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| - Came here last night for a quasi celebration, but reall, we just wanted to try out a Japanese Shabu restaurant in Cleveland. It was a new dining experience for me, but old hat for the wife.
We were seated at the bar, which holds a total of six people and offered drinks. No beer or booze, unfurtunately. They have soda, tea, some Japanese libations... nothing too interesting. The server went over some basic instructions and took our small plate order. He was a bit hard to understand, not because he was foreign, but because he spoke in that mumbly, hipster way that I'm not versed in very well. I must say, I wasn't a fan of the stained bar top and very tight quarters... I get anxious in crowds.
Small plates arrved - pork belly and salmon. Pork was really good and so was the salmon, even if that's not my favorite fish. By the time we finished, our main courses arrived and our pre selected broth was boiling(I apologize for not getting detailed with the ordering process, but don't want to write a book at this time). I ordered the Ohio Wagyu beef and my wife ordered the seafood; both came with an assortment of veggies, noodles and rice. We also had to try the Japanese A5 wagyu, so grabbed a couple ounces of that as well. All in all the food was good, but I think I would like to try the wagyu in a more traditional steak style. While the meat was very tender and rich, I feel the broth imparted too much flavor to the thin cuts of beef. We ended with a sorbet from Mason's Creamery and that was superp and quite refreshing.
To wrap, we liked this place, but I personally don't think a return trip is needed. The food was good, but I find the dining style clumsy and not really up my alley. One thing I was happy about was getting to try authentic wagyu, finally. I passed on it in japan, not really knowing what it was at the time, and always regretted that decision.
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