Diary 8|17|2017: Return To The Hibachi.

Thursday, August 17, 2017. Sushi, All Alone In The Corner. Among the most memorable series of dinners partaken by my entire immediate family when we had kids was a half-dozen or more meals at the Osaka restaurant in Covington. Osaka is one of the then-expanding bunch of Japanese places specializing in hibachi cookery, the kind originally popularized by Benihana in the 1970. Many diners have gone through the hibachi routine, in which eight or so people sit around a big flat-top grill and watch the chef bang shrimp, slice beef, throw vegetables in the air, and flinging various condiments on a sizzling, somewhat smoke-making grill. The chef whips around his knives, steel spatulas, and fork, sending this piece flying through the air and slicing up that piece into shreds. All this is something to see the first time you see it. If you're a kid, you'll get a huge kick from the show (it is at least as much a show as it is a cooking demo). You, as the parent who likes to see kids laughing, will also enjoy the juggling act. We would return to Osaka again and again. And then the day came when we pitched the idea of going to Osaka to the kiddos, and saw them look at one another, then at us, as they shook their heads. That was the end of the teppan-yaki episodes for us. That was not just about their growing into young adults, but a shifting of their tastes. I was proud of Jude and Mary Leigh the day they wrote off the concept and moved on to. . . well, Fogo De Chao. As for me, I never did like Japanese hibachi. I put up with it because the kids loved it so much in the beginning. And I could always move over to the sushi bar, where other chefs conducted themselves more within tasteful guidelines. I haven't been to the Osaka in years. The one I attended today is on Causeway Boulevard near the Wal-Mart in Covington. (There are also Osakas in the vicinity of the big malls on the other side of Covington and in Slidell.) I remember not much liking the sushi on my last meal at Osaka. But it was quite good today. I started with some clear soup, then moved to a Burning Man roll (tuna, avocado, a good bit of red pepper) and a smaller vegetable roll to add texture. While I had the quiet sushi bar to myself, the families at the hibachis were having the usual fun. The chef was good at imitating steam locomotives with both sound and steam. Those kids awere loving it. It was nice to remember the times we went to Osaka with Jude's Boy Scout troop. Now they're all grown up, and know better. Osaka 21. Covington: 70340 Hwy 21. 985-809-2640.