 |
|
Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar
Offers Sights and Tastes to Savor
by Lisa Clark
In Japanese, the word “ichiban” means number one. In Pittsburgh, it means three delicious locations for a dazzling array of hibachi cooking, sushi, and showmanship.
Joyce Zhang and her partners opened the first Ichiban Hibachi Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Cranberry in 2005. The Japanese-style restaurant flourished, and led to a second location in Robinson in 2006, and a third scheduled to open near Fox Chapel in late 2008.
We visited the Cranberry location, and found a warm and inviting dining room accented by unique etched glass art and oriental-style woodwork. There’s a bar where you can order cocktails, wines and beers, including popular Japanese brands Sapporo and Asahi. Along the back wall is a sizeable sushi bar showcasing fresh ingredients with chefs at the ready.
If you’ve never been to a Japanese steakhouse, you’re in for a treat. The atmosphere is friendly and festive, with eight diners seated around each hibachi cooking table. It’s a great way to meet new people, and it is popular for larger group gatherings because the tables can be expanded to accommodate 16. Party rooms facilitate larger private dining events.
In the middle of each table, a chef clad in tall red hat and white coat, slices, dices, sautés, and entertains. Hibachi entrées consist of noodles, rice, your choice of steak, chicken, and seafood, and an assortment of broccoli, mushrooms, onions, and zucchini. And it goes from raw to cooked right before your eyes.
Children especially love the sliced onion that’s piled into a volcano shape and lit, with flames shooting out like an eruption. The chef quickly douses the flame with a firefighter doll that squirts the hibachi … and unsuspecting guests too.
We sampled filet mignon, lobster, and shrimp with our hibachi dinner. The seafood was plump and juicy, and the steak was tender and flavorful. All are delicious on their own, but even better with house-made creamy seafood sauce and outstanding ginger steak sauce.
Hibachi dinners also come with Clear Soup that is a mild broth with mushrooms and scallions, and a light salad with house-made ginger dressing.
In addition to hibachi dinners, the extensive menu features teriyaki dinners, special dinners such as udon noodles and tempura, sushi and sashimi entrées, maki and temaki, soup, salad, and appetizers.
The big bowl of Seafood Soup is filling with satisfying pieces of shrimp, scallops, crab, mushrooms, and baby corn. The Shumai appetizer consists of six cloudlike and bite-size steamed shrimp dumplings.
The Green Phoenix appetizer from the sushi bar is as tasty as it is attractive. Spicy tuna is wrapped in avocado with flying fish roe and light vinegar sauce. If you have an aversion to raw fish and seaweed wrappers, never fear … there are plenty of cooked “Americanized” sushi options wrapped in soy bean wrappers such as the California Roll of crab, avocado, and cucumbers. Our favorite, the Boston Bay Roll, is from a list of special maki. Egg, shrimp and crab are wrapped around a center of cream cheese and deep fried, then drizzled with spicy sauce.
Like the grills themselves, the staff works like a well-oiled machine, adeptly confirming orders, serving family style, cleaning the cooking surface, and packing leftovers to go.
Dining at Ichiban Steakhouse is a satisfying experience beginning to end.
—Lisa Clark is a writer and restaurant reviewer whose articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines.
Ichiban Hibachi Steakhouse and Sushi Bar
www.ichibanhibachisteakhouse.com
Village Shoppes,
Suite 111,
20510 Rt. 19,
Cranberry Twp.
724-779-2223
Robinson Town Center,
1160 Park Manor Blvd.,
Robinson Twp.
Airport Area
412-787-1999
Waterworks Mall (opening late 2008)
983 Freeport Road,
Pittsburgh
412-781-7600
Hours:
Mon.-Fri. 11:00 AM-2:30 PM,
4:30 PM-9:00 PM
Sat. & Sun. 1:00 PM-10:30 PM
Price Range:
Soups & Salads — $1.75 to $5.95
Appetizers — $3.95 to $9.95
Maki & Temaki — $3.50 to to $11.95
Entrées — $10.95 to $38.95
Shopping | Arts | Dining | Sports | Attractions | Maps | Subscriptions | Links | Home
... when it's time to establish an Internet presence.