Cook it yourself...

Ever eat at a restaurant where you have to cook your own food? For as long as I can remember, my family and almost every other family I know has been eating at this kind of restaurant. Now we have a place like this out here in the IE. It's called Gyu Kaku and it's all about the table grill. They're in Rancho Cucomonga, in Victoria Gardens on Monet Ave. If you've never heard of it, check out their website: http://www.gyu-kaku.com/.

Here's what happens. You walk in, everyone yells something in Japanese, and the host greets you. It's great fun! When you get to your table, you select from a variety of different all-you-can-eat menus. The premise is that you select a given menu which has a certain amount of items on it. You can eat all you want from that menu and that menu alone. If you want more of a selection, you choose another menu. It get's more expensive as your options increase. You can also choose items from an a la carte menu. Everything is then brought to you so you don't have to get up from the table.

You'll notice the grill in the middle of the table. This is where you cook everything. Yes, you have to cook everything. But it's ok, cause then it will be perfectly cooked every time. Right? If you like things raw and moving, you can have it that way. If you like to eat hockey pucks, you can have it that way too. Allow me to show you some photos.

Here we have a bowl of miso soup in the foreground. Circling the grill are an assortment of side dishes. This is what I like to call "waste of space" food. Because it wastes precious empty space in your stomach while you wait for the good stuff. Therefore, you get full on fillers when you should be filling your stomach with all the goodies that come shortly after. Taking that into consideration, some of these side dishes are actually tasty and you're gonna have to try them as you wait for the proteins.

Here on the right, you can see some of the meats that came to us. I believe this night we got kalbi, harami miso, and the yakishabu. Most of the meats are to my liking, but my favorite is the harami miso. It comes in approximately 3-4 oz. portions, all the sides, miso soup, and rice.

To our left, we have dessert. SMORES! It had been years since I had smores.

Ok, the score...Let's get our handy equation out.

PV x (T+S+A)=total score

Perceived value is average because I am not rich and I think buffets are always overpriced, particularly this one. If the prices were slightly lower, I'd give them a better score. So they get a rating of 3/5 stars.

Taste of the food gets an average score also. This is where things are kind of complicated. This restaurant is Japanese in name, but the cuisine is a combination of Japanese and Korean. So the confusion lies in the authenticity and presentation of the foods. From my point of view, the small side dishes are a very Korean component to the courses of the meal. If you go to a good Korean restaurant, they'll bring out many side dishes to accompany the main dish. And Japanese restaurants these days are very a la carte based menus. The food tastes good, but is not authentic to either Japanese or Korean cuisine. I think I'll call it Japanese-Korean Fusion. So based on flavor alone, I give them a rating of 3/5 stars.

Service is above average. The explanation of the menu takes a little while, and our waiter was more than willing to answer any questions. I give them a rating of 4/5 stars.

Ambiance is where this restaurant is above average. It's fun to sit at a table and have a conversation over an this meal. If you like people watching, this is a good place to go because the restaurant is very open. It's a very social place. The yelling of the staff, all the hustle and bustle, the heat of the grill, the sound of the food cooking, the smell of the meats, create a party like atmosphere. I give them a rating of 4/5 stars.

So my rating looks like this: 3x(3+4+4):33/60 stars!