House of Tokyo - Greenwood, IN

Lemme preface this post by saying that I was a bit conflicted about making this post and I can't necessarily say why.  Part of me says, 'hey man the blog is about good food so if it's good food then let's tell folks about it,' and part of me says, 'yeah but this isn't unique food because they have these places everywhere.'  Well I am writing about it anyway.  So take that.  I mean there are lot's of chop, chop, build the onion flaming volcano places, but this one isn't a chain and it's damn good eats.  Family owned and people in Greenwood love it so much that the local grocery stores carry their salad dressing.

House of Tokyo

Husband and wife, Hei and Den Duong are the proprietors of House of Tokyo and at any given time at least one of them is there.  They watch over every part of the experience to ensure that customers are happy  and things run smoothly.  They are certainly not absentee owners and on my recent lunchtime visit they were visible and watched over each station closely.

At face value it may seem easy to write House of Tokyo off as just another Hibachi grill place, but I think that would be selling the place short.  And more importantly discounting the hard work put in by the Duong's to make the restaurant excellent and to be excellent members of the community.  The decor is nice.  Upscale and modern would be a good way to describe it and the place is very clean.

The food is tasty.  They offer a wide range of sushi items, a full menu of hibachi dishes, and they have a full bar.  As with all restaurants in this style, you sit around the grill and watch the chef prepare your dish for you.  When I am looking for entertainment, I head to a play or sporting event so I am not the biggest fan of having to see someone bang their spatulas on the grill and flip shrimp tails into the pocket of their chef's coat.  Just cook the food already.  I often equate the bigger the performance, the less quality the finished product will be.  But if you're into all the loud clanging of metal so you can't talk to the people you came to dine with, then maybe House of Tokyo isn't for you.  Our chef was masterful in his preparation of our dishes, but used minimal flair.  That's my kind of guy.  He is definitely talented, but used his talent to focus on the preparation and not on the show.

My Chef du Jour

I ordered a bit of a surf and turf style when I decided on the Yakiniku, or the new york strip steak and shrimp.  All of the dishes came with fried rice, which was prepared on the grill and grilled vegetables.  The shrimp were a good size and not overcooked so they hit the plate hot and juicy.  The steak was cooked to perfection.  Just a little bit of pink left in the middle and a nice sear on the outside.  I skipped the vegetables so I could focus on the carnivorous concoction in front of me.  

Yakiniku (Steak and Shrimp)

All of the meals start with a garden salad and a cup of soup.  The soup is a traditional broth soup with tofu, mushrooms and green onions.  Very tasty.  The salad seemed plain to me at first.  It was essentially a bowl full of green lettuce that was coarsely chopped and covered in a thousand island looking dressing.  What seemed simple became incredibly complex once I took a bite.  I understand why they sell this dressing in stores.  I could drink it, pour it over everything, and even bath in it if that would be deemed socially acceptable.  It's light and tangy with a flavor that is oh so umami.  

The prices at House of Tokyo are fair, too.  My whole meal set me back $12.95 and I was delightfully full.  Our chef was polite and competent in his craft.  I was entertained with our server, though as he seemed to have more important things to do.  A group of nine co-workers all went together and he told us that we needed to order our drinks and meals faster because he was very busy.  We all laughed it off, but that was the only hiccup in a very fine meal.

It's not everyday that I crave Hibachi dining, but when I do I will go to House of Tokyo.  My food philosophy is to find restaurants that are locally owned and good members of the community serving good food.  The Duong's are the poster children for that in Greenwood and they are definitely worth checking out.