The overall experience at Hirosaki Prime was enjoyable. The owners were incredibly friendly and attentive as was our server who was in charge of attending to the wants and needs of our large and rowdy party of 15.
The menu itself was extensive ranging from sushi, hibachi dinners, to various noodles, and steak dinners. In the mood to be moderately entertained, I opted for the chicken hibachi dinner. The meal was served with a choice of miso or onion soup which came out with the rest of the appetizers. The portion of miso soup was small, and while the broth was delicious, the amount of tofu and seaweed was small. The next course was a salad with the house ginger dressing. The salad was a pleasant mixture of various greens and julienned veggies served on a modern, white dish. The dressing was absolutely delicious with chunks of fresh ginger. After soup and salad…it was showtime. Our chef arrived and immediately set something on fire (in true hibachi fashion). Not to be outdone by comparable eateries, he then proceed to chop vegetables and fling them into the mouths of the diners…me included. I am pleased to say that his aim was perfect as I was successful in catching the raw zucchini on the first attempt…my fellow foodies, not so much. Unfortunately, the chef also insisted upon flinging the vegetables 1,2,3,then 4,5, and 6 times until the vegetable landed in some one’s mouth (or on the floor in many cases). This persistent “entertainment” I could have done without.
What bothers me but is expected with hibachi dining is that the food is not all served at once and by the time my chicken made it to my plate, my brown rice and veggies were cool. With that said, the veggies were seasoned well with a teryaki glaze. The shrimp flambe which sound so elegant and exotic in the menu description proved to be 2 very small shrimp served with the veggies. My chicken also arrived well seasoned in the same terryaki glaze. Unfortunately it was dry and overcooked. However, I was able to remedy this by dousing it in one of the 3 sauces that accompanied the dish. My favorite was a mayonnaise-based cream sauce with hints of horseradish.
Overall, the atmosphere and company was outstanding. The hibachi experience was mediocre, but with such an extensive and versatile menu, I look forward to returning and trying out something new! -AV
