Best Thing We Ate Last Night: The Rock at Japonais

By Sarah Freeman

Yes, we are a mature, grown adult who still enjoys any excuse to play with our food. Warning - this toy is not for children. In fact, it is not a toy at all - rather, it's a stone heated to 500 degrees at Japonais. “Caution hot,” is an understatement when it comes to describing the scorching rock placed on our table last night.

Before "The Rock" made an appearance, we were served a plate of thinly sliced New York strip steak. “Steak carpaccio?” we thought, reaching for the chopsticks. Not so fast - this is one of the meats not served raw at the Japanese restaurant on the River. Our server instructed us to place the pieced of beef on the sizzling rock for a few seconds, flipping regularly, until the outside turned a light grey while the inside remained bright pink.

The result was a tender piece of meat, still hot on the outside but soft and flavorful on the inside. In our opinion, quality meat with a simple preparation trumps elaborate plantings with excessive accompaniments. Plus having a little fun with food always helps sway our taste buds.