Ginza of Tokyo: A Must-Dine Restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin

Everyone has gone out to eat at least some point in their life, whether it be to a Red Lobster, an Olive Garden, a Pizza Hut or even to a McDonald's. Not everyone has been to a restaurant as full of culture and delicious food as Ginza of Tokyo, however. With fair pricing, and wonderful food, Ginza of Tokyo is a place I would recommend to anyone.

With only four locations in Wisconsin, Ginza seems like a small-time diner, but it is far from that. As my friends and I pulled up to the restaurant on East Washington Avenue in Madison, we noticed a pretty full parking lot for a Thursday night and started to get worried. Once we walked in, our worries were put to rest. There was only one group ahead of us, and we were told by the hostess that the wait would be anywhere between ten minutes and an hour, depending on our choice of seating location. I looked at one of my friends and asked her, "what does she mean with the 'seating location' thing?" Overhearing my question, the hostess explained that there were three different choices for us, a private 'tea room', the hibachi grill, or the sushi bar. We chose the hibachi grill.

After about ten minutes of admiring the decoration, we were told that a grill had opened up. We were then taken to our seats. Much to my surprise, we were taken to the grill with more than one group of people, three groups to be exact. This group table sat nine people around a stainless steel grill.

Right after being seated, we were given menus and asked for our drink choices. I went with my standard order of Sprite and it was brought to me within minutes, along with a strange little bowl and wooden spoon. In the bowl was a delicious onion soup. After enjoying the soup for a few minutes, it was time to order. I ordered teriyaki steak and my friends both ordered a seafood, one shrimp, one fish.

After all nine of us had placed our orders, the waitress went back into the kitchen to tell the chef. That is when the best part started. Out from the kitchen came a man in standard white chef clothes, pushing a metal cart filled with food, sauces, and any type of knife you could think of.

He started by pouring some type of oil all over the metal grill, then dumped some bean sprouts and sliced cucumbers onto it. The next item on the grill was an onion. He sliced the onion into circles, progressively smaller, and then stacked them on top of each other. After creating this onion mountain, he poured some oil into it and took a lighter to the oil, creating an onion volcano. It was amazing.

About an hour later, after numerous exciting events (including shrimp flying into the chef's pocket and hat) our meal was over, with a total bill for three people coming to less than thirty dollars. Not only had I just experienced one of the most exciting meals I've ever eaten, I also received one of the larger doses of culture I've ever had.

I would recommend not just Ginza of Tokyo to anyone living in, or visiting Wisconsin, but I would recommend Japanese restaurants in general. Not only is the food delicious, but the amount of culture that you can experience just by visiting one of these businesses is outstanding. So next time you decide you are going out to eat, don't go to Pizza Hut or the Olive Garden, try a Japanese Restaurant, its definitely worth it.