Mom's Night Out

KOBE’S

4228 15^th Ave SW, Fargo, ND 58103

http://www.kobescuisine.com/

Thursday 3/24/11

It was Mom’s Night Out within our kid’s playgroup.  Six other moms and I went to KOBE’S. This is one of my favorite restaurants, so I was pretty excited.  When you walk in there is a large koi pond with a bridge going over it.  Past that, you enter a big room with multiple hibachi grills. In the back there is a sushi bar and to the right there are booths and regular tables. To the left and back, there is another area with booths and tables, this is where we sat.  It is a very clean place.  One of the moms really notices when restaurants are dirty and sees the dirt in the nooks and crannies, but it passed her inspection. The décor is Japanese themed with Japanese water color paintings, cream colored walls, rich wooden chairs and accents. One of the moms made our reservations the day before, and our table was ready when we got there. We were planning to sit at the hibachi grill but the tables were full until 7:30 and we planned on eating at 6:30, so the reservation was made for a regular table. I suggest if you have a large party and want to eat early at the grill make the reservation a couple days in advance.

Even if you don’t sit at the hibachi grill you can still order from it, but it may take longer. One of the advantages of sitting at the grill is they put on a little show while making your food.  The chef cooking your food toss extra chunks of veggies allowing you to try and catch it in your mouth.  They squirt sake in your mouth also. The disadvantage is you can’t really carry on a conversation because you are sitting in a semi-circle watching the chef.

 All the other moms ordered from the hibachi grill, which came with a mushroom soup made with chicken broth, julienned onion slices that are coated in panko crumbs and fried, slices of mushrooms and scallions. I am a big fan of this soup.  It has just the right amount of mushroom flavor and each time you take a bite of the crispy onion it changes the soup flavor altogether so you never get bored with just broth.  Since I did not order off the grill, my food did not come with soup.  So I wouldn’t feel left out, they gave me a free bowl of soup. I thought was really nice, even though I know that soup cost next to nothing for them to make, but most places wouldn’t do anything like that. Their dinners also consisted of fried rice or noodles and a choice of protein (shrimp, chicken, steak, scallops or salmon). The scallops were very small and a little disappointing for the price. It also came with vegetables and two dipping sauces. The moms told me they enjoyed their meals and had no complaints.

I was craving sushi, but since I’m pregnant, I can’t eat raw fish.  But I ordered a vegetarian roll. It was called the Green Peace Roll and consisted of mango, avocado, and asparagus. The rice was well seasoned with rice vinegar and sugar and it was tender and moist. It was very delicious and plated beautifully with avocado slices and drizzled with a mango sauce. I forgot to take a picture of it, but they have some good pictures of their rolls on their web site.  A roll usually fills me, but with an increased appetite and no protein, I thought I would order an appetizer of Haru Maki (fried spring roll).  A spring roll is kind of like an egg roll, but wrapped in rice paper instead of dough. I was very disappointed with these spring rolls.  I thought it would be more flavorful and more homemade, but it tasted like something you could pick up at the grocery store in the frozen section.

Over all it was a great night out. I got to get to know my new friends a little better while enjoying a lovely dinner. Like I said, this place is a one of my favorites.  I know what to expect when I go, great food and  a great atmosphere. I can’t wait till next time!