Soho Hibachi is oh so good dining

If you go• What: Soho Hibachi, 1014 Battlefield Parkway, Fort Oglethorpe• Phone: 706-858-7766• Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday• Entree price range: $5.25 for vegetable hibachi to $11.25 for filet and shrimp hibachi at lunch; $7.95-$15.95 at dinner

photo Lo mein noodles with shrimp at Soho Hibachi in Fort Oglethorpe is served as a huge plate with onions, carrots, cabbage and a light sauce.

It's 12:30 p.m. on a beautiful fall Friday in October, and the dining area at Soho Hibachi in Fort Oglethorpe is packed. No tables to be had anywhere. I decide to take this as a good sign. An inconvenience to be sure, but a good omen that the locals like the food.

I also take it as a good sign given its location. Soho is set in a nondescript building in a strip mall on Battlefield Parkway - a pizza delivery place on one side and a nail salon on the other. None of that freestanding Japanese architecture for this place.

Because no tables were available, I ordered my food to go and had to stand against a wall while I waited.

It didn't seem fair to review Soho based on the one visit, so I went back for the dine-in experience. One thing for sure, whether you eat there or get it to go, you get oodles of noodles. Or rice.

THE FOOD

Like the decor, the menu at Soho Hibachi is fairly simple. You can order noodles and rice, hibachi or teriyaki dishes with several options in each. There are six noodle and rice choices, for example, including Cha Chian mein (lo mein noodles with pork), udon soup, stir-fried udon, lo mein and fried rice with vegetables, chicken or steak, shrimp or scallops or a combination.

The hibachi options are vegetable, tofu, chicken, New York strip steak, shrimp, salmon, scallops, filet mignon or combinations. Those are the same options if you want teriyaki.

Appetizers include spring rolls, edamame and gyoza, which are Japanese pork and vegetable dumplings. Miso and clear soup and a house salad with ginger dressing are also available.

On my first visit, I ordered spring rolls ($1.50) and the filet and scallop hibachi with white rice ($11.25). I got enough of the latter for three people, along with a healthy serving of perfectly cooked filet, broccoli, onion, mushroom and zucchini. There were not a lot of scallops in the dish, but enough, and they were tender and tasty.

On my return trip, I wanted to try the noodles and opted for the lo mein, which are thick, flour noodles and really long, which you discover when you try to twirl them onto your fork. You end up with a giant noodle popsicle.

They are also delicious. Mine were served on a huge plate with onions, carrots, slaw and a light sauce. I added shrimp as well. Again, like the space and the menu, the dish was simple, which was all it needed to be. The noodles were the star here.

THE SPACE

This is nothing fancy. The place is clean, if not spartan, with about eight black Formica-topped tables and three booths providing seating and one painting on the wall for decor. Unfortunately, all of the tables are four-tops, and at least three were occupied by lone diners on my first visit, which was around 12:30 p.m.

THE SERVICE

You order your food at the counter, which is also where you get your own drink, silverware, napkins and sauces, including the white sauce that is required eating for hibachi dining. It is also where you get your fortune cookie, because Americans expect a fortune cookie with all Asian cuisine, I guess.

THE VERDICT

Soho Hibachi serves up plenty of tasty food with each meal, which is why I'm sure it is a hit with local diners. The service was friendly and the food was good.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

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