Mizu Japanese Steakhouse

Where: 3116 Judson St., Gig Harbor, 253.853.4020

Hours: Lunch 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, dinner 4:30-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 4:30-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday

Cuisine: Teppanyaki style Japanese steakhouse

Scene: Dinner and show with chefs flipping food in front of folks

Drinkies: Full bar

ANNOUNCER: The 15-foot waterfall wall in the vestibule sets the tone for an impressive visual display of minimalism, diffused light and tasteful artistic simplicity at Mizu Japanese Steakhouse in Gig Harbor. Eight teppanyaki iron grill stations, each a squared-off horseshoe with guest seating on the outer perimeter, features a gleaming knife and metal spatula-wielding juggling act in the person  of a chef who performs at center stage. It is here that guests will not just order and eat, but will be thrilled, enjoy a few laughs and participate in the culinary show. A separate cocktail bar, an unused sushi bar and a few regular dining tables compose the remainder of the low lit, high-ceilinged room. Small plate menus are available for those not into the show experience.

JASON: There's a lot that can be said for good miso soup. Mizu miso has light colored broth, fresh green onions, small sliced mushrooms and a mildly smoky flavor that made me think of bacon. Is that bad? Not to me, and who knows? Bacon miso might be all the rage in New York. Sitting across from huge back-lit black letters spelling the steak house name, I sure felt like I might be in Manhattan rather than a QFC-dominated strip mall.

JAKE: I agree, over the course of a few visits the place retained a cool casual vibe that was only complemented by its swanky looks. I think that vibe is due to the cheesy comedic routine teppanyaki chefs do while grilling up a storm. We tried dishes prepared in the back kitchen and right in front of us. Jason, didn't you say you'd seen similar tricks at a teppanyaki place back East in the D.C. area?

JASON: Yeah, one trick is when thick circular slices of white onion are stacked on each other and steam shoots up like a smoking volcano. I won't tell you what happens next, don't want to be a spoiler. The usual catch-food-with-your-mouth games and gimmicks with raw eggs kept it lively. My kids would love it. As far as the actual food is concerned, the small plate chicken karaage appetizer was very moist and tender on our first visit in September. Generous portions of all-white breast meat tasted good solo - I'm guessing a garlic and soy marinade. Sweet red chili pepper dipping sauce made the appetizer palatable on a second visit when chicken morsels were disappointingly dry and chewing gave my jaw a workout. I think the deep-fried chicken may have sat in the back kitchen cooling and stiffening before our waitress brought it out. I have no proof, but I'd bet money on it based on the speed, or lack thereof, of service that evening.

JAKE: We also tried fish balls, five hand-formed, crunchy panko-coated balls made of tuna, crab, red snapper and scallop that's been finely ground. It's a straight shot of protein lightly fried in oil. Without other ingredients to confuse or overwhelm one's taste buds, the seafood itself is allowed to shine.

JASON: I would have ordered a third plate if I wasn't under wifely orders to lose 10 pounds of love handles. I'm realizing yoga won't keep the middle age white guy fat off me if I don't stop shoveling in the food.

JAKE: Uh, yeah, shoveling is right. You barely breathe sometimes. Back at the grill, a vegetable medley of zucchini, onion and mushroom was tasty as ever. We'd passed on fried rice assuming it was premade and therefore greasy, but then we watched it being made from scratch - cooked egg and all.

JASON: I was seriously disappointed that the lobster was chewy and on the tough side. I just knew it had been left in a pile on the grill taunting me for too long. No knives are provided and my fork wouldn't cut through the lobster flesh - that's unacceptable to me. I finally gave up, popped the whole big bite in and began to chew for days. Luckily, the flavor was good.

JAKE: What a sad error with the lobster. On the other hand, perfectly soft and tender shrimp were served first. Steak came out precisely as ordered - medium-rare and bleeding from the center of each bite-size piece.

JASON: Our server recommended the tempura ice cream, so we went for it. Another disappointment - the tempura-encased vanilla ice cream ball was quartered and laid out in clover leaf fashion with whip cream and what appeared to be strawberry preserves blobbed on top. This would have been alright except the tempura coating was cold and fell away from the ice cream like a dismal, thin layer of subpar cake. I thought it would be made fresh and the tempura would be hot. Lesson learned.