315 State St
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 268-0188
Chef: Unnamed
Score: 70/100
today we venture out of the safe sun of southern california into the cold...late march...of madison, wisconsin. it snowed. it actually snowed.
anyways...
nestled in between the yuppie utopic shops of madison's state street, the occasional gem pops up (like chautara's nepali food, which you can find directly across the way from takara, or four star video). takara fits into this category. primarily a sushi restaurant, the location houses four hibachi tables that are infrequently put into action. i had two meals there during my trip--a sushi lunch and a hibachi dinner--and i only saw the grills used for two total parties, one of which was us. this is no mark against the quality though, and if anything it made the meal much more intimate and much less novel. for anyone visiting badger country, takara is a must eat.
salad - 8/10
a fantastically crisp, fresh mix of lettuce goes with an unassuming but delicious ginger dressing. non-mayo based, not watered down, and more than enough for the bowl.
soup - 7/10
i will say that this is probably the best broth i have ever had, but the two total onion bits is inexcusable.
sauces - 7/10
they get some bonus points here for personal preference, but they still wind up with only a 7/10. it is rare to find a two-sauce restaurant that gives ginger and sesame mustard--the s.m. is usually the third in a trio including yum-yum, but takara breaks the mold and replaces the overused and disgusting yum-yum with the usually bonus reserved s.m. the ginger, however--the linchpin to a good hibachi--,was not up to par. watery and somewhat flavorless, despite visually appearing normal--the antithesis of their salad dressing.
fried rice - 6/10
fantastic consistency, but not nearly enough sauce--the classic hibachi fried rice dilemma.
vegetables - 8/10
strong ratios here, which extra bamboo to make up for the lack of dessert noodle, and quite well sauced and plentiful. did the expected fantastically, but did not go above and beyond.
appetizer shrimp - 9/10
large, fresh, plump portions, but no toss. had there been, we'd be looking at a 10.
main course (shrimp, but tried salmon) - 10/10
more shrimp, bigger shrimp, and fresher shrimp than your average place, and perfectly made. the salmon was the best hibachi fish i have ever tried. my hibach partner did not finish her meal, so i brought home the leftover salmon and fried rice and cooked them up in her wok--the best leftover hibachi i've ever had (leftover hibachi is a rare occurrence that usually only happens when i go with other people...).
dessert noodles - 0/10
ABSENT. inexcusable.
show - 8/10
the (quite young) chef started off with slow, deliberate knife/spatula twirls that were hands down the best i'd ever seen. he moved on to a fireshow that included warnings as not to disrupt the weak of heart, and a routine that featured a whistling train-volcano among other new tricks. he did not treat us like amateurs, and he played off of our reactions well. certainly one of the better shows i've ever seen, especially considering it was only for the two of us. had he not looked so bored, this would be a 10.
potpourri - 7/10
once again i had to give a few extra points here, seeing as the 0/10 for lack of dessert noodles was probably a bit harsh. the sushi here is fresh and delicious, but the wait staff could use a bit of work.
quite a showing, especially considering the lack of dessert noodles. there could have been more (we ordered two sushi rolls in addition to the meal...), and there can be improvements, but the main course alone makes this worth the trip if you're in madison.
