Benihana

Every time I eat Japanese food, there is always something new either in the Japanese cuisine or in the way the food is prepared. This is especially the case at Benihana, located at 477 Camino Del Rio South. Benihana is not just about food, but also presentation and entertainment. Benihana designed their restaurants so that the chef will cook right in front of you (which is called Teppanyaki). I went to eat at Benihana around lunch time and I had their Lunch special: the Beef Julienne Lunch Boat (around $9.50 ) which comes with shrimp and vegetable tempura, sashimi, (3)half California Roll, edamame, onion soup, salad, steamed rice and fresh fruit. Just to caution, If you do order this item, it will not be made in front of you, as well the ½ Crunchy Roll ($4.15). I didn’t realize that, but I did order the Hibachi Chicken Rice (around $3.25) which is prepared in front of you.



When I regularly eat Japanese food, or any food cuisine at a restaurant, I never see the food being made. So at Benihana it’s a real treat to see the food being made. The chef will actually play with the food by making the fried rice into the shape of a heart or Mickey Mouse! Even with the onions, they create a volcano and put some water and create steam. It is definitely entertaining.







Now how about the food? I first received their onion soup. It was like a chicken broth with green onions and some crunchy fried onions. Overall the soup was a bit tasteless; the best part was the fried onions.


Next was the Crunchy roll, which had avocado, cucumber, crab, and tempura crumbs. All I could taste was the crunch. It had flavor, but to me it was pretty bland for a sushi. I also ordered the California roll which had a similar filling and it was a tad better than the Crunchy roll.




I don’t think I had the best sushi at Benihana, but what made up for the sushi I ate was the Lunch Boat. My food actually came in a boat with several food items in it. The first item I ate was the tempura, which was very crunchy and really good. Since tempura is a fried food, I was surprised that the tempura wasn’t greasy. What was even more of a surprise was the mushroom tempura, which was the best of all the tempura. A soft texture fired to perfection, it truly was an amazing dish. I then ate the sashimi, which is raw fish. This was the new item I leaned in Japanese cuisine. I want to say this is the extreme version of sushi. Sushi is raw fish with rice and other ingredients rolled up in seaweed. Sashimi is just the raw fish with no other ingredients involved. I had salmon and tuna sashimi. Since this was my first experience with sashimi, it was actually interesting. It was really good, but what made it interesting was the texture; it felt flaky and sort of smooth. I think it was delicious and you should try it if you love sushi. The next thing was the main event, the Beef Julienne. The Beef was juicy and very flavorful, but some small slices of the beef were a bit dry. The beef was soft and had a balanced flavor to it. The last thing was also the highlight, and that was the Hibachi Chicken Rice or as everyone knows it: fried rice. Benihana is famous for its fried rice. The rice has eggs, chicken, carrots, onions, rice, butter and garlic sauce. This rice is so delicious with a buttery coating. The chefs also have the most fun cooking with the fried rice.

Overall this restaurant is enjoyable. It has excellent presentation, friendly service (Its all about the chefs), and pretty good food. I do have to admit their sushi was not good at all, but since their sashimi was really good, I would give them one more shot to impress me with their sushi! The main attraction of Benihana is having fun while eating good Japanese food. I don't think that the food is authentic Japanese food, but its pretty close. You are paying, not for the authenticity, but for the entertainment.


Taste: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Overall: Amazing


Critic: Joshua Villalpando
Editor: Mikery Hatfield

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