Hello Hibachi

Kyoto is your friendly neighborhood Japanese restaurant

Matt Smith

When one thinks of that favorite neighborhood spot - the kind that you return to time and again - you might tend to picture a good old 'Merican restaurant (or an Applebee's, for that matter). And while you may be fortunate enough to have a favorite Japanese eatery, that's the place you go for exotic, not familiar.

However, Clarks Summit's Japanese stalwart, Kyoto, has managed to combine the familiar and exotic for more than a decade. Proprietor Vinny Lam proudly noted that his establishment just celebrated its 10th anniversary. And even though he's devoting most of his time to a new venture, the hip Japanese-American fusion spot Blu Wasabi in Dickson City, Lam said his long-serving Kyoto staff keeps things running smoothly.

"There's a lot of loyalty on my staff," he said. "Many of them have been there for 10 years. The customers know them, and they know a lot of the customers. ... Even when I'm not there, they take care of Kyoto for me. ... And since we don't have turnover in the chefs and employees, the consistency remains."

That experience and familiarity was evident on a recent Monday-night visit to Kyoto, which specializes in hibachi (table-side grilling) and traditional sushi preparations. A woman seated at the communal hibachi, an apparent regular, reacted with approval when the chef served her a low-sodium version of fried rice, then upped the soy sauce before plating the rice for the rest of the patrons. "He remembered that I only want half the sodium," she remarked.

Lam was not surprised to hear such an anecdote. "I hear that all the time. People always say, 'He knew exactly what I wanted,' or, 'She knew right away what I wanted to drink.' ... I'll accommodate anything my customer wants. Even with sushi, if they want a certain roll, a roll that's only found in other cities, and they say, 'I remember this certain thing,' my sushi chef will make whatever they asked for."

Kyoto is open for dinner seven days a week, so it was still busy after 8 p.m. on that Monday, an evening when many other restaurants are closed. A large, diverse group of what appeared to be college students laughed and took pictures at one hibachi, while a more low-key assemblage of small pairings (and that regular solo diner) gathered around another.

At $20 or so, the hibachi platters aren't cheap, but they aren't skimpy either. The "Happy Combo" came with a generous serving of scallops, perfectly cooked filet mignon, the fried rice, and a shrimp appetizer. And a companion's "Geisha Special" featured steak, chicken, and shrimp. But unlike any typical appetizer-entree order, each element came as it was cooked, so the shrimp appetizer was more like a shrimp chaser - literally. The deft hibachi chef flipped pieces of it into the air as diners attempted to catch them in their mouths (and mostly failed in that endeavor).

The hibachi meals were complemented by a selection of Japanese beers, and even though the hibachi delights left little room, the culinary experience was nicely capped by a tempura banana drizzled in strawberry sauce (although the true after-dinner highlight was a carafe of warm saki at the bar).

Service was smooth and relaxed, and Lam further attributed Kyoto's success to the staff being "one big happy family." "We all help each other very much," he continued, "and I always say, 'If you are happy in the kitchen, you will come out cooking happy.' When I worked at other restaurants, nobody liked each other, and I decided when I opened my own place, everybody would get along with everybody."

And that's why Kyoto continues to be good eating in your neighborhood.