Tokyo Steak House

1404 S 320th St., Federal Way
tokyojapanesesteakhouse.org

Once again, I find myself posting about a restaurant which turns out to be a chain. I'm ok with this because the Federal Way location of Tokyo Steakhouse was the only one for more than a decade. They opened a second location in Bellevue last year but this still feels like a Federal Way original. Although, if you've been to a Benihana, it's pretty much the same thing. All the same, Tokyo Steak House is a really fun place to have dinner. If you're not familiar with the teppan yaki style of cooking, this is where there is a big grill attached to your table and the chef comes out and cooks right next to you. Like any Japanese steak house, there is a lot of fire and dinner theater involved and the chefs here do a fine job of knife juggling, precision chopping and turning everyday vegetables into flaming volcanoes. The food is tasty and, obviously, cooked to order. I can recommend the steak and calamari dinner and have enjoyed the shrimp and veggies as well. In addition, they have an extensive sushi menu but the regular dinner off the grill includes soup, salad, rice and appetizer in addition to your entree. You will not go hungry here!

Monster Burgers

1703 S 324th Street, Federal Way

Have you ever been ordering a cheeseburger and wished that the person behind the counter would ask, “Would you like gyoza with that?" Yeah, me too. Good news: Monster Burgers can make that dream come true. My first question was whether it was possible for a place to do burgers and their ilk well and also have good Japanese food. Well my friends, here in Federal Way that sort of thing is not only possible, but likely.

The burgers are really great and made with grass-fed, locally raised beef. Their fries are perfect, with a crunchy, crispy outside and served with fry sauce. I’m not sure why the combination of ketchup and mayonnaise makes me so happy but most burger restaurants that serve fry sauce tend to be above average in my book. I would be happy enough with this place if that were the end of it. I’m pleased to tell you that it’s not. The gyoza was really outstanding. If I hadn’t also been working on a burger and a basket of fries, I probably would have gotten a second order of these puppies. Crispy around the edges, soft and chewy in the middle and delicious all over, they are some of the best potstickers I’ve had, burger joint or no.

Next time you’re on the prowl for fast food and can't decide if you want burgers or teriyaki, go to Monster Burgers and take advantage of their widely varied and equally fantastic menu. You won’t be sorry.

Koharu Japanese Restaurant

31840 Pacific Highway South

 

www.koharusushi.com

I always find that my favorite cure for a hangover involves teriyaki and a Coke.  After a particularly rowdy night, the hubby and I packed up the tot to check out a new teriyaki place.  While there are scads of good fast-food teriyaki joints in town, we decided to try Koharu, a little Japanese restaurant hiding in a strip mall full of mostly empty stores along Pac Highway.  I don’t know if it was partly because I knew there was teriyaki in my future, but I felt very soothed just walking in the door of Koharu.  The lighting is soft, the music is soft, the pink napkins are soft - the whole atmosphere was a tonic for my frazzled soul.  The servers are very friendly and all wear kimonos.  When we sat down I looked at my menu and suddenly, teriyaki alone wouldn’t cut it – I needed sushi too.  I’m really glad that I ordered both because the sushi was great.  I have to admit that I also ordered gyoza – I am an eating machine.  The dinner comes with miso soup, an iceberg salad, kobachi and a gelatin dessert.  You definitely won’t go hungry here.  It was all very good, the teriyaki chicken hit the spot but the sushi was definitely the star of my dinner show.  The salmon skin roll was so right – crispy inside and a little warm.  My only complaint is that it took a really long time for our food to come but I think it was worth the wait.  Bottom line: come for the teriyaki, stay for the sushi.


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