Throw a shrimp in your hat–it’s Benihana! If you haven’t been to one of these Japanese steakhouses, you probably grew up in a shallow hole by a rural road outside of a one-horse town with a pack of marmots as your only friends. Luckily for us, our town has several horses, and a couple Benihanas to fill our need for steak and showmanship. This joint is more about large groups and communal entertainment than eating, but the steak is pretty rockin’ anyway. Get a group of buddies together, grab a large table and watch your Japanese chef throw around his knives, chop shit and toss your food into the air–all right in front of you. Funny enough, our chef was from the not-so-far-East–Bangladesh to be exact–but it just added to the funniness of the whole evening. It’s just a big party, and nobody cares if you yell. Hell, check out the wall of celebs (Scott Baio, Danny Cooksey, Ralph Macchio, Rod Stewart, etc.) that have chowed down at this joint. Who’s the boss? You are, buddy! [MF]
47 W 56th St. (bet 5th & 6th Ave)
212/581-0930
benihana.com