Teppan Bar and Grill...

Instead of wandering the world for food on Date Night, we knew exactly where were we were headed because we saw  the place on our last excursion for sustenance. We chose, very decisively, Teppan Bar and Grill in down town Jersey City.

"Dining or Hibachi?" the host asked. And my boyfriend answered for the both of us, "Hibachi." Ok see, I have never had a Hibachi experience before, but I guess that night had to be the first as it was decided for me. It's funny because just a few days before one of my co-workers was talking to me about the Hibachi dining experience, and I had nothing to say. But now I do.

 I am going to be real honest. It was not my cup of tea. You know, you are seated around a flat grill and the food is cooked in front of you. The preparation of the food is a show and you are watching but then become a spectator as well as a participant. This is what I do not like. The chef was making jokes and trying to get us involved, but the both of us just laughed the whole time uncomfortably. Not a fan of the whole participation thing; call and response, jokes, etc.

And on top of that, I can't say the food was astounding. I really wasn't expecting a masterpiece, but because I was looking forward to the experience, my dreams fell short. I ordered a Hibachi dinner with steak and scallops, while my boyf chose a fillet mignon dinner (fancy). Because they were Hibachi dinners, they came with veggies and noodles roasted up in front of our faces. We also received a shrimp skewer appetizer with our meal. Most of it was a little salty, the meats over-cooked to our taste, and the best part of my dinner (minus the desert) was my lovely little scallops. There was a lot of garlic mixed with a lot of saltiness over everything else. My scallops endured some of the same torture, but scallops in their texture, need all the seasoning to reach deliciousness. The dipping sauces were nice. One was an apple mango mixture, which was cool and sweet. It was paired with one mustardy sauce and another one with a kick.

For desert we had mochi (again-- though this time strawberry, mango aaand green tea flavors) and a "tirimisu cheesecake" that exhibited no cheesecake qualities. Not great, but oh well.

The food was not great, but edible. The experience though uncomfortable was fun and different than our usual dining adventures. The best parts were goofing around and taking pictures with no flash with Joe. Maybe next time I would try the dining section of Teppan, mostly curious for their sushi and other dishes.