Queer Quisine - Benihana

Greetings fellow food lovers! I hope this Wednesday finds everyone in good spirits and HUNGRY!

Today's review is on Benihana. Yes, it's Asian. Yes, it's Teppan. No, it's not "just another Teppan place." Unlike Sakura or Takamatsu (which are both good in their own right) Benihana is a worldwide name. In fact, until the other night I'd never eaten at one in the US.

The location is easy to find, especially if you remember where the Sakura used to be up on Oracle because it's the same building. I think the cross streets are Oracle and Rudasil.

My dinner partner and I went for dinner on a Friday night, and it ended up being a very late dinner as we didn't actually get there until after 10pm. A plus, however, is that on the weekends the restaurant is open until 11pm and the bar/patio is open til midnight, if you're in the mood for some after dinner drinks.

The decor is typical teppan. That is to say a few Japanese paintings and a set of Samurai armour by the entrance. But I figure if you're there for the art then there's a deeper issue that I think you may need to look into.

Since we got there so late we were the only ones sitting at our teppan table. Our server was prompt and took our drink orders soon after we sat down. He even went back to the kitchen to find out whether the miso was vegan or not. (It was.) The menu was pretty extensive for teppan. They had just about every type of combination of meats and seafood you could possibly imagine, and the sushi and drink menus were at least a couple pages long. In regards to the drinks, if you like Japanese beer they have Kirin on tap which is a rare find.

The server brought out our soups soon after we placed our order. I got the Japanese onion soup that came with the meal, while Faye got the vegan miso. (Just an FYI in case you were wondering, miso is not always vegan. It is often made with a fish-based broth instead of soy-based.) Both soups were very good, and the onion was a nice change from the miso you get at every other Japanese restaurant.

We were given enough time to get through most of our soup before our teppan chef came out. He went through all the usual tricks of the teppan trade which, even after seeing them time and time again, I still think are cool. I'd like to see you toss around a couple knives without losing a finger! I ordered the Benihana Marina, which is a combination of scallops, shrimp and squid, since I'm a pescatarian. Along with the fried rice. A note: the fried rice actually comes with chicken. I didn't notice it until he had slapped it down on the grill. If you don't want chicken in your fried rice then be sure to ask for it without.

Faye didn't go with her tofu and avocado roll this time, instead ordering the veggie roll. She said it tasted like salad with rice and nori, and looking at it I can see why. Tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, radish, rice and nori. It didn't taste bad, just nothing all that special. But she said the ginger and mustard teppan dipping sauces helped a bit.

My meal, on the other hand, was excellent. The fried rice was fantastic and the seafood was cooked perfectly. I'm a big squid fan, and I hate it when I wind up with a meal that makes feel like I'm eating erasers. This was not the case here. The squid was tender, the shrimp was juicy and the scallops were cooked to perfection. The fried rice really complimented the flavours in the seafood.

Price-wise, it was a little pricey, or at least my meal was. But then, it's teppan so you expect to pay a bit more. I believe the Benihana Marina was $25, the veggie roll was $4.50 and the Kirin was $4.50/glass. I had a coke.

I'd love to go back and try some of their sushi options. They have my usual softshell crab rolls and a plethora of other interesting rolls that look like they're a 'must try.' I think they had a band out on the patio. It seems like it would be a good place to get some friends together and spend a couple hours having some drinks, eating some sushi and enjoying the Tucson night air.

I'll give Benihana an overall rating of 8.5/10.

Bon Appetite!

Benihana
6091 N. Oracle Road
Tucson, AZ, 85704 United States