The Food Makes the Show
By Jennifer Otto

You no longer have to go to the theater to catch a good show! Head down to Osaka Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar and watch as chefs entertain with the very food you are about to eat.

Walk through the doors of this authentic Japanese-style restaurant, and you are immediately greeted by smiling faces. Made to look like a Japanese temple, the place offers much in the way of eye candy. Like what you see? Off to the right of the entrance, a gift shop awaits for those wanting to burn a few bucks on a souvenir.

Dining choices
Once at the hostess desk, you are offered a choice of dining preferences – the hibachi room or the sushi bar. Which one should you choose? Both offer the same sushi menu, bar selection and delectable entrees. However, both do not offer the same dining experience.

The sushi bar tends to be a better choice for those wishing to have a quieter evening and casual dinner conversation. One thing to consider is that you can get sushi in the hibachi room, but you cannot get the show in the sushi bar. You may have quicker access to sushi and bar drinks, but there will not be a chef tossing chopped vegetables right before your eyes.

The hibachi room is definitely a dining experience that you will not soon forget, and everyone should try this type of dining at least once in their stay on the Emerald Coast. The question in this room becomes – are you comfortable dining with strangers? Unless your dinner party takes up the entire seating around the hibachi grill, chances are you might be dining with some other folks who also want to see the show. Not everyone is always up for making new friends at the dinner table, and this may be a drawback to dining in the hibachi room.

So, decide if you want a quiet evening or an entertaining feast. I swap them both out from time to time based on my moods, and you can decide which works best for you.

The Show
Waiting for a hibachi grill to open may take a little longer than a seat in the sushi dining area. Not only do you have to wait for the table to clear, but you also have to wait on your unknown dining guests to join the table. After all diners are seated, drink orders are taken.

Time to order! Whether you prefer beef, chicken, seafood or pork, there is something on the menu for all appetites. The hibachi menu has many choices, including steak, filet mignon, shrimp, chicken, lobster tail and scallops in various combinations. All meals come with miso soup and salad. The ginger dressing is to die for! The meals also include several sides that are cooked on the grill for your entertainment. This includes rice, vegetables and noodles.

Once the order is taken, the Master Chef works behind the scenes gathering up all the ingredients needed to cook the various meals as well as the dishes, utensils, sauces, etc.

The Master Chef pulls up to the grill with a cart and bows to his new audience. He verifies all the menu items and gets the party started. With flammable fluid in hand, he sprays down the grill. Flames dance and flicker as diners show their excitement.

Armed with grill paddles, the spinning, clinking and dicing start to take shape. Eggs are thrown into the air and caught on the paddles. Vegetables are diced, fried and mixed with rice.

Some Master Chefs go out of their way to be funny by slicing onions and lighting them with fluid and using the paddle to make train sounds. Others create fake bottles of sauces and pretend to spill them on guests while everyone gasps until they realize the joke. No matter what the Master Chef’s talent might be, he can almost always get a smile at least once from everyone at the table.

As each item is cooked, fried rice, vegetables and noodles are placed on each diner’s plate in sizable portions. And, depending on which items were ordered and the length of time the meats must cook, the Master Chef starts tossing them onto the grill. After everyone is served, the Master Chef bows and leaves you to enjoy the best part.

Time to eat! I have never eaten anything that I did not like at Osaka. Not being a big chicken or seafood fan that sort of limits the meals I have tried. However, I can vouch highly for all the steak and filet mignon meals. Each piece of meat has enough juice and flavor to keep my stomach singing. Bite after bite, the taste lingers and calls my name long after my body tells me to stop. It is not uncommon to leave Osaka with a tummy ache that is self-induced.

The check
The check comes and everyone is pleasantly surprised. The meals are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. One meal will cost you anywhere from $15 to $30 on average. However, when you think about all the food that you are taking home in a doggy bag and the thrilling performance that accompanies this dining experience, no one can complain.

So, the next time you want to feast on Japanese cuisine, think about taking a short drive into Destin and ordering a meal that is sure to please even the pickiest eaters.

Special features

• Nightly specials are posted outside the bar
• Osaka claims to have the largest selection of sushi on the Emerald Coast

• Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Dinner: 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
• Weekend dinner: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.