Ichiban Japanese Seafood and Steakhouse Review (Salisbury, NC 28147) »
There isn't always a lot to say about a Japanese steakhouse, is there? They are pretty much the same. Sure, you get a bit of variety in what you get as far as the decor goes - sometimes the room will be simple, and sometimes you will get a bit of a fancy room, with carved wood or the like.
After that, you generally have a selection of chicken, steak (sometimes more than one) or shrimp. Then you will usually have a choice of a combination - steak and chicken or chicken and shrimp or the like. Every once in a while you will encounter a place where you can get all three.
On that front, Ichiban is no different.
What you will find is that they have daily specials. That is something that many Japanese steakhouses - at least in this area - don't. Often you will find an early bird special, which typically runs for an hour or so (5pm-6pm) and gives you a few dollars off the dinner price. Then you will likely find another special that runs all night and gives you a similar bargain.
After that, there's not a lot of difference, and it often comes down to the chef at your table. While you may get lucky and get one with lots of personality, you may also end up with the person who has little, while you watch the back of someone who has great talent.
That's not to say that the person with little personality can't cook. The food generally seems to be about the same. But if you get a great show at the same time, it just makes it taste that much better. It's just too bad that it's so hit and miss. It's even worse if you have to watch the other end of the same table being treated to a great show (for instance, an onion volcano) and your chef hardly talks. That can be a bit disappointing.
As to the food itself, it's typically quite good. The only variety I've found here from other similar steakhouses in the area is that the brown sauce is a little more "chunky". It's like is has grated ginger in it or something. It tastes quite good, but it's not a smooth consistency. If you don't like that sort of thing, you might not like it.
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