I was particularly excited about the Foodie night at Takara; firstly, because it was my pick, but secondly because I had been to the small hibachi restaurant before and had really enjoyed my time and meal there. This quaint little spot, located on the corner of Worcester’s Kelly Square is a place where I had spent some very fun and memorable evenings of getting together with my college roommates post graduation. I have always been a big fan of hibachi, something about watching the food being prepared in front of me is so exciting. Plus the cooks are amazing! This night was no different. Our cook not only prepared our food to perfection, but also entertained us. He was full of energy and had us laughing the whole time. He did the typical, fire volcano of onions, and “egg roll”, but I am always so amazed at their precision and skills when it comes to preparing the food with such speed and their knives. It’s really quite beautiful to watch, and certainly a fun experience to share with others.
One of the main reasons I wanted to return to Takara was also to have their sushi. Their menu offers an extensive offering of different sushi rolls, whether you are a sushi connoisseur or have never had sushi before. I had ordered an incredible roll a few years ago, and have never been able to quite find anything that compares at any other sushi restaurant. I settled on the Dynamite sushi, which was a bit pricey, $12.99, but the order was 7 very large pieces of sushi stuffed with avocado and shrimp tempura and topped with spicy tuna, drizzled with spicy mayo and soy sauce. Each sushi roll is made to order and the craftsmanship definitely shows! It was the perfect combination of crunchy from the shrimp tempura and spicy from the mayo. This was a remarkable and tasty sushi dish, one I would definitely recommend, but would also advise that you share with a friend!
For the main course, I ordered the Hibachi Shrimp with steamed white rice. This is such a staple of hibachi for me, and Takara did not disappoint. The shrimp was tender and perfectly seasoned, and the vegetables, a combination of zucchini, mushrooms and onions, went very well with the shrimp and rice. Also, I am pretty sure that I could eat the onion and mushroom soup every day. It’s so delicious! The salty, yet simple soup is just the perfect starter course to the hibachi main event. The salad with ginger dressing was wonderful as well; very fresh and basic, but the ginger dressing was perfect! If I would make a suggestion as far as food goes, it would be that Takara should consider offering brown rice as a substitute for fried or steamed rice. I have been to other hibachi places and although they usually offer it as an up charge, I would normally opt for the healthier, grainy option.
My only complaint really would be regarding the organization of the night. Our waitress was newer to Takara and apparently had not noted the orders in the correct way that was best for the cooks. There were some moments of awkward confrontation, along with us all having to reconfirm and reorder our meals more than once. The waitress was however, very energetic and welcoming, and the confusion didn’t slow her down at all; she took it in stride. I was a bit disappointed since this caused a delay in cooking and getting our food, especially since we were the only party doing hibachi; granted the restaurant is small and we did have 15 people. This makes me worried about weekend nights when the area is more populated and how they would handle a bigger crowd. That being said, I have been to Takara a handful of times and this has never been my experience in the past. So if you happen to come to and enjoy this hibachi experience, just sit back and enjoy a couple Mai Tais while you wait!
Finally, the food cart was rolled out and the show began–flames and flying spatulas, spinning eggs and smiling faces, clanking utensils and whoops of amazement–oh joy–we were finally going to eat!! And eat we did. I had the steak and vegetables which as very good … definitely worth the wait. I suspect that we caught them a little off guard–15 people all at once, relatively new wait staff, and maybe a computer glitch or something. I’m not sure what happened but I would give them another chance–the sushi was fresh, the main course delicious, and all the people there were very friendly and gracious.