Elizabeth Keyser

Tombo Hibachi chefs get all up in your grill

Tombo Hibachi Sushi & Tiki Lounge
1275 Post Rd., Fairfield, (203) 256-8454,
www.tombojapanese.com

If dining is like going to the theater, then a new show has opened in downtown Fairfield. At Tombo Hibachi Sushi & Tiki Lounge, the stage is set to evoke a fun fusion fantasy of traditional Japanese, sleek contemporary and over-the-top Polynesian decor.

The star of the show is the Hibachi chef. He starts the spectacle with fire, a sudden dramatic inferno rising from the griddle. The audience gasps at the flames and heat. The chef puts out the fire, clinks his spatulas, tosses them in the air and juggles them. Yes, it's the theatrics popularized by Benihana restaurants back in the early '60s.

Next, the chef transforms a tower of onion slices into a flaming volcano. Then he'll flick bits of broccoli into willing patrons' mouths. It always gets a laugh.

The restaurant team of Hiro Nagata, Veronica Haynes and Deyoung Liu — which owns Plum Tree in New Canaan and Papaya Thai in South Norwalk — opened Tombo 10 weeks ago, and they brought their tried and true audience-pleasers: lush design, tropical drinks loaded with colorful umbrellas, crunchy coconut shrimp.

The team creates restaurants that appeal to families and young people. On a recent Wednesday night, children were happily sipping tropical drinks through colored straws and having fun with chopsticks. But Tombo appeals to all ages, as the groupings of people in their 20s and 30s attested. An evening at the restaurant elicits smiles and laughs from even the jaded.

What's new to the team's formula is the Hibachi grills. The main dining room has 10 tables facing flat griddles, or teppan in Japanese. There's also a smaller, quieter dining room with tables and a sushi bar.

We chose sirloin steak ($22.95) and shrimp ($21.95) from the hibachi dinner menu. They come with soup, salad, noodles and steamed rice. The onion soup, a clear chicken and vegetable broth, was onion-y in name only. A standard garden salad of romaine, carrots, red cabbage and tomato was topped with ginger dressing.

Being neophytes, we didn't understand a few things, like why the dinner started with a small serving of sizzling shrimp or the tiny portion of thin noodles. If I'd realized the shrimp was the first part of the meal I would have chosen something else for my main course, like the chicken or the scallops. The noodles had picked up an appealing smokiness from the hot griddle, but I could have eaten a double portion of them. So we accepted our waitress' suggestion of two orders of fried rice. It was a good idea, but in these budget-watching times, sometimes you don't want to add five more dollars to the check. The chef prepared the fried rice on the griddle, mixing steamed small-grain rice with minced vegetables and scrambled egg.

Our chef asked how we wanted the steak cooked. The answer was medium rare, and it was indeed properly pink when the chef put it on the plate. The meat, chopped into bite-sized pieces, was warm and tasty coming directly off the griddle.

Alas, the shrimp was disappointing, overcooked. As I watched the chef (not head chef Apollo Awayan) toss the shrimp around the griddle, I fought the urge to tell him to pull the tender morsels off "now!" But that wouldn't have been polite. The shrimp tasted okay at first, but the residual heat cooked them into a tight curl. A dip in the creamy mayonnaise "mustard" sauce helped disguise their dryness.

Happily, the mixed vegetables — onion, zucchini, red pepper, broccoli — did not suffer the same fate. They were cooked just right, neither crunchy raw nor soggy, but seared and juicy.

Tombo also offers a selection of small plates that will be familiar to fans of the Plum Tree and Papaya Thai. We tried a few of these during happy hour at the Tiki Bar.

But first, drinks. Sitting beneath the bar's thatched roof, we reviewed a menu of colorful concoctions — Zombies, Nutty Monkeys, Hairy Gorillas — and chose the half-price house special Mai Tai ($4). Also half-price at happy hour are wine and beer. After the sweetness of the Mai Tai, an Orion beer, a pale lager made in Okinawa, was refreshing.

Japanese-style chicken wings ($5.95) came fried, golden brown on the outside, juicy on the inside. They were a bit bland until dipped in a bowl of sauce thick with minced ginger.

The fried tofu was as delicate as a cloud, but far more tasty. Topped with bonito flakes and served in a bowl of light, slightly sweet sauce sharpened by fresh scallion, it satisfied without leaving us feeling heavy.

Gyoza is always a favorite. The delicate dumplings were filled with pork and cabbage. Their skins were tender, with one side pan-fried crunchy brown.

Tombo's theatrical cooking style is kind of corny, but the guests are having such a good time, and the staff is so friendly, that you'll have fun.

And the place is beautifully decorated with interesting things to look at — a mural of a kimono-clad woman, a screen of purple plastic rings separating the main dining room from the Tiki lounge and lots of cool lampshades. Tombo means "dragonfly" in Japanese, and an image of a large black dragonfly is spread across the glass doors at the arched entry. Inside, a dragonfly mobile wafts from the ceiling, dragonfly decorative lights are draped along the wall, dragonfly glass shades cover tracks of low-voltage lights.

So far, Tombo is quiet in the early part of the week, but come the weekend, it's busy.

I think this show is going to be a hit.