Tetsu Teppan Grill: A Euphoric Experience at Masa Takayama's Famous Restaurant
By: Sheri Wetherell
Published: October 18, 2012

Euphoric is the only way I can describe how I felt after biting into the toro and caviar on toast that celebrity chef Masa Takayama set before me. There's tuna and there's toro (or o-toro), the high-fat buttery underbelly of the fish that fetches thousands of dollars per pound at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. Chewing is barely necessary; you want every tender morsel to remain in your mouth as long as possible. Takayama-san, chef and owner of Tetsu Teppan Grill at ARIA, simply lists this exquisite dish on his menu as Toro Caviar.  Clearly he is a man a few words, and why overcomplicate things when you're working with the highest quality ingredients and masterful hands? With the quiet and skilled focus of a Samurai, he prepared for us a tasting menu that included shrimp ceviche with uni and yuzu lime sauce, teppan (a flat top grill) shrimp that were nearly the size of my forearm, and Australian wagyu rib-eye (shown below).
The rib-eye (which costs up to $110 for a 10-ounce serving) was cut into strips, grilled with whole garlic cloves and fresh thyme, and served with two dipping sauces: a spicy cilantro verde and a chile soy sauce.

We finished the sake paired lunch with a refreshingly fragrant and palate cleansing yuzu granita. Check out the full menu of Tetsu Teppan Grill and enjoy an amazing experience!
Foodista.com's travel expenses were generously hosted by ARIA as part of the 3rd Annual Food & Wine All Star Weekend.