Sunday, August 1, 2010

Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet on Urbanspoon

















With a name like Hibachi Grill Supreme Buffet, how could you go wrong?  We went here because it was ranked #3 overall for Baltimore on UrbanSpoon, and we weren't disappointed.  I don't think it would be my personal #3 for all of Baltimore, but it was good, and an incredible value.  Dinner is only $10, and the buffet has over 150 items on it!

There are some negative reviews on UrbanSpoon concerning the service, but we had no complaints.  Most of the negative reviews were from large parties, and there were only two of us, so I'm sure that helped.  Service at a buffet is pretty simple, as you only have to do four things: keep drinks filled, clear empty plates, bring the check toward the end, don't pressure the customers to leave.  They nailed all four.














As for the food, many buffets, especially larger ones, don't maintain quality across all the dishes.  While there were two misses (the Shanghai rolls were pretty awful, and the cream puffs were just as bad), everything else we had was above average, with some really excellent ones.  If you know me, it might surprise you to learn that I didn't count how many different things I had, but I'd guess it was maybe 25, so 23 out of 25 isn't bad!

The buffet consists of a mostly Asian menu, with a fair amount of American food (mac and cheese, carved ham, poached fish).  The exciting bit about the carved ham is that it's DIY - they leave a giant carving knife out right there on the buffet for you to wield!  They also have fresh sushi (with the sushi chefs making it right there behind where it's served), and it was excellent!  I only had a few pieces, but it would rank high on my list of Baltimore sushi, if I had such a list.

There is also the "Hibachi", which you may remember from the title of the restaurant.  The preparation is similar to Mongolian barbecue, with a selection of stir-fry veggies, and shrimp and shaved frozen meats.  You select what you want and hand them to the hibachi chef.  The inconsequential difference between this and Mongolian barbecue is that this is cooked on a flat top, not the big round grill.  The more important difference is that you don't get a selection of sauces to add, the hibachi chef adds some standard stuff while he grills.  While I enjoyed my stir fry, I would have liked the ability to add some sauces of my choosing.

Overall, I'd highly recommend.  5 pieces of sushi out of 6 (but not based on the sushi - that was great!):