Urban Hibachi, Universal

I had dinner at this branch of a Japanese restaurant on S. Kirkman (near Metro West) on Friday. I had an ika (squid) salad for $5.50 and a salmon roll for $5.25 and an order (2) of salmon sushi and an order of yellowtail sushi. The fish was good. The yellowtail had a grey brown tone that I have never seen as distinctive as that. It also had the black band you look for if you want wild yellowtail. The portion sizes were good. The rice was bad. It wasn't fresh. It was over cooked and under scrubbed. The place seats about sixty. They have outdoor seating. The back of the small space has the sushi prep area and the hibachi area. The hibachi area is like one you would find at an Asian buffet. A guy stir fries the dish behind a glass partition. None of the theatrics of a Benihana and all the blight of a Jiffy Lube (the grease from the grill coats the area). The place was about half full at 7pm. The first wave put the urban in Urban Hibachi. They all ordered from the hibachi side of the menu. All of those dishes were over $10 at dinner time. They also have bento boxes ($10+), robatayaki aka skewers ($4+) and curried dishes ($9+). They serve sake and wine and beer. I was expecting more. It's best aspect is the breadth of preparations they offer. However, I only saw one Asian cooking in the place and I couldn't tell you if he was Japanese. I don't mean to insinuate that gaijin can't cook as well as natives, but, it is usually the rule rather than the exception. If it were a little cheaper I would recommend it, but, now it is stuck in the netherworld of full service pretensions and an assembly line ethos. The service was also a little inconsistent.