Emilyn works at Huntington Beach's new Gya-Kaku Japanese BBQ restaurant, serving customers Roberta Garner, and Brent and Ai Peters.  Gyu-Kaku, 7862 Warner Ave., #109, Huntington Beach, CA. Tel: (714) 842-8333. www.gyu-kaku.com

Gyu-Kaku—The popular Japanese BBQ restaurant where stars do the cooking in Beverly Hills, opened a new location in Huntington Beach recently. Drew Barrymore, Leonardo DiCaprio, Fred Durst, Sofia Coppola and Bridget Fonda are celebs who delight in the exquisite flavors of hand-massaged Kobe beef, steaks, fish, chicken and vegetables that customers prepare on their very own smokeless charcoal grills. A proven success in Japan (with over 800 locations) offers "can't fail" recipes, quality vegetables & meats, outstanding service and a simple philosophy. People who eat together and share meals help develop stronger, meaningful and long-lasting relationships, according to a Japanese saying that's the premise for this dining experience. What's unique about this dining experience is that you prepare your own foods at your personal grill located at each table.

Inviting a friend to join me for dinner, I made reservations (recommended) for a Saturday evening and we met at the restaurant located in Charter Centre, home to Huntington Beach's tallest 49-foot building within view of the one-story Gyu-Kaku that shares adjoining walls with Starbucks and a sandwich shop. Going to the back of the line of 20 or so hungry diners, we were amazed to see a restaurant that's just opened enjoy such popularity, and decided it must be really good! I asked a number of people waiting—families, couples and friends―if they had ever been to this popular place before. Surprisingly, half appeared to be Japanese who didn't speak a word of English. I discovered through those who could talk with me, that they'd either eaten either in a Gya-Kaku in L.A. or in Japan, or as one couple told me, they had dined at this new Huntington Beach location four times because they absolutely loved it!

 As we entered and followed the hostess to our seat, we were greeted with a fun ritual. She called out something in Japanese and the entire restaurant staff chimed in enthusiastically. Anything but stuffy, techno music plays in the background at this hip, high-energy restaurant where jeans or dress-up are both fine. 

"Why does everyone looks so cute?" my friend asked as we eased into our comfortable booth with its centerpiece grill.  I surveyed the room and noticed a higher than average number of Asian girls and guys with flawless complexions, trendy hairstyles and cool clothes.

We opened our brushed aluminum-bound menus and began noticing not what these beautiful people were wearing, but instead, what they were eating as we surveyed lists of everything from drinks to desserts. Our food server with an incredibly sweet personality and award-winning smile introduced herself. "My name is Emilyn, and I'm here to help you and answer all your questions," she said. Kneeling down on her knees to talk to us at eye level, she explained how items listed in red print are recommended by staff. Next, she pointed to one of the most popular choices, course meals "Geisha" or "Samurai" for two people. Designed to offer a variety of foods that compliment each other, Samurai, a feast fit for an emperor, includes a whopping 12 items with three vegetables & salads, soup, three types of fish, three selections of beef, the special Japanese rice that's a meal in a pot known as bibimba, plus dessert. It's an incredible value at $40 per person (you can't even buy a concert ticket for that price) and includes some of the most expensive menu selections of U.S. Kobe kalbi beef, beef skirt steak, salmon, shrimp and ahi.

Requiring nearly two hours to consume, the meal begins with a hot bowl of Japan's favorite Miso soup followed by a large serving of the freshest salad to share, Gyu-Kaku. A slightly sweet, mustard miso dressing ties the lettuce and other ingredients to the quarter slices of delicious boiled eggs that decorate the plate.

Things begin to speed up as a bowl of tender edamame and platter of ahi poke are delivered. Filled with exquisite flavor, the Hawaiian delicacy comprised of raw tuna splashed with a soy-based sauce and served on a bed of sea veggies offers more than enough food for two people to enjoy. So in our adventuresome spirit and eagerness to try our hands at cooking, we placed several small pieces on the grill. Emilyn saw them sitting there and told us that they don't recommend cooking ahi. Sure enough, when we compared the cooked version to the original, the pink fish was tastier and the best choice. A woman  sitting next to us who we could almost see through the wood blind partition that separated our tables, overheard our conversation and confessed that she'd tried ahi on the grill, too. MORE

Gyu-Kaku, 7862 Warner Ave., #109, Huntington Beach, CA. Tel: (714) 842-8333. www.gyu-kaku.com