do not wish to have the teppanyaki.

[draggar]

The hibachi places we've been too will do customs. Don't like eggs? They won't put eggs in your's. Most will do omissions at no cost and I'm sure they can do substitutions (be sure to tell the waiter when they take your order, though).

The cook is part of your wait staff and as far as I know they also get tips so they want to keep the people happy and entertained.

[Aethian]

The one I've been too had two different menus. One guy who shared a table with us went through his menu with a fine toothed comb because of his restrictions. He didn't get the meal deal Mom or I did but he still got something yummy. It just didn't get prepared in front of him.

[Jester]

I have been to Benihana here in Key West many times, and have never had less than an absolutely awesome time. The show depends on the skill and talent of the chef, and goes from really good to un-freakin-believable.

And the food has always been really good, sometimes bordering on awesome.

Will they leave stuff out? Absolutely. I have seen it done just about every time I have been, for someone who doesn't like something. A few words on this, though, and the specific things you mentioned....

Onions: Generally done very large, so those who don't like them have no problem picking them out. They will, of course, leave onions out of a particular person's dish if requested, but either way, I should point out that the onions do NOT dominate the flavor at all.

Eggs: Just about all fried rice uses eggs, even if you didn't realize it. If your friend has enjoyed fried rice in the past, he has most likely had it with egg in there. Why wouldn't he have noticed? Because it is not a lot of egg and it is a whole lot of rice. It is used more as a binder than anything, to be honest. If you were picturing scrambled eggs with rice, get that image out of your head. It is rice with some egg mixed in, but frankly, hardly noticeable. Sort of like onions in taco meat. It's there, but not really obvious.

And remember, you get to choose your main dish, and you can always substitute white rice for the fried rice if you want. Many people do. (Me, I love fried rice, and always get it over white rice when there's an option, whether it's teppanyaki or just normal boring takeout.) Also remember that the chef does get a good portion of the tips, so if he's not making his clientele happy, he's not making money. These guys aren't stupid. They adjust to their clients' needs and desires.

Next question?

[MaggieTheCat]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. Minneyar doesn't like most fried rices because they do contain eggs. Even the small amount that goes into most fried rices as a binder is too much for him (just as the little bit of onion that goes into taco meat is too much for him too -- yeah, I told you he was picky.) We have a Benihanna in town too, but it's gotten mediocre reviews at best. I've heard that the chefs aren't all that great, as if a lot of them were recent hires who got through training but haven't really had much practice or experience and they end up dropping stuff pretty frequently. There are several other local hibachi restaurants, though, that I've heard better things about that we might try.

[AccountingDrone]

My family in Wisconsin went to a Japanese hibachi steak house yesterday and they were raving about the food. My mom said that she would take Minneyar and me there the next time we're up to visit, but the more she started describing the menu, the more I didn't think Minneyar would like it much. He's a bit of a picky eater; he doesn't like: lettuce, onions, shrimp (most shellfish for that matter), or eggs. The menu that my mom described was: Salad, onion soup, shrimp appetizer, fried rice (with scrambled eggs), mixed veggies (including onions), and your choice of meat. Out of 6 courses, Minneyar would eat 1 for sure. He might eat some of the other vegetables if the onion flavor didn't permeate the dish, and he'd eat the fried rice if the chef would agree to leave out the eggs.

I started looking around at local hibachi restaurants and the menus are basically the same at every one that I've looked at so far. 5-6 courses, most of which Minneyar wouldn't eat. We've never been to a place like this before, but it sounds pretty fun and interesting, but not if we're going to drop $30/meal for a bunch of food that Minneyar won't like.

So I'm wondering what other peoples' experiences with hibachi-style restaurants are. Will they do substitutions, even for an additional charge? Would the chef be willing to make things to order (like leaving out the onions in the veggie platter and the eggs in the fried rice) or is that considered an insult of some kind? Is the food/show worth the price if half the courses are unappetizing to one of the diners? If we never end up going to a place like this, it's not a big deal. I'm just curious what other people think.

I have never had problems getting them to eliminate mushrooms - they have a vested interest in their customers not going to the emergency room or dying onsite =) If you clear it with everybody at the side of the table you are at to just leave out the onions totally, t could work. Last time, we shared a table wiith a group of 4 strangers, and another ocuple. THe strangers were a bit miffed at omitting the shrooms, but they understood it would kill me, and we explained that the place we normally went to would let us have the table to ourselves with 4 people instead of cramming everybody together just so they wouldnt have to have 2 tables running on a slow afternoon.

[Kara]

There are several hibachi places in the city, and I would loooooove to go to one, but I'm afraid of not liking it/being able to eat.

I dunno what the problem is. When I was little, of course, everyone said I was "picky." Picky and/or just not liking something is a little different that retching everything up I think. There are a LOT of veggies that I simply cannot eat, and I don't know why. Leafy greens (except cooked spinach, go figure), uncooked onions (even then, they need to be small and sparse, too much triggers my gag reflex), peas, pickles, peppers (but not dried/powdered pepper), mushrooms (tiny ones in soups are okay), lots of things.

I don't know why. These things hit my mouth and my body says "Oh hellz no!" and it comes back up. Same for a lot of condiments like mustard, mayo, dressing, salsa, horseradish, wasabi, guacamole, and so on. Sometimes I can force things down in tiny bits, but it's not a guarantee. Needless to say, I'm not a very healthy diner most of the time .

When I was little, it was always a pain because all the fast food places pre-made the food, so when I ordered "plain" the workers would get this deer-in-headlights look and it took like 10 minutes. Those days are a thing of the past so it's not a big deal anymore, but I always feel so stupid saying, "I'd like X, plain."

That's what sucks about going to good restaurants like the Japanese ones. Why pay $30 for a meal when you wind up not even getting your money's worth?

[Kaylyn]

I don't know why. These things hit my mouth and my body says "Oh hellz no!" and it comes back up.

Ooh, sounds like you have a pretty severe case of texture aversion. It seems to run in my husband's family. It's not the taste that gets them, it's the feel of the food in the mouth that makes them ill.

[PepperElf]

These things hit my mouth and my body says "Oh hellz no!" and it comes back up.

i can barely eat cooked carrots. they're ok in soup or if you tempura fry them but regular cooked carrots by themselves... my tongue just says hell no and my body tries to gag.

at least it did when I was a child. i can eat them now in small amounts, or mixed in to something else but... i don't try tasting them. cos if i did then i'd probably go 'yuck'.

i'll eat my carrots raw thank you very much

[Jester]

If you clear it with everybody at the side of the table you are at to just leave out the onions totally, t could work. Last time, we shared a table wiith a group of 4 strangers, and another ocuple. THe strangers were a bit miffed at omitting the shrooms...

I'm confused. Why didn't the chef just eliminate onions from YOUR order? Now, my experience with these types of places is limited to just the one we have here in town, but I have never seen them have a problem doing special orders for people. Myself, I love onions, and I wouldn't want to kill anyone, but I would definitely be annoyed (though probably not show it outwardly) if I had to alter MY meal for some people I didn't even know.

And yes, the more I read this thread, the more I love the fact that I can eat pretty much anything. My only food allergy that I know of is bananas, and that won't kill me, it will only irritate my throat a bit.

[AccountingDrone]

I'm confused. Why didn't the chef just eliminate onions from YOUR order? Now, my experience with these types of places is limited to just the one we have here in town, but I have never seen them have a problem doing special orders for people. Myself, I love onions, and I wouldn't want to kill anyone, but I would definitely be annoyed (though probably not show it outwardly) if I had to alter MY meal for some people I didn't even know.

And yes, the more I read this thread, the more I love the fact that I can eat pretty much anything. My only food allergy that I know of is bananas, and that won't kill me, it will only irritate my throat a bit.

because if you fry up someone else's mushrooms on the same flattop as mine at the same time i will have an allergic reaction. I prefer not to die, thanks ... it was the OP's kid that has the onion issue, Ill eat onions til the cows come home and my farts clear the place =)