Restaurant Name: Mt. Fuji

Location: 700 Sagamore Pkwy S, Lafayette, IN (map it)

Phone: (765) 447-7373?

Cuisine: Japanese

Review: If you’ve read this site before, or you take a few minutes to read through it today, you will know that we are big fans of Asian food.  Surprisingly, we had never been to Mt. Fuji restaurant though, so we opted tonight to go dine there and check it out.  It’s a small, unassuming building at the southwest corner of Kossuth and Sagamore Parkway. It’s a small restaurant, with a long, row of hibachi seating around big griddles, and another section of seating for those choosing to dine on non-hibachi style dinners.  We, of course, chose the hibachi dining.

Our hostess seated us and then left for a while, to return when it was time to place our orders.  She wasn’t much for small talk, but that isn’t necessary for me.  The menu included all the standard  hibachi fare – teriyaki chicken, steak, shrimp, fried rice, and vegetables.  They also have an extensive beer and wine menu as well as appetizers and desserts.

The first course was miso soup and salad.  The miso soup was good, piping hot and served steaming.  Of course, it’s miso soup and there’s not a lot to that.  With that was a iceberg salad.  Nothing too special about that until you count the dressing.  I’ve never been given a salad dressing choice in a Japanese restaurant before, and they had two choices, Sesame and Ginger.  I choose the Sesame and boy was it fantastic.

After a while, our chef came to the table and this is where it got great.  You never know at these places if you are going to get a friendly chef or Mr. Stoic who won’t even crack a smile, but our guy, he was fantastic and apparently really liked joking with kids.  Our kids were having egg rolls so he started in with egg roll jokes, asking them if their egg roll was too hot, he’d give them a cool egg roll.  He carried on for a bit with the cool egg roll, then he took out the egg and rolled it on the grill.  That one cracked up the 3 year old, who joked about egg rolls the rest of the time there.

Next he took the onions to build up the little volcano fire.  The kids were a little afraid of that, so he quickly grabbed his spray bottle to put it out.  The spray bottle was a bobble head guy, and you had to pull down his pants to spray, if you get what I mean.  Let me tell you, there is NOTHING funnier to a 5 year old than a bobble head peeing on a fire. The children were in stitches.  The jokes and camaraderie continued throughout the meal.

As for the food – it was good.  I wouldn’t say it stands out above Asahi (except for the salad) and I think I’d even rate the rice a notch below.  But the entertainment was excellent, our chef was so much fun.  I’d definitely go back.

Kid friendly: Yes/No. Kids were welcome there, but there were no crayons or coloring books.  The children’s menu is just a smaller portion of their regular fare.  No chicken nuggets or french fries, so use your best judgment.  My kids loved it!

Methods of payment: Cash or credit.

Price Range: It can get pricey. We went with friends and dinner for three adults and three kids was over $100.

Restaurant Name: Asahi Japanese Steakhouse

Location: 3412 State Road 38 E, Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: (765) 447-2711

Cuisine: Japanese

Review: I am highly amused by the Japanese Restaurant located in what was formerly Pepe’s. Once you get inside, though, you can’t tell it’s an old Mexican restaurant. It has the standard tables for eight with the hibachi grill in the middle. I wouldn’t say it’s the fanciest of hibachi restaurants, but it does a good job.

I really like hibachi, so I never turn down a chance to go to Asahi. I’ve found the service can be hit or miss, but my most recent visit had great service. The chefs are very friendly. I really like that when dining with children, they ask before they make the big fire, in case that might scare them. Very thoughtful.

I really, really love their fried rice. It’s my favorite. The chicken is great and so is the shrimp. I’ve never really had anything else. My dining companion often gets sushi, but says it isn’t the best sushi in the area. Not bad, but not great.

Kid friendly: Yes.