Rush Teppanyaki

I'm a horrible blogger. For two+ years I've been pretty regular with my posts. We tend to go through travel phases, but I usually always have something I need to write about. This month I'm struggling. It's not that I haven't had great experiences or crazy stresses that I wanted to share; I just haven't had the drive to write. So, horrible-inconsistent blogger. I'll be better. Maybe.

Dustin turned the big 3-0 this year. I know, time flies. To celebrate we tried a new restaurant in Iwakuni.

Last night in his twenties!

Let me preface this restaurant story with an explanation of hibachi. I had to ask an older Japanese man to define hibachi because all my younger coworkers laughed and said I was making up Japanese words. The term loosely defines an old style of heater that people would warm their hands or heat up water. When I asked about cooking food, the general response was "old-timed" or something you might see in a specialty restaurant. So all those "Japanese hibachi" restaurants in the States are an American creation. The closest thing we have found in our host country is teppanyaki.

Steak under the cover, grilled edamame

Using an assortment of copper covers, grates, and bricks, our food was prepared in front of us. The portions are very small so the general process is to order a lot of dishes and share.

First on the menu was a tasty salad with a light sesame vinaigrette topped with a soft agar. Agar is a gelatinous substance from algae used in Japan to make popular dishes like red-bean jelly. (More information). Then it became a feast!

Amazing grilled garlic edamame

Tasty cheese omelet with truffles

Oooey-gooey cheesy potatoes

Salty, warm mayonnaise chicken - my favorite!

Juicy, tender steak in a pepper sauce

After cleaning our plates (I'll admit a little licking was involved!) we were served two desserts.

Grilled shortcake with vanilla ice cream

Blueberry shortcake ice cream

I definitely recommend Rush as a date-night/nice-night-out restaurant. The food servings are small by American standards, but the quality is fantastic. Every dish was delicious. After our meal we walked around downtown laughing about ten years of history and birthday memories.

Happy Birthday, Dustin!