Tokyo Boat II

It's hibachi night! Get excited! Whoo! Hibachi! Fire! Flying shrimp! Chefs clanging on metal salt shakers! Whoo! How much fun is Tokyo Boat II, the latest hibachi to open in the Publix shopping center at Holcomb Bridge and Old Albama? It's pretty fun.

The great thing about hibachi is it's predictability. There's a certain rhythm to the meal, no matter where you go. It's different enough to be a change of pace, but nothing really boundary pushing. You can get grilled chicken and steak! Check out the shrimp and scallops, if you're feeling fancy. Here is your bowl of clear soup with thin mushroom shavings decorating. Now it's the garden salad with creamy dressing. I'm momentarily dismayed when they don't have a cocktail menu of silly drinks made with cheap sake, but I order a glass of syrupy sweet plum wine instead and plow forward. Tokyo Boat has an option for a red snapper combo. That's different enough that I order it. The sushi menu looks interesting and I mentally note to try it next time.

Here's the chef with his wheeled cart. He checks our orders and immediately sets fire to the grill pan. I love the heat coming off the grill in front of me. I chat with my friends about work and the coffee table I'm refinishing while I sip my wine and watch our chef twirl spatulas and fry eggs. Hibachi chefs are amazing. One part chef, one part waiter, all show man. He's new at this, but his patter is still well rehearsed and exactly like every other hibachi chef I've been served by. He fries the rice, grills my steak and fish and makes an onion volcano all while keeping a constant stream of conversation. Now it's time for my husband to catch a piece of raw zucchini in his mouth. Now we set more things on fire. The fire is ALWAYS the best part.

Now we're chowing down on plates of grill steak, chicken and seafood. It's time to order a second drink and make plans for the weekend. Our chef has reserved a shrimp and ends the meal by making my husband catch it in his mouth like the zucchini. He succeeds to great applause. My meal ends with green tea ice cream, wrapped in mochi and arranged on a platter. The show is over and it's time to get ready for work the next day.


Was this great food? Not really. I've had better.  But you don't go to hibachi looking for a great culinary experience. You want onion volcanoes, flying shrimp and gimicky cocktails. Tokyo Boat delivers all this but the cocktails. But that's okay. This was fun! They followed the formula for a successful hibachi night. Plus, Wednesday is half price night, so it's quite the deal. So if you're on my side of 400 in Roswell, check it out.


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