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| - Sapporo is my favorite Japanese restaurant, period. I've found other places that come close, but for me, this is the place I like to spend my money when it comes to hibachi cuisine.
Sapporo is an unassuming place right next to Steubenville Pike's hottest tourist attraction, the Pittsburgh Motel. But don't let the location fool you. Step inside and enjoy a cozy atmosphere. There's a bar at the front, some tables to the right, and the main dining area to the left. There's also that karaoke machine I've never seen used in all the years I've gone here.
Unlike other Japanese restaurants like Saga (great stuff) and Ichiban, the cooks at Sapporo aren't all about giving an extensive show while cooking. Each of the chefs have a few of the basic crowd pleasers, such as the knife and spatula toss and the onion volcano, etc., but really it's all about the food, which is fine by me. I do sometimes miss when the chefs toss the pieces of shrimp up in the air towards your mouth to catch, but only because no one ever likes to participate in that but me and it's fun to look like a goofball while trying, but that's neither here nor there.
The food here is excellent. They've introduced a new look to their menu recently. I don't know if they scaled it down, as I often always order from the same section. I did notice they have a couple of sushi options available. They used to have a full sushi bar, and you can still see that when you walk in, but I'm not sure if they're using it for anything other than just what's on the main menu, which would be a shame if so, as their sushi was always great and you could order it from a separate menu. Again, this may be something they still have that I'm not aware of.
At any rate, the starter soup and salad is great. I love the bits of onion in the soup. It's a very strong broth, but not overpowering. The ginger dressing on the salad is something you either like or loathe at any Japanese restaurant, and here I really love it, but I tend to like it everywhere I've had it, so I'm not a real stickler when it comes to that.
Usually I order the filet mignon and shrimp with fried rice for my main meal, though last time I got the deluxe version of the dish which also includes lobster tail and ice cream for dessert. Either way, it's a great dish. I've also had the chicken and shrimp and have enjoyed it as well.
Now, my favorite thing here is the shrimp sauce. I call it the "magic sauce." It's of the light pink variety and thin consistency. I'm always disappointed when I go to other Japanese steakhouses and they either don't have shrimp sauce altogether or they have the thicker, mayonnaise-based version, which is OK, but doesn't come close to the awesomeness that is the magic sauce. Apparently it's a secret as to just what goes into it. On one visit our chef joked that its main base was strawberry Quik, which one of the fellow diners at my table believed.
So if you get the fried rice here, dump some of the magic sauce on there. It's amazing. Use it for your steak or chicken as well. I find myself doing that and then saving the darker sauce for my grilled veggies, which are also top notch here. Terrific grilled onions and ripe zucchini as well as mushrooms and broccoli. I don't care for broccoli personally, but the rest is excellent.
Sapporo has also started throwing in noodles to the mix. According to the owner this is because other restaurants started doing it, so patrons who came in started asking why Sapporo didn't have them as well. I think they were doing fine without them, as it just adds even more to an already large amount of food, but they are good, if unnecessary.
The steak here is great. I've had the sirloin as well as the filet. I always get mine cooked rare, and it is of the melt in your mouth caliber. The shrimp never taste fishy, and the lobster tail is similarly excellent. All around, you get a great meal here for the price.
I'm not sure which nights are more crowded than not anymore. Sapporo's a funny place in that some weeknights you'll drive by and it's packed and then other nights it will be quiet. I'd suppose weekends draw the biggest crowds. Yet even when it was "packed" I've never had to wait long to be seated at a table.
So if you haven't been, give Sapporo a try. It's been there forever. The owner and staff are super nice and they really do care about serving you great food when you visit. They don't do lunches anymore, so it's strictly dinner meals, so be looking at spending at least 20-30 dollars on up for adults, and around 10 or so for kids' meals. It's not some place you would go frequently if you're on a budget, but that makes it all the more a treat when you do go.
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