Masa Hibachi

Our Friday routine is that we meet after work at the gym, do some exercising, and then go somewhere to eat.  There are lots of places to eat between work and home.  We have taken to alternating who gets to (or has to) pick where to eat.  

For the past few months, it has become the norm that I have a conversation at the gym with a man who also eats out in Silver Spring, and has given us several restaurant recommendations.  Last week he recommended an Indian restaurant that was quite good (that got to be Pam's pick), and this week he mentioned a couple of places, including Masa Hibachi, a Japanese restaurant as you might guess.

When we walked in, the staff asked if we wanted the sushi bar, or the hibachi.  Caught a bit by surprise, and not sure what all the options might be, I said "hibachi."  So we were escorted toward the back and seated at a U shaped table surrounding a desk size stainless grill.  I knew what we were in for, but it was a new experience for Pam.  From wikipedia:

"hibachi-style" is often used in the United States as a term for Japanese teppanyaki cooking, in which gas-heated hotplates are integrated into tables around which many people (often multiple parties) can sit and eat at once. The chef performs the cooking in front of the diners, typically with theatrical flair—such as lighting a volcano-shaped stack of raw onion hoops on fire. 

When we arrived, there were 4 others seated.  After a bit, 2 more arrived, to fill out the 8 seats.  We got some tea, and ordered our meals -- shrimp for Pam and steak and scallops for me.  We had a bit of a wait, but were entertained by the chefs at nearby hibachi stations flipping vegetables for people to catch in their mouths (like seals) and lighting things on fire.

When our turn came, we got a display of utensil flipping and tossing, and then the cooking started.  It was fun watching the whole process.  We did, indeed, have a volcano shaped stack of raw onions lit on fire, and an impressive display of egg balancing and tossing with a metal spatula before he tossed the egg in the air, placed the spatula edge up on the grill, and let the egg fall across it on the way down, cracking it open to begin the process of making fried rice.

All told, we had a salad, soup, fried rice, noodles, grilled vegetables, and our selected items.  Plenty of food, and we brought some home to have another meal.

A surprisingly fun way to dine for our Friday dinner.