February 10, 2007 at 9:57am
One of the reasons I'm not crazy about eating Sakura Japanese Steak House is that I don't like sharing tables with strangers. It sounds snooty, but it's really more Freudian than that. It's a enduring dread that dates back to my high school cafeteria, when I always wound up sitting at a giant round communal table with someone I didn't like or some honor-roll type who didn't like me. Finally, I just skipped lunch and spent that hour working cigarettes outside with all the other juvenile delinquents.
Last night, I experienced that same uncomfortable feeling when colleague Chris Butler decided it would be fun to check out Sakura, Tacoma’s Japanese steak house frozen in the ‘70s.
What happen to the fun?
A quartet of non-giggly teen girls, three families with very young kids, a couple half dead joined Chris and I around the teppan-yaki grill as if they were headed to the electric chair.
Maybe if I was offered another Singapore Sling sometime during the meal I might have had a better time.
The same scenario unfolded at Sakura's other five grills.
It’s Friday night people!
Yes, our chef demonstrated masterful high-speed chopping, pepper-mill twirling, salt shaking and meat frying that goes with the job. But where was the witty repertoire? Where was the art of flipping a cooked shrimp into one of our open mouths? Where was my second drink? He simply smiled and cooked.
My filet mignon dinner was tasty enough, but seeing the food â€"including bland ingredients such as mushrooms, zucchini and onion â€" deftly cooked inches away makes the experience seem like more of a culinary thrill than it really is.
But the theatrical, sensual ingredients â€" the tiny bowls of hot soup and cold salad, the noisy chopping and the sizzling oil that ignites into crackling flames â€" are far more important than the food. Once the chef had packed up his cart and rolled it off, it felt as if the curtain had come down on a play.
Afterward, Chris and I said our goodbyes and disappeared into the Tacoma night.
Weird. â€" Jake de Paul
News and entertainment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s most awesome weekly newspapers - The Ranger, Northwest Airlifter and Weekly Volcano.
Thanks for posting! But I want say that Walkie Talkies are really required while organizing fun...
Really nice album. I have already purchased Vedder's Album. Listening to the song of this album,...
about Eddie Vedder’s "Ukulele Songs" available today - and I don’t hold a candle to that shit
Your post contains very beneficial content. Kindly keep sharing such post.
Vedder's album is really nice. I have heard attentively
about Eddie Vedder’s "Ukulele Songs" available today - and I don’t hold a candle to that shit
amazing information for getting the new ideas thanks for sharing a post
about 5 Things To Do Today: Art Chantry, DIY home improvement, "A Shot In The Dark" ...
446th Airlift Wing, 5 Things To Do, 62nd Airlift Wing, 7th Infantry Division, Air Force, All Ages, Army, Arts, Awards, Benefits, Best of Olympia, Best of TAcoma, Bobble Tiki, Books, Business, Camp Murray, Ceremony, Chainsuck, Classical Music, Comedy, Comment The The Day, Community, Concerts, Condemn or Allow?, Contest, Day Tripper, Deals, Defense Department, Deployment, DJ/Electronica, Events, Facebook, Fashion, Federal Way, Fife, Fircrest, Food & Drink, Future Things Are Coming, Games, Gay Rights, Genius, Gig Harbor, Green Crush, Happy Hour Hug, Health, History, Holidays, Honors, I Corps, In Their Words, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Judging by the Trailer, Keeping Up With The Coffeehouses, Kids, Lacey, Lakewood, Legislature, Madigan Army Medical Center, Marines, McChord Field, Media, Memorial, Military, Milton, Morning Joe, Music, National Guard, Navy, Nerd Alert!, New Beer Column, News To Us, Night Moves, Not Cool, Olympia, Outdoor Addict, outdoors, Photo Hot Spot, Podcast, Pop Culture, Poster of the Day, Puyallup, Radio, Rangers, Retail, Rocket Science, ROTC, Ruston, Schools, Screens, Sex, Shout Out, South Sound Sidekick, Spanaway, Special Forces, Sports, Steilacoom, Strykers, Summer Tip, Sumner, Tacoma, Talking Shop, The Mouth, Theater, Tightwad, Tournament of Burgers, Tournament of Mac and Cheese, Training, Travel, Twitter, University Place, USO, Veterans, Video Hot Spot, Volunteer, Web/Tech, Word, Wounded Warrior
Read Comments