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| - This was from several months ago. I was delighted when a friend alerted me to a recent ELV post about Japaneiro. Mr. Curtas said it had one of the best steaks in the valley. So off I went with a couple friends to sample some delightfully balanced and wonderfully flavored food presented by a proud and friendly staff. The first impression when you drive to this location (7315 West Warm Springs Road, exactly a 15 min, easy drive from my hotel) is that it better have good food to bring people in. The specials board is front and center when you walk to the smallish but well layer out dining room.
I made what I though was a huge mistake by leaving my glasses back at the hotel so I was blind trying to read the menu, which may have turned out to be a blessing! But after reading the specials board (Fresh Japanese abalone, prime dry aged rib eye, uni here and uni there, Nigerian giant prawn, and so on...) I knew the menu would have to be explored another time.
I will not go into each individual bite and dish as my time is limited this morning (trying to qualify for WSOP) but will say that the flavors that chef and owner Kevin Chong (what a nice and proud gentleman) coaxes out of his dishes along with the laser like focus and layering is at times mesmerizing (salmon belly cevich?, uni bites, Foie/scallop bite...). Does everything work with absolute precision? In my opinion no. Pretty damn close though! I found the bone marrow and the bone marrow filet to be a bit clunky (although the filet was cooked PERFECTLY and of top quality) and the duck and Foie too rich (to be fair about that dish though, it was ordered late and was the final of something like 12 full sized dishes so maybe try it again).
Finally, to address Mr. Curtas' claim about one of the best steaks in the valley...it could be (we did not sample the tomahawk chop and I am referring to the dry aged ribeye only). The steak was perfectly cooked, sliced and presented on a wooden board adorned with 6-8 different types of salt and two dipping sauces. My preference and what I would suggest is to skip the sauces. Again, they were not bad (actually very tasty) but I felt it detracted from the quality of the beef. Also one word of warning about this steak. Ribeyes are inherently fatty and when the steak is presliced before it comes to the table many pieces of the glorious meat still have some fat attached. Personally it doesn't bother me and if proportioned right will enhance the experience.
Price-wise, I think one can dine for a very reasonable tab (at the moment they are BYOB so that keeps tabs reasonable). Our bill for 3 was close to $200 each. BUT, and that is a BIG BUT, we had about 12 dishes, 2 of which were the $90 a piece abalone.
Kevin, server Jeffery and the rest of the staff (please forgive me forgetting the name of the wonderful sous chef!) have much to be proud of. This is a place that should be on everybody's radar.
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