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OUT & ABOUT 2B I Thursday, November 16, 2006 | The Red & Black Eat Hibachi serves speedy Japanese fare DANIELLE HUTLAS | The Red 4 Black A Mari Nishio (left), a junior women’s studies major from Japan, and Andrew Brasher (right), a senior Japanese major from Snellville, dine at Eat Hibachi, a new Japanese restaurant located at the bottom of University Towers. By MATTHEW GRAYSON mgrayson@randb.com Don’t expect any onions to erupt with flames or stray shrimp to end up in your shirt pocket at downtown Athens’ newest business, Eat Hibachi. Though the restaurant’s name may conjure fond childhood memories for some, the term “hibachi” actually refers not to the the atrical style of cooking found in Japanese steakhouses across the country (that would be “teppanyaki”) but rather to the large cast-iron hotplates on which the food is prepared. Located at the bottom of University Towers and across the breezeway from Taste of India, Eat Hibachi is the lat est undertaking of brothers Aaron and David Kim, who already own and operate two restaurants in the Atlanta area. Freshly painted walls, dark wood tables and chic light fixtures make for a hip but somewhat sterile atmos phere. A rectangular window next to the register reveals the cooks hard at work in a stark white kitchen with two expansive hibachi grills, one for cooking meats and the other for veggies. Overhead is a billboard-style menu that’s brightly colored and easy to read, at once pleasing to both my weak eyes and my grumbling stomach. After several minutes spent debat ing what to order, I wished for captions to explain the more ethnically titled dishes, whose pretty pictures give little insight into the actual ingredients they contain. All told, Eat Hibachi offers 13 numbered entrees as well as egg rolls ($.69), miso soup ($.99) and Japanese pot stickers called kyoza ($1.99) for those who are less (or in my case, more) hungry. Teriyaki lovers can choose from six different combina tions of chicken, beef, salmon and shrimp ranging from $4.99 to $6.39, all of which include grilled veggies and a choice of white or fried rice. Those more adventurous din ers can try one of the truly ethnic specials like Yakisoba (literally “fried noodles”) for $5.99 or Bul-Go-Gi (a Korean beef dish) for $6.49. I started with an egg roll and then downed a plate of KOBI Fried Rice, which cost $6.49 and included chicken, beef, shrimp and a side of miso soup. Bland and somehow off- putting, the soup was filled with little tofu blocks that added nothing to its gingery taste and could almost be mistaken for sugar cubes. Likewise, my egg roll was a disappointment. The veggies inside were held together by a thin gel that made for a funny cold taste within what should have been hot. I say that because mine arrived lukewarm and was cold by the time I got through with it, whereas my friend’s egg roll was too hot to handle at first. Though its skin was crispy fried and tasted great after a minute of cool-down time, the inside left much to be desired. Soup and egg roll aside, the rest of my meal was a welcome surprise. My plate of fried rice, cooked fresh and within sight on Eat Hibachi’s signature grills, was ready within minutes and didn’t skimp on the trio of meats, leaving me full and happy. The rice itself was plentiful and peppered with mush- EAT HIBACHI Grade: B Verdict: The entrees were both plentiful and tasty, while the sides were hit or miss, usually the latter. rooms, green peas and the occasional corn kernel, mak ing for a colorful blend of healthy and hearty. Though my friend’s chick en teriyaki took closer to 10 minutes to prepare, the result was well worth the wait. The chicken itself was very flavorful and the dish had a lot of food for $4.99. The dish as a whole, however, offered too much meat and not enough veggies, and the sticky fried rice was neither good nor bad, only there. Open until 10 every night of the week, downtown Athens’ newest eatery offers a clean atmosphere and a cheap meal, ideal for a quick lunch or a late-night pick- me-up. Though its food may not match the flavor nor the fun of a traditional teppanya ki restaurant, Eat Hibachi also won’t cost you $20 — and won’t seat you with a blind double date and an unhappily married couple whose conversations inevitably drown out your own. Listen Up The Who, “Endless Wire” Mick Jagger and Keith Richards be warned - you have more members for your geriatric rock club. With their first studio album since the early 1980s, The Who’s ageless rock ers find success again or at least half of them do. Only Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend remain from one of rock’s greatest supergroups. Original drummer Keith Moon died three decades ago, followed by thunder bassist John Entwistle in 2002. “Endless Wire” was recorded at Townshend’s home studio and thus has guitar tones similar to many of his side projects. These tones complement the album as a whole, as they allow space and airy textures when the full band is supporting and leave a haunting nakedness to the stripped-down ballads of the album. Tracks range from dreamlike, operatic, “Tommy”-esque tunes to ballads concerned with modern issues. — Alec Wooden Judah Johnson, “Be Where I Be” Despite its great production quality and soothing layers of sonic chill (sure to give listeners the impression of sailing calmly through the stratosphere while sipping themselves into a coma on top-shelf vodka), Judah Johnson’s “Be Where I Be” is just that - an incessantly lethargic, quasi-techno-rock sound track to go along with an equally unfulfilling in-flight meal. The album is not quite rock enough to be exciting, too weak lyrically to be moving or memorable and not upbeat enough to be danceable. It lacks any discernable sense of place or purpose in terms of where, why and by whom such music would be listened to (besides the aforementioned, hypothetical scenario). It’s always a dangerous game to drop A-list names as a means of describ ing lesser-known acts because it often gives the latter too much credit by draw ing false parallels and creating false hopes. So please be wary when I say that Judah Johnson sounds, at times, like a half-ass Brandon Boyd singing over Dredg (life), only with much less variety and talent and hardly a speck of the energy of either reference. One of the few tracks that pops out as being potentially memorable is “Star Struck,” which initially kicks in like Audioslave's “Gasoline” but, like most of the songs on the album, collapses into twinkling weakness instead of rising into cli mactic rock glory. The same occurs on “Tommi (Tears in a Bottle),” which almost sounds like operatic Nine Inch Nails, but fails to build to anything noteworthy. - PT Umphress Tenacious D, “The Pick of Destiny” Though it's been five years since the last and only full studio album from vulgar rock duo Tenacious D, you would hardly realize it, because the absence has been padded by the release of various singles and a 2003 DVD. “The Pick of Destiny” serves as the soundtrack of the movie by the same name that chronicles the rise of this self-proclaimed “greatest band in the world.” The problem here is not necessarily the music - both the humor and the instrumentation are vintage Tenacious D, covering all the usual off-the-wall bases. The problem is that there is simply not enough of it (15 tracks span just 33 minutes) to make it worth the money paid for this collection without also buying the movie, creating a dangerous risk of polarization of fans when the group ties the success (and, as always, potential failure) of the album and movie so dan gerously close to each other. One of the greatest strengths of past songs has been their ability to allow listeners a connection to the storytelling. These tracks simply lack the substance to create the same story-like effect without a heavy crutch on the movie. Seven tracks (almost half the album) fall under two minutes, serving as filler for movie scenes, and only two tracks break the three-minute barrier. These filler scenes, while sure to be funny to those who love the movie, will not stand as acceptable tracks to listeners of the album. Grade: B+ Verdict: They’re back to capture a new generation. Grade: C- Verdict: For vapid nappy-time tunes, Judah Johnson just might be your round-trip, synth-rock ticket to Trancelvania. Grade: C+ Verdict: Not a worthy buy until the movie proves successful. - Alec Wooden Because Aunt Joan needed mere Botox She got a facelift, you got the tuition bill. Not to worry: a Campus Door student loan can cover up to 100% of your education costs, with online approval In less than a minute. All without the painful side effects. CAMPUSDOOR GREAT FUTURES START HERE 1 campusdoor.com intable PDF version at campusdoorxom/posters All loans are subject to credit approval. Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions apply. Trade/Servicemarks are the property of Campus Door Inc. and/or its affiliates. Lender is Lehman Brothers Bank, FSB. ©2006 Campus Door Inc. All Rights Reserved. Equal Opportunity Lender. Put yourself in the know. Impress your classmates and profs, or maybe just Saturday night's date, with what you know about local and world events. Read a newspaper every day. you cai Card Sljc Jscttt JJork Eimcs BH I ATI (ENS BANNER HERALD Online A then*, c om TODAY Journal- Constitution Newspapers are located at these 15 campus rack locations: Tate Plaza Bolton Dining Hall Journalism Building Instructional Plaza Caldwell Hall Chemistry Building Main Library Boyd Graduate Research Center Baldwin Hall Ramsey Center Aderhold Hall Creswell Hall Forestry Resources Building East Village Commons Myers Hall The College Readership Program is compliments of your Student Government Association, the Honors Program, the Vice President of Student Affairs, the Vice President of Academics, the Deans of the Colleges at the University of Georgia and your UGA Alumni Association. COLLEGE