Taisho: Flaming Tables, Pleasant Eating
11610 Emerald Coast Pkwy, Destin, 650-2996
By Bruce Collier June 2, 2005 Issue


Taisho Seafood & Steaks opened not too long ago, on a very busy stretch of the Emerald Coast Parkway. The staff moved into a previously built structure, and they have done an excellent job in making over the place. Upon entry one is awestruck by the sight of a large and very healthy-looking jade plant. There’s a fish tank, and lots of lacquered and tinted this and that to put you into the serene mood requisite to enjoying a Japanese-style meal.

The Japanese steak house and sushi bar has become as much of an American dining institution as the pizza parlor, the barbecue pit, and the burger joint. I’ve eaten at several such places over the years, and all operate pretty much along the same lines. Most have spacious dining rooms, an open sushi bar, and at least one wing set aside for hibachi and teppanyaki cooking.

The latter, in case you are not familiar with the names, are those places where groups of diners sit around a grill or griddle table. A cook, armed like Bill the Butcher, comes out to slice, dice, and grill a communal meal of beef, chicken, fish and vegetables. My friend and I ate at such a place last year, and she made a point of reminding me that once was enough.

So we did the “regular dining.” Out hostess—a smiling and very attentive lady—took us to our seat. From where we sat, we could see the sushi bar, and, on either side, the aforementioned hibachi/teppanyaki zones. Most of the diners seemed to have congregated there.

We ordered drinks, and checked out the menu. Taisho offers 15 appetizers, a sushi/sashimi/tempura menu of close to 80 items, salads, soups, katsu (grilled chicken breast or pork loin), and skewered teriyaki meat, chicken or seafood. The menu also offers house specialties such as “grouper Napoleon,” a fish-and-mushroom dish layered in the manner of French pastry, and, when available, filet mignon of Kobe beef. Assorted steaks, chicken, pork and shellfish (crab, oysters, shrimp, and lobster) can be had grilled, tempura-fried, or served in curry. Noodles, at which the Japanese excel, come in soups, stir-fries, and cold plates.

We each ordered a sushi roll. My friend had a steak roll (filled with tender grilled beef) and I had grilled eel with sweet sauce. Instead of a salad, I ordered tuna tartare, and my friend chose a shrimp and vegetable tempura starter.

The rolls were large and came with plenty of pickled ginger and wasabi. While there were only two shrimp, the vegetables—onion, sweet potato, and squash, provided good support. The food was crisp, light, and very hot.

The tuna tartare was a real treat. Raw tuna is coarsely chopped and mixed with raw onions and vegetables, like a Japanese ceviche. A vinegar and chili-oil sauce that crept up on me holds the whole thing together.

Other starters included fried or steamed gyoza, seaweed salad, coconut shrimp, cold noodles, seared beef or tuna with ginger/scallion sauce, lobster roll, squid, soft shell crab, and steamed soy beans.

For the entrees, my friend chose skewered shrimp teriyaki, and I ordered spicy sesame salmon. Both came with fried rice and a load of mixed stir-fried vegetables. The rice could have been a little warmer, but it tasted good, and I’m pretty sure it had sweet corn mixed into it. The vegetables—onions, squash, carrots, and broccoli—added color and plenty of bulk in case three skewers of shrimp and a block of salmon weren’t filling enough. They were.

The shrimp were mid-sized, nicely grilled and coated with sweet sauce. They satisfied my friend, who loves shrimp above, or possibly instead of, all other seafood. Boxing up part of her steak roll had helped her to save room.

My salmon was tender, and came napped with a sweet and rather thick sauce, light green with wasabi. It was very hot, and I hadn’t quite recovered from the spiciness of the tuna tartare. Still, I appreciated the Westernized presentation (Japanese sauces and condiments frequently come on the side), and the unusual combination of hot, sweet, and creamy. It was so substantial that I left a lot of the rice and vegetables.

Dessert at Taisho consists of one cheesecake and four ice cream specialties. At this point, we encountered a small communication problem with our server. We had asked for red (soy) bean ice cream and assorted mochi. The latter are little balls of ice cream, coated with a “pastry” shell of ground rice flour and served sliced in two. The price was $10, and we intended to share.

The server brought out only a plate of four mochi, which seemed not much for the price. When we called it to her attention, she fixed the problem and then insisted on charging us only for the mochi. After a polite dispute, we agreed. We hadn’t been trying to get something for nothing, but I appreciated the way she handled this very minor mistake. I also appreciated our friendly and helpful hostess, who provided menu information with enthusiasm and humor.

As for the ice cream, you should save room for it. Our mochi were filled with green tea and red bean ice cream. They looked like oversized pastel M&Ms. Green tea ice cream has a sweet, herbal flavor. The red bean was more substantial and creamy, studded with chewy, raisin-like little beans.

You could eat at Taisho many times, and each time get a meal of a completely different character. Meat or fish, raw or cooked, quiet or boisterous, it comes with a smile and a welcome.

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