Life > October 25, 2007

By Lizzie Rosen | News editor

Want a Thanksgiving-sized meal sans turkey? Try Arigato Japanese Steak and Seafood House. Arigato delivers traditional Japanese décor and a hell of a meal. The restaurant is dimly lit with rooms walled with dark wood and stone tables creating the ambiance of an intimate dinner theatre with the chef as your star. Swords and Japanese dress are scattered about in lit glass cases. Arigato has two side rooms connected by a waiting room with a full service bar serving Sapporo and Plum punch among other traditional Japanese drinks. Tables typically hold eight people so you will likely be sitting next to strangers.

The chefs at the steakhouse wow diners with impressive kinfe-wielding skills. (Lizzie Rosen/Old Gold & Black)

While you are in for a show, the meal runs at least an hour and 15 minutes, so things can get cozy.

But oh is it a show. The meal begins with the preview. The waitress will come take your meal order asking you what types of sauces you want; if you’re not a saucy person go ahead and try it. The white is a great basic sauce for those inexperienced in the hibachi world. There are also mustard and ginger and spicy sauces if you are feeling particularly zesty. Be forewarned that the menu consists entirely of hibachi. There is a large variety of selections and possible combinations including with chicken, steak and filet mignon, spanning to scallops, salmon and even calamari.

The meal kicks off with a clear soup and a house salad. There are plenty of dressing options but I recommend the soy-based house dressing or the ginger house dressing both put you in the mood for Japanese food.

Now that you’ve settled into your meal, the chef will come in to start the performance.

The chef begins cooking onions and zucchini, which he serves to everyone with some pieces of shrimp. This is for you to eat while he cooks the mound of rice.

The rice is a great base for your hibachi and you get plenty of it, but be sure to control yourself; although it is delicious you don’t want to get full before the meal is over.

Instead, watch the chef as he does tricks with two wooden sticks that he tosses around behind his back, over his head and probably close to your face.

He will then cook your protein and leave you to enjoy your meal ... probably not before he constructs an onion volcano, though.

After you’ve stuffed yourself, they hit you with desert. You can order desserts like red bean or green tea ice cream, but the cake with cream filling that they give you seems to be enough to seal your 1,000 calorie fate.

While the food at Arigato is fabulous, the service can be questionable. The meal moves pretty fast from soup to salad but takes a hiatus when moving into the part where the chef takes over, because this is more than a meal – it’s a dining experience.

Dress is casual. Jeans and a nice top are appropriate. If you get cold easily, take a sweater because despite the hot grill in front of you, it tends to be 60 degrees in the restaurant.

Be sure to make a reservation in advance, especially for weekend meals, as there can be a long waitlist.

Arigato is a great place for family outings, first dates or just a good pick me up, but bring a big appetite or the sadness experienced from your empty -feeling wallet will be the only thing filling you up.