True to her word, our hostess seated us within minutes. Sumo's hibachi tables seat eight, which is standard at Japanese Teppanyaki-style restaurants. Teppanyaki is an entertaining method of food preparation and, contrary to what many think, is not a traditional Japanese cuisine. Ex-boxer Rocky Aoki started the Teppanyaki phenomenon in the United States, which ironically worked its way from here to Japan. We were quickly greeted by a server who was ready to take our orders.
Dinners come with soup, salad, a shrimp appetizer, hibachi vegetables and fried rice.
For the less adventurous, other wines, soft drinks, iced tea, Japanese green tea and coffee are served. Unlike many of the Japanese restaurants I have visited, service at Sumo is exceptionally fast. The clear broth had fresh mushrooms and scallions, but was still rather bland. I added a touch of soy sauce, which helped. The salads were larger than typical, which made me quite happy, because I love Japanese ginger dressing.