Adam & Eats: Fuji Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar

 

Editor’s note: Adam Brandt is a graduate from the Cobra Kai School of Culinary Callousness, where he received their highest award, the Red Apron of Merciless Eating. Aside from eating and talking about eating, he makes pots, paintings, prints, books, photographs, and generally, a big mess. He has been the studio assistant at Mudpuppy Pottery for almost nine years and is attending a local university in a desperate attempt to earn a biology degree. Feel free to give him a hard time.

Finally, Fort Smith has competing Japanese Steakhouses! Don’t go getting too excited, though.

Located on the far-east side of Fort Smith in the old Fire Mountain/Ryan’s building, you will find the brand spanking new Fuji Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar.

If you are looking for familial dining comfort amongst the beautiful, modern-looking interior with its low lighting and red lacquered wood with gold leaf, you probably will not find it amongst the waitstaff. The true spirit of Japanese stoicism and task efficiency among the waitstaff comes across as cold and unemotional. That’s why it is called stoic. They get the job done well, but leave you feeling as if you had been served by automatons.

The flip side of the task-oriented waitstaff, are the Teppanyaki chefs who prepare the Hibachi meals. These goofy pranksters perform their services as if they are part of your immediate family, which is a welcome warmness having just left the frozen tundra of human interaction with your waiter. Our Chef (I am so bad with names) was joking with a couple on a date, flirting with the old ladies, serving the mustachioed cowboy a little extra for being such a “strong boy,” and, in general, playing with our food. He finished off his performance with a much applauded flipping of shrimp into the smiling mouths of everyone around the grill. Overall, it made for a fun meal.

Maybe it is the Magpie in me, but once our Teppanyaki Chef started twirling those shiny, shiny knives of his, I forgot to do any of the things I was supposed to do while reviewing a restaurant. No pictures were taken. No video was shot. I was barely able to take notes. After he finished the show, I was able to regain my composure and resume the reviewing again.

The food was comparable to that of Shogun, its rival located on Rogers Avenue near the Interstate 540 interchange. It was not the best Sushi in the world, but it was good. It seems a little over priced, but Japanese food always does. To have a full lunch and keep it under $10 you would probably have to stick to the Sushi Lunch which is comprised of Miso soup or House salad, four pieces of assorted Sushi, and a California roll. Also, the Noodle Lovers Hibachi Lunch, Shrimp Ramen, and Special Diet Menu are great possibilities for a tight budget.

For dinner under $10, your options shrink dramatically. To steer clear of that second mortgage, you are either only eating appetizers or choosing between pork (Katsu Don) or chicken (Oyako Don) fried rice.

Despite all of this negative nelly business, do not let the location, average meal price, or robotic waitstaff stop you from eating at Fuji. This review is not to discourage you from eating there, it is to prepare you for what to expect when you go there. Teppanyaki is great start to a date night. Plus the location is not bad if you live or work on that side of town. If you are on the east side of town, why drive all the way to Shogun for roughly the same meal? That’s just silly.

The moral of the story is this: Don’t turn down an invitation to eat at Fuji, especially if someone else is paying.

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When he’s not beating his eggs, Adam makes time to respond to e-mails that get past his hard-ass spam filter. You can try to reach him at [email protected]

Adam also has this thing called Sandwich Control.