Shoji’s

Published 4:00 am Friday, December 2, 2005

Location: 62929 N. Highway 97, Bend

Hours: Open seven days a week. 4:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday; 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday; 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday

Price Range: $11 to $18 for teppanyaki dinners; $15.50 to $26.50 for combinations

Alcoholic Beverages: Full service

Kids’ Menu: Yes

Reservations: Recommended

Credit Cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover

Contact: 389-0701

”Good food and good fun” is the philosophy that guides the chefs and servers at Shoji’s of Bend.

A Japanese restaurant in the Benihana tradition, Shoji’s brings its kitchen to your table. It’s where your own personal chef dices, slices and chop-chop-chops his or her way into your culinary good graces.

”You have to read the customers,” says manager Charlie Eaton. ”Some people like to be loud and boisterous. Others are quiet and maybe ask a few questions.”

The chefs tailor their showmanship accordingly for the diners who surround them and their tabletop grills. Knives flash, spatulas twirl and, depending on the chemistry of the group, the banter bounces to and fro.

What doesn’t vary is the cuisine: chicken, steak, shrimp, scallops, fried rice and fresh vegetables prepared teppanyaki style (stir-fried on a hot grill). Among the most popular dishes are teriyaki chicken, scallops and filet mignon, says Eaton.

All meals include a dinner salad with vegetable sunomono, fried rice, fresh zucchini, mushrooms and bean sprouts stir-fried with butter and toasted sesame seeds.

Before the Shoji’s chefs are turned loose with a table full of hungry diners, they learn by doing in front of their more experienced counterparts.

”They’ll cook us lunch or dinner,” says Eaton. ”After we think they’re good enough, they do to-go orders for a while.”

The most important skill for a teppanyaki chef to develop is knife speed.

Lightning fast and efficient chopping is a must or the cooking would take too long, according to Eaton.

After mastering the art of the staccato chop, they learn the more advanced tricks of the trade that add flash to the presentation. The behind-the-back, eggshell catch. The butter-bowl flip. The spatula catch.

Adjacent to the dining room is the sushi bar where Eaton and co-manager Sam Chang prepare delectable fresh seafood tidbits in the traditional style. Sushi specialties include tekka maki tuna roll, California roll (imitation crab, cucumber, avocado) and unagi (river eel).

Sashimi (thin slices of fresh raw fish with rice) includes maguro (red tuna), hamachi (yellowtail) and tako (octopus).

– Jim Witty