ê¿êspi20.com — watching and writing

This weekend Ken and I were at a dog show in Charlotte, NC. Some friends of ours told us about Sasaki which was just over the state line in Lake Wylie, SC and how great the food was, so we headed down there to check it out.

It’s a tiny little Japanese grill where the chefs cook in front of you. You’re seated 8 around 3 sides of the grill and so get to meet new people although they also have a few private dining tables. The decor is modestly Japanese in understated nature. Real linen napkins were provided, but melamine plates, bowls and cups. Not some place you feel like you have to dress up for, but somewhere you can go in jeans and a polo shirt for sure. Since it’s very close to the lake, they get a lot of residents from nearby communities as well as from Charlotte and Rock Hill.

Menu choices were limited in American scope. The only salad dressing offered that was American was Ranch and seemed to be what everyone chose — I had the ginger dressing and was very pleasantly rewarded with a tangy (not hot) dressing that really set off my salad.

Ken and I both elected to have steak and shrimp for dinner. The chef started out cooking rice on the grill, scrambling eggs in a most innovative way (spinning the egg in it’s shell around and around until it was going so fast, he could scoop it up on his spatula and toss it into the air 3 or 4 times before allowing it to break in two against the edge of the spatula). He then cooked some zucchini with onions before beginning on the shrimp. He cooked the beef last. My only complaint was I asked for mine medium-rare and he did everyone’s medium. It tasted wonderful, but I was a bit disappointed about the done-ness. He also cooked some broccoli and mushrooms and lastly some spaghetti-like noodles which were wonderful as well.

Again, I was the only one who asked for the ginger sauce for their shrimp. I did get Ken to eat some and judging by the expression on his face, he’ll be ordering it next time for his shrimp!

We were stuffed well before we could even think about being finished with the meal and thankfully, they provided take-away boxes, so we could take home the extra. It made a wonderful dinner the next night, so our $38 dinner ended up costing for two meals, only $19 per meal for the two of us — not bad at all! We’ve spent nearly that much at McDonalds

I sure wanted to try some of the cheesecake that was on the dessert menu, but there was no room for any such thing! It was really hard not to make a pig of yourself. The food was tasty, the ambience fun and lighthearted and you just had a great time with perfect strangers.

They also serve sushi, but I am just not a raw fish lover, so can’t comment on how good or bad theirs is.

At any rate, if you ever get to Charlotte, head down Hwy 49 South until you get to the lake, and Sasaki will be on your left.

Sasaki — you get an A