New Year’s Eve Dinner

We celebrated New Year’s Eve with dinner at the Mt. Fuji Japanese Hibachi Grill with our friends Wendy and her daughter Zoe, and Mike & Lauren. It was dinner and a show celebrated with good friends. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the coming of the new year. We were all home before 9:30 PM, which was a very good thing for us too. Going out to dinner, before all the crazies and drunks come out is just perfect for us “old people”. Besides, by the time we were ready to leave the restaurant it was snowing hard and the roads were already slick and covered with ice and snow. So it was good we called it an early night.

Mt. Fuji Japanese Hibachi Grill was PACKED to the rims. We waited for over an hour to get seated, and that was with reservations, but it was well worth the wait. It was dinner and a show.

Once we got seated, we had front row seats to the culinary show before us. Our table was also the stove where we got to watch the chef perform his magic with lightening speed and agility.

Before the chef started working his magic, when we all ordered, we started off with a very clear miso soup and salad.

Then the chef came out and cooked everything for the whole table right in front of us. But to get things started, he set the table on fire. The flames were so high and danced all around for a minute or two.

I have made plenty of flambe flames before, but NOTHING to this scale.

Once the flames died down, the chef got to work. But first, he gave everyone who wanted one a shot of tequila, but I think it was really sake. I wore more than I consumed, but it was all part of the fun and part of the show. Larry got more in his mouth than I did, but he was sitting closer to the chef too. He brought out a cart with all the ingredients for everyone’s dinner, then got down to the business of making everyone’s dinner right before us.

There were 6 of us in our party and about 6 more from another party all at the same table. Here is our group – Wendy, Zoe, Mike, Lauren, me and Larry.

The chef started with the vegetables, chicken and rice first.

Next he made an “egg roll” and did some fancy handiwork with his egg and spatula.

He did everything so fast, it was hard for me to keep up with my camera. I could have taken a video, but I much prefer still shots to video.

Once the rice and noodles were made and served, he made an onion volcano.

After he put out the flames on the volcano and cut the onion up and mixed it in with the vegetables, he started making the meats and seafood.

The chef was FANTASTIC. He said everyone trains for about 3 months before they get to go out and show off their skills to everyone. He also said he’s been doing this now for about 3 years. He was full of personality. You could tell he takes a lot of pride in his skills and his work, as he should too.

Lauren ordered a sushi roll for our 1/2 of the table that came out as all the meats and seafood were cooking. That too was very good.

Most people were eating everything in stages, as they were served. I waited until the very end of the show, and everything was on my plate before I started eating, with the exceptions of the soup and salad. Needless to say, there was A LOT of food on the plate, and probably 80% of it came home for us to enjoy at another time.

I ordered the scallops. They were cooked to perfection.

Larry ordered the Ahi tuna and calamari. Everything was DELICIOUS.

It was a fun evening and a fun, entertaining way to spend New Year’s Eve- good friends, good food and good fun. Life is definitely good! 🙂

After returning home, Larry I celebrated with a glass of champagne while watching the ball drop in New York City, at the Big Apple. We did stay up ’til midnight, but just barely.

There are a couple of Mt. Fuji Japanese Hibachi’s in the Denver Metro area. We enjoyed the one in Westminster, at The Orchard Town Center, located at 14643 Orchard Pkwy, Westminster, CO 80023. I would DEFINTELY call in advance for reservations,  (720) 887-1188, especially if you a coming with a group and want to sit at one of the show tables. And even with reservations, we still had to wait for quite awhile before getting seated. You can also reach them online at  mtfujihibachiwestminster.com. Mt. Fuji Japanese Hibachi opens daily at 11:30 AM.

Happy New Year everyone. May it be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. Good-bye 2024 and hello 2025. ‘Til next time.