The Case of Japan: Teppan Edo versus Benihana? What?

[00:00:15] Welcome to the Supreme Resort, Land v. World, a podcast about Disneyland and Walt Disney World and which is the Supreme Resort. Yeah! Each episode we will discuss and explore each resort ride by ride, land by land, park by park, undercooked shrimp by undercooked shrimp to explore which is better. Ooh! Disneyland, Eric sounds excited! Disneyland or Walt Disney World.

[00:00:40] I'm Dan and thank you for joining me on this quest to help the greater good of humanity answer the very long elusive question that I'm not reading, I'm speaking very naturally. Which one's better? Disneyland or Walt Disney World? And which restaurants that surround them or are inside of them are better? That's right, we're finally cracking open the thing that we've wanted to crack open. We are breaking the spine of Harbor Boulevard. We're doing it. We're making it weirder. It's gonna be great.

[00:01:08] Joining me as always from Scraping the Vault is Jimmy. Arigato, Dan. Arigato to you. And from the hit podcast Bowie's Planning, a fan of undercooked shrimp, as everyone knows, and so many other podcasts. Eric. Konichiwa. Konichiwa to you. De nada. Off to a good start.

[00:01:34] And to all of our listeners, aloha of both kinds. Hello and goodbye. Oh, they all just turned it off. So I would like to, Dan, if I may, I would like to ask, there was some chat about the recent hub crawl with you and Rob. And I didn't listen yet. Oh, thank you. What was it to do about, there was some chat, everybody loved it. What did everybody love?

[00:02:03] Everyone loved it. We basically just got in, we got nerdy about what this podcast is and kind of what it's like to do the podcast. Oh, because Teg was Teg, Teg, Teg, Teg. Teg, Teg, Teg. Like Egg, but with a Teg. Teg, yes, but Teg was perplexed at how we could do a show with so much chaos. I think, well, to be fair, I don't know.

[00:02:32] I was thinking about this at some point. I don't remember what happened, but like, I think the chaos of this show, what it's become, I think in order, I think we, I think we wouldn't be able to do the show without it. Where, on the other hand, and I think that's great. That means that we've built something.

[00:02:54] But that also means, and I love this also, that when someone comes in who does, let's say, for lack of a better term, a normal podcast, they're like, how do you manage? And the answer is, you're witnessing how we manage. Yes. There's structure in the chaos. Yeah, yeah. And I kind of uncovered, I think I got into a little bit of that. I don't know.

[00:03:23] Eric, I'm not good at telling people things that I have said. You were in the conversation. Can you help me? I sure was, but it being a podcast, I immediately forgot everything I said forever. Perfect. It is a nice gift because you forget what you say, and then you listen to the episode, you're like, oh, that was funny. Oh, and sometimes I'll listen back and go, oh, I should have said, oh, I did say. That's funny. Oh, good for me.

[00:03:50] Yeah, so I guess, so the idea of the podcast, I think Tag has mentioned in the past, it's a great idea. Yeah, and I think you lost the idea. No, no, no, no. In fact, I think you were voted more on the show than ever because- Oh, great. Because that you are, we're each an essential piece of the chaos. Agreed. In that, like, I am sometimes the kernel of the chaos, but then you're the heat that gets applied to the chaos. And Eric is like- And we make popcorn.

[00:04:20] The salt and the butter that gets poured onto them, you know? Yeah. I mean, we each have a different role each time. But like, we all heighten each other appropriately, I think. I think Eric is the caramel. He's smooth and buttery. Gets stuck to your teeth every once in a while. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. Well, so Dan- Speaking of art, we've got a theme for that. Also, I think I wanted to-

[00:04:49] Oh, so first of all, listener, listen to the Hubcrawl, first of all. Thank you. Yes, please. Second, I want to also just kind of premise, preface that this episode is not us jumping the shark. Precipice. This is not us jumping the shark. We have a lot more content. Unless it ends up being us jumping the shark, but we don't think it is. No, we don't. We're talking about something that's in a theme park. That's true. And there has to be an equivalent of the thing. But before we get into it, I just want to acknowledge that we haven't run out of ideas.

[00:05:17] This is an idea on purpose that was not like a, what else could we do? But rather, the three of us were in Anaheim and we decided to go to Benihana because Dan had never eaten at one of the teppanyaki tables. If you can believe that. If you're wondering what teppanyaki means, just wait. Oh, yeah. Actually, Jimmy, let me veer in here and kind of add a piece to what you're saying. We've talked about this before.

[00:05:43] We sort of early on thought, I think if we're being really honest, we would be doing this show for maybe a month, two months, a year, whatever. It was a year. It was a year. And I don't think we realized that we would have the stamina for it or that there would be an interest or any of that. And so we hit a lot of the obvious things up front really, really quickly.

[00:06:13] And I think, for example, if we were to do a Space Mountain episode now, it would be a better Space Mountain episode even if the result was the same. That's right. I'm so insulted I wasn't part of the haunted magic. Well, and that's where we bring in the whole concept of the appellate court, which we will get into. Right. And then we would kind of do the episode again without having to go with the history and start from scratch.

[00:06:43] And I think we're kind of waiting for a point where it makes sense for us to start doing that, which is why we've kind of like – we're sort of like – we're exploring other things that the show can be. And that also involves other things that the resorts can be.

[00:07:01] For example, Disneyland has – all of Anaheim would be absurd, but there is an area around Disneyland that has things that would also be interesting and good to do. Yeah. And so – I think we realized a while ago that, you know, again, we talked about size and it's not Disneyland's fault. No. But – Was that my first – no, that was my second episode with y'all? Yeah. It was kind of a reboot. Okay.

[00:07:27] But my point is that when you discuss Disneyland, obviously a lot of people don't sleep nearby. You know, they live nearby. But probably 90% of the people that stay at Disneyland are not staying at a Disney property. So we explored some of the hotel things. And also, they probably – some of them may not eat all their meals at Disneyland. Ridiculous. And again, it's not Disney's fault. What a ridiculous idea. Back to the idea, Dan, about the show and what we're building.

[00:07:57] I like to think of this kind of episode as a crumb coat when you're making a cake. Think about when you're making a cake. Sometimes, you know, putting frosting on is not – it's like not even the last thing you do. But you bake the cake and then you have to like freeze it and then you have to put a crumb coat of frosting on. Right. So that when you put the real layer of frosting on, you don't get all the crumbs in it. Right. So this is the crumb coat of the cake. Right. And also just –

[00:08:26] That was the best analogy I've ever heard, Jimmy. Off the dome. Not just a hat rack, my friend. I think also in the most transparent way, I think it's also that we have learned – Don't say trans, Dan. We've already on the list. Sorry. Sorry. I already have. We love you, president. I love you most of all. Anyway, I think that –

[00:08:56] Little orange birds. Let me get my thought. Sorry. Sorry. This is also, in a way, me saying thank you to the listeners that we have learned that you guys, you all, will put up with more of our weirdness than we gave you credit for initially. Yes, indeed. So, like, that's awesome. Thank you. And we don't want to lean too far into it. But when we had this idea – Again. Again.

[00:09:25] When we had this idea at Benihana, we were just like, you know what? I think they're – I think we're all ready for us to do this. Yeah. I think that's a fair assessment. We need to go down the street. Yeah. Because – And it makes sense. We're not talking about, like, Buena Park, right? Right. I mean, it's two miles from door to door. Right.

[00:09:47] We acknowledge some inherent ridiculousness, but I guess what I'm saying is that we have also noticed that you have acknowledged our inherent ridiculousness and appreciated it. Yes, and thank you. So, here we go. Yeah. All right. Here we go. Oh, this is actually the Wheel of Clickbaity nonsense. Ooh! To that end, you can eat a Teppan-style meal at Epcot at Teppanito, and you can also do that at the Disneyland Resort.

[00:10:14] It's a mere two miles away, which if we're being – if we're being, like, super serious about this, from the entrance of the Magic Kingdom at Disney World, the Teppanyaki restaurant you can eat at is, like, nine miles away. Right. Whereas this one's two miles away. Six. Well, and we even said – Well, you have to get through the park, too, Eric.

[00:10:37] We even said when we got out of the Uber, we were like, that was a shorter ride than the monorail from Magic Kingdom to Epcot. That's right. And then you don't have a mile walk to get there. Right. So, in a way, it's more convenient. So, yes, even if you go in the back side of the park, if you go through the International Gateway, you still got to walk around Crescent Lake? Crescent Lake?

[00:11:06] It is. Yes. I guess what I'm trying to say is that are we grasping at straws? Yes. No. But I hope you understand that the straws that we are grasping at actually make sense. Yes. We will be able to drink out of them. What? Exactly. And they're not made of paper. Why are we spending so much time telling people, we're sorry? No, we're not. We're not saying that. No, in fact, the opposite. It's not. I'm sorry. It's your welcome.

[00:11:33] But more than anything, the logic behind this is not, to Dan's point, we're not grasping at straws. We haven't jumped the shark. There is logic to this. Right. And I think we're just kind of laying some of the foundations for why it's logical. Right. That being said, Dan, kick us off. Okay. Here we go. So, we're talking about Teppanito versus Benny Hanna. And who's going to be arguing for Benjamin Hanna?

[00:12:02] That would be Jimmy. Sorry, I struggled on the Benjamin joke. And Teppanito is going to be Eric. Do we have sounds? Oh, no. Oh, crap. We didn't even think about that. Oh, do we? We forgot how this show works. Here's the sounds that I thought of, and it's awful. Okay. Yeah, I was kind of thinking that might be what we're dealing with. Should we just have a gong? Just like a gong? A gong. I don't want to. Because otherwise it would be. I'll get. Yeah.

[00:12:33] Yeah. I'll just. I'll get a. Here's Jimmy's maybe. Ooh. No, not another pool song. All I have loaded on this board are pool songs. Yeah. I think a gong is loaded. I'll find a gong sound. And we haven't decided which one goes first. But the concept of Teppanyaki is where we start, I think. That's right. Yeah. And Benihana, I assume, is older than 1982.

[00:13:02] Well, here's the problem, Eric, is that there's nowhere on this God's green internet that will tell me when the Anaheim location opened. Well, you could talk about Benihana in general. Well, yeah. And that's what I'm going to get into. And I don't want to spoil it for anybody. But did Teppanyaki open with the park in 82 in some form? Okay. But it was called something different, but it was the same thing. The concept of Teppanyaki predates all of this.

[00:13:30] So I want to start with that first as a preamble. Okay. Just so we're setting the scene for which does it better. Okay. Hey, Jimmy, is there any amount of like colonialism involved with this? Yeah. Oh, wait. That's a damn question. Never mind. Oh, there are lawsuits? This is a very intriguing story. So, yeah. Okay. I'm trying not to be like preachy here, but- Then don't. All right. Jimmy. Oh, okay.

[00:14:00] Go ahead, Dan. We are dipping into a little thing called Orientalism, which is not- Oh, gosh. I realize- I don't like that word. No, no. That's an actual- Hold on. I mean, listen. That's the first thing. The company who owns Tokyo Disneyland is called the Oriental Land Company. The Oriental Land Company, yes. So Orientalism is a thing. It's not- And it is not the same as calling a person Oriental, which is terrible.

[00:14:27] It's more recognizing a pattern. I've heard worse from my grandfather's own lips. Yeah. Well, so it basically starts with like, you know how like you go to these places and it's like, it's great. It's fun. It's delicious. But it's not actually traditional Japanese in any sense. It's just sort of like a folding in- It's sort of like going to Chipotle and calling it Mexican food? Well, yes.

[00:14:56] But if the people at Chipotle were wearing, I don't know, like sombreros and fake mustaches. Um, so it's not a slur. So you don't, you don't call people this. It's an idea. So it was first laid out by Edward Said in 1978. And it's the way the West has long imagined stylized and spoken like for the East, not about

[00:15:23] it, but for it, uh, not out of like malice or anything, but out of power, curiosity, and the desire to control what it doesn't understand. So an example is like 19th century paintings of Arab markets full of smoke camels and belly dancers painted by dudes who had never been there. Uh, Gilbert and Sullivan's the Mikado, which is set in quote Japan, but it's actually just like a way for Victorian Englishmen to say like, ha ha.

[00:15:52] What if they did have a civilized civilization? Wouldn't that be funny? I'd like to wear one of those flowery robes. Right. Yeah. So it, it's not just about aesthetics. It's about power. It's about who gets to find what culture is and what counts as art or literature. It's, it's just, it's a commodification of the other in general. Um, and I have a, if we need to, I can get into all sorts of things there, but that's just

[00:16:22] sort of, it's one of those things that like, you don't really know that it's happening until some idiot leftist on a podcast says, no, this is an actual thing and gives you the name, the name for it. Excellent. And by the way, other cultures do the same thing. Hassan Abiy, who's a Twitch streamer that I like, he, he's from Turkey. He grew up in Turkey and he talks about how he, and this, this, the term he uses orientalizes, uh, Nordic women.

[00:16:49] He's like, he just like, he's like, show me a blonde woman. I, I immediately think that she's like the best or whatever. And he knows what that is. Just like, you know. So orientalism as a concept doesn't necessarily mean oriental. No, no, no. It's from the Orient. It's an idea. It's, it's, it's ascribing certain traits to the other that both gives them a weird power.

[00:17:16] It's like a weirdest exoticism that is like appealing while also assuming that they're there to like, accept that interpretation as their actual identity. Okay. All right. Let's talk about theme parks. Well, Dan, I would encourage you to point out where you see orientalism in this story.

[00:17:45] Well, the whole thing. And I'm not, I'm not trying to say that like, if you go and you get, you know, trader giados from trader Joe's that you are engaging in like anti Italian racism or that if you, you know, cook orange chicken at home, you are, you know, being an imperialist bastard. I'm just saying that like, we're all imperialist bastard living inside of this thing where sometimes

[00:18:15] this other thing happens that can be completely innocent, but also can, you know, be harmful if taken to certain lengths. I'm glad I know this now. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. To that end, teppanyaki, often called hibachi or fire bowl. That's what hibachi means in the United States and Canada is a post-World War II style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food.

[00:18:45] The word teppanyaki is derived from, sorry, I'm lost. I'm still looking at the Wikipedia. Well, hold on. I have more. The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan, the metal plate on which it is cooked and yaki, which means grilled, broiled, or pan fried. In Japan, teppanyaki refers to dishes cooked using a teppan, including steak, shrimp, okomiyaki, yakisoba, and manjayaki.

[00:19:14] So, wait, are you saying that when, so this is a post-World War II thing, which means that it's extremely likely that people came home from fighting in the Pacific where they saw all of these, air quotes, weird exotic dishes and they were like, wouldn't it be cool? They have noodles with stuff. Wouldn't it be cool if that became dinner theater and we gave them a fork because those sticks are weird.

[00:19:43] You would think so. But the originator of teppanyaki-style steakhouse is believed to be Shigeji Fujoka of the Japanese restaurant chain Misono. This restaurant claims to be the first to introduce the concept of cooking Western-influenced food on a teppan in Japan in 1945. 45? Wow. 1945. They soon found the cuisine was less popular with the Japanese than it was with the foreigners

[00:20:11] who enjoyed both watching the skilled maneuvers of the chefs preparing the food and the cuisine itself, which is somewhat more familiar to than more traditional Japanese dishes. So it was a tourist trap move. It sounds like it. As the restaurants became more popular with tourists, the chain increased the performance aspect of the chef's preparations, such as stacking onion slices to produce a flaming onion volcano.

[00:20:38] Another piece of equipment that's the same family as a flat-top grill consisting of a flat piece of steel over circular burners and typically smaller and round like Mongolian barbecue. Yeah? So anyway, so that's kind of the thing. In the United States, teppanyaki, more commonly known as hibachi, was made, thank you, was made famous by the Benihana restaurant chain, which opened its first restaurant... Wait, he got a point for that?

[00:21:07] No, he was just... I'm just testing out the sound. Which opened its first restaurant chain in New York City in 1964. New York City! Benihana and other chains of teppanyaki restaurants continue to place an emphasis on the chef performing a show for the diners and continuing to introduce new variations and tricks. The chef might juggle utensils, flip a shrimp tail into their shirt pocket, catch an egg in

[00:21:35] their hat, toss an egg up in the air and split it with a spatula, or flip flattened shrimp pieces into diners' mouths. Whoa! Yeah. So that's the history of teppanyaki. By all accounts, it was not started by Benihana, but it was made world famous by Benihana. First restaurant opened in 1964. 64. Wow. Okay.

[00:22:00] Can I just say, when I see the word yakisoba, which I often see at Costco, where they've got a noodle... Sorry? It's like a noodle dish. Yeah, it's a noodle dish. But every time I see it, I think of the fish song, Makisupa Policeman. So then I'm walking toward the... Come on.

[00:22:30] I'm walking to... Check out. And I just keep thinking, hey, yakisoba, policeman, policeman came to my house. And... Yeah. I don't care what you think of me, Jimmy. I don't care. Okay, good. Okay. I don't know that song, so I can't relate. Well, you haven't lived. Indeed.

[00:22:58] So now we have the history of teppanyaki as a concept. Here, I would like to present the opening statement from Benihana's website. Oh. From our beginnings as a family business with one Benihana restaurant in New York, to our recognition today as a cultural icon with 79 Benihana restaurants... By the way, at some point it was over 100. In the United States, Caribbean, and Central and South America,

[00:23:25] our success continues to be a result of our relationships with our guests, investors, and employees. The facts below offer a broad view of Benihana's past, present, and future. Why are you laughing, Dan? This is going to be such a weird episode. But why are you laughing? I don't know. I don't know.

[00:23:54] I just have a feeling this is going to go somewhere strange. Eric, do you have a... I promise you it will. And I have to leave partway through to pick up my wife for getting her hair done. Maybe. I don't know. It's going to take a while. She's getting color. And yeah, it'll be fine. A feast for the senses. Ooh. Celebrate authentic Japanese cuisine during an exciting...

[00:24:23] I couldn't even get through the first sentence. Celebrate authentic Japanese cuisine during an exciting dining experience. That's part meal, part show. In the communal ritual of teppanyaki-style cooking... They have dashes in this one. Skillful chefs chop and stir-fry dishes on grills at your table. Select from steak, chicken, seafood, and vegetable entrees.

[00:24:51] Which are served with udon noodles and steamed rice. You can also... Dan, you can also enjoy favorites such as edamame and assorted sushi rolls. Guests 21 years of age and over can pair their meal with Japanese beer, wine, hot or cold sake, and even a sake cocktail. Objection.

[00:25:20] I think when he said traditional Japanese cuisine, I think we've established in the origins of teppanyaki that it is not traditional Japanese. I didn't say traditional. I said authentic. Hold on. Excuse me. I just want it to be known that I'm writing my notes in this notebook that is made to look like a passport. Oh. Oh. It's because you're having a magical day. No. But it's...

[00:25:42] In the history of teppanyaki, it specifically states that chicken, steak, and shrimp is not authentic or traditional Japanese cuisine. I think what you meant to say... It is neither traditional nor authentic. Disney says it is. Okay.

[00:26:03] So I think going forward, the more whimsically outlandish their claims of authenticity are, I think that's going to be a positive. However, when they cross a line into the thing that I talked about before, being a little bit too on the nose, then that'll be a negative. So we'll just... Yeah.

[00:26:32] So let me just say, in general, no specific points given yet, but just to enter it into the show. Ah, thank you. I would like to pause at this. If not for Benihana... I'd like to pause at this too. If not for Benihana, there is no teppanito. Okay.

[00:26:56] In Japan, Yunosuke Aoki founded a jazz cafe called Ellington. Jazz? Yes. Oh, I did not know there was jazz involved. Hold on. Hold on. You just said so much. That was a lot of words. Unpack that again. That's a lot. That is like a... His name? Yeah. Yunosuke Aoki. Okay. Got it.

[00:27:26] He founded a jazz cafe called Ellington. Okay. Where? This was in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo in 1937. Okay. 37. Wow. Okay. The cafe was destroyed during the firebombing of Tokyo in 1945. Jesus. Who did... Wait, wait. Nope. Yep. Nope. And it reopened in 1947 as a coffee shop. What was the coffee shop called?

[00:27:57] Hello, coffee. John Wayne. It was called Benihana. Oh! Oh! Oh! What a surprise. Aoki opened a restaurant on the second floor in 1950. In 1955, what opened? Disneyland. But also what opened was a teppanyaki restaurant across the street, now known as Benihana Bekan.

[00:28:25] This was followed by a Ginza location in 1956, which closed in 1997 and was demolished to make way for the Aoki Tower office building. Yay, offices! Yes. What do they do at that office building? Please tell me about their business. Some concern. Some concern. Jimmy is not prepared for this episode. I'm sorry. I don't think anyone is prepared for this episode.

[00:28:50] In the United States, the first American Benihana location was in 1964 on West 56th Street in New York City. Opened by 25-year-old son of Yuno Suke Aoki. His name is Hiroaki Aoki. And he is the father of Steve Aoki and Devin Aoki. Devin? I went to school with Devin.

[00:29:16] Now, Aoki, who is a wrestler who had qualified. This is the son, Hiroaki. He had qualified for but did not attend the 1960 Summer Olympics. He started the restaurant with $10,000, which is equivalent to $101,000 in 2024. Probably $2 million in 2025. I don't know.

[00:29:44] He earned this money from driving an ice cream truck in Harlem. My goodness. Humble beginnings. Good place to drive a truck. A chef preparing a dinner at a table. Aoki's concept for the meals to be theatrically prepared by a knife-wielding, joke-telling chef at a teppanyaki table, surrounded by a wooden eating surface in front of the guests, teppan, of course, meaning steel grill, which we discussed, and yaki meaning grilled or broiled.

[00:30:14] It did not do well. No. No. Until early 1965, when Hero of Tepanito and Hero of Benihana, one Clementine Paddleford of the New York Herald Tribune gave it a rave review. The Beatles and Muhammad Ali were among the celebrities. Wait, the best band of all time? Yes. Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali.

[00:30:44] That's right. The greatest band of all time, Muhammad Ali. Damn it. They were among the celebrities who patronized the four-table restaurant. If not for this review, Clementine Paddleford, the Beatles don't go there. Muhammad Ali doesn't go there. And in 1968, they wouldn't have opened its first restaurant outside of New York City in Chicago. Huh. Yeah. Wow. Okay.

[00:31:11] In 1983, Aoki spun off 11 Benihana US restaurants into a separate company called Benihana Inc. and sold 49.1% to the public. He maintained full control over the 39 non-US restaurants through his original company, Benihana of Tokyo. Wow. Two different companies.

[00:31:35] The company had some missteps along the way, including the opening of the upscale Big Splash restaurant in a frozen food division called Benihana National Classics. Its stock dove and shareholders sued over management, including the fact that Aoki still had his privately held restaurants of the same name.

[00:32:01] In 1955, the company acquired 17 restaurants from Benihana of Tokyo. Following a guilty plea for insider trading in 1999, which would have led... Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. You want to go on? Yeah. Which would have led to the revocation of Benihana's liquor licenses, Rocky Aoki ceded control of Benihana of Tokyo and Benihana Inc.

[00:32:30] to a trust management by his children and personal lawyer. The company has since expanded by purchasing Haru and RA Sushi Restaurants, which operate under the same names. Haru is based in New York City. RA has locations across the country and is based in Scottsdale, Arizona, with its original four locations scattered around the greater Phoenix area. Although Benihana owns these concepts, they are independently operated and were developed autonomously.

[00:32:58] It also acquired the Samurai and Kyoto Restaurants, which it has incorporated into its other brands. In 2004, the company issued a class of preferred stock to BFC Financial Corporation to renovate the restaurants that expand. The stock deluded Aoki's control of the chain and the family sued, citing that Benihana had no compelling need for the cash.

[00:33:23] Other forms of capital were available and that the terms of the preferred stock issued to BFC were onerous. A member of the board of directors was also a director of BFC, a company that held controlling interest in Bank Atlantic, Blue Green, and Leavitt Homes. However, the Delaware Court of Chancery upheld the transaction. Aoki died in 2008 at the age of 69.

[00:33:46] Okay, let me see if I'm getting this right for just like the layperson who doesn't really exist in this world. It sounds to me like interesting idea, innovative in its own way, and then the son comes in and takes over. Does all sorts of shady things that he might not know are shady, but I think he suspects are.

[00:34:15] So he figures out a way to protect himself from the company that he's basically abusing to take any repercussions.

[00:34:32] And then through a series of further bad steps and bad ideas rooted entirely in greed and carelessness, the company then basically says, you are severely problematic and we need to buy you out. Yeah. So, wow.

[00:34:57] Now, there's a lot more about like leadership changes and lawsuits and all kinds of stuff. But now I would like to tell the same story from BennyHana.com. Hold on. Before you do, I'm going to go ahead and reward two points. And this is a conservative two points. I really want to give more, but I want it to be a fair fight. Two points for just the insane backstory. My goodness.

[00:35:27] Hey, Eric, guess what? You have the same backstory. Because if not for this, you don't exist. Well, but still, I can't wait to re-listen to this episode. Okay. Here's the same story from BennyHana.com. Okay, good. Like any good story, the history of BennyHana begins with the descendant of a samurai warrior in a small Tokyo coffee shop. Hell yeah.

[00:35:50] Just after the war, Yunosuke Aoki, a samurai descendant and popular entertainer, decided to start a coffee shop with his wife, Katsu. Wanting to offer something different than other coffee shops in the area, Yunosuke Aoki rode his bike over 20 miles to purchase real sugar to serve in his shop. Real sugar.

[00:36:14] With his seed money in place, Rocky took out a loan and used it to start America's first Japanese teppanyaki restaurant on West 56th Street. Named after his parents' Tokyo coffee shop, BennyHana opened in 1964, featuring an authentic Japanese farmhouse interior and food prepared on steel teppanyaki grills right in front of the customers. Eric, does this sound familiar?

[00:36:37] His highly trained teppanyaki chefs delighted customers with intricate knife work and theatrics, not to mention a delicious food. But it wasn't until legendary food critic Clementine Paddleford gave BennyHana a rave review that the restaurants really took off, paying for itself in just six months. Soon after, Rocky opened a second BennyHana in New York, a third BennyHana in Chicago.

[00:37:03] By 1972, there were six BennyHana locations in the United States, with more opening every day. Sadly, Rocky died in 2008 at the age of 69, but his legacy lives on with more than 70 BennyHana restaurants in the United States, Caribbean, and Central America, and more than 100 million meals served. Oh, that's awesome.

[00:37:32] Get ready for the history of this one. Oh, no. Is this one? Is your history weirder? No. No, it's not weird at all. Okay. It's boring as hell. What I love about that story, by the way, is it reminds me of before they started cleaning

[00:37:56] up the strip in Vegas, like the kind of weird thrill that there was in like staying at the more seedy places like the Pioneer or the Frontier or like the Stardust, where it's just like, this place was built with mob money, and it's awesome. For sure. Remember we used to get two for ones at Stardust? Oh, yeah. At the Stardust, yeah. And then... Donnie and Marie were playing, I think? No, no. It was just...

[00:38:26] I think we talked about how Donnie and Marie should be playing. Yeah. And I remember when we asked if we could just get one drink, they said no. It's two for one. That's right. You have to... You have to get two. Yeah. You have to get two. Awesome. I had a similar experience in New Orleans. It was buy one, get three free, and they wouldn't let me just have one. Right. All right, Eric. I've done enough history. I have more, by the way, but... Oh, good.

[00:38:55] I'll save it in case I need it. Let's continue. I can... My history? Yeah, yeah. We'll pull for more history if we need to. Eric, go ahead. Your attention, please. Tell us about how some Imagineers said, wouldn't it be cool if we had a Benigana here? Go. This restaurant originally opened as Teppanyaki Dining Room on Epcot's opening day, October 1st, 1982.

[00:39:25] It was refurbished and renamed Tepan Edo in 2007. Tepan refers to the Iron Griddle that the genius taught so much about. Edo is the former name of Tokyo, representing the Edo period in Japan, which was 1603 to 1868. Let me read from... From Steve Birnbaum.

[00:39:54] I can feel the listeners putting their reading glasses on right now. I'm going to take pictures that I will... I need to figure out how to post this. Okay, there's Goofy wearing karate. Is it a gi? Is that what they call it? Mickey... Minnie Mouse dressed... That's Minnie, yeah.

[00:40:19] Minnie Mouse dressed the way you would imagine an animator would draw Minnie Mouse in Japanese garb in 1980 or so. This is from 1990. To their credit, there's no outlandish makeup. Good job. And also on the same page... Also on the same page is Mickey Mouse... Oh, I'm dropping my bookmark.

[00:40:48] Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald holding up an American flag. Oh, just in case we get scared. Right. I'm glad the American adventure is next to Japan. You got to contain them after all. You can't have them forming an army or anything like that. Well, that is... That is actually foreign policy. Dan is done talking.

[00:41:16] I'm merely stating American foreign policy for some time. Occasionally, when the group known as Canto Abare Daico is performing in the pavilion, the surrounding area resounds with the most amazing drumming that most visitors will ever hear. The staccato rhythm is as rapid as the fire of a machine gun. Hmm. Okay. I don't like it. And the moves are deeply resonant and loud. I... Okay.

[00:41:47] I'm at a precipice here because right now I'm looking at... You are... At Epcot, you are surrounded by more Japan environment stuff. Okay. But at Benihana, you're surrounded by strip mall. True. Hey. Yet... Dan, wait, wait, wait. Do you want to hear about rocks? Dan, wait. I'm not saying the strip mall is necessarily a bad thing for this. There is an El Torito right next door. It's basically Epcot. Oh, it is? Oh, yes.

[00:42:17] Yes. That was an excellent move. That's a point. I'm not going to do the sound anymore because I don't want to deal with the letters. Come on. Rocks. Dan. That's a point. No, you're right. It is Epcot. Hold on. I'm going to look. I'm looking. I already looked. That's all you got. I just lost this game. No, you didn't. It's fun.

[00:42:46] We haven't done a good competition in a while other than the one that we did last week or two weeks ago that I still need to edit and release. Okay. Dan's looking at something. He's looking at something. He's still looking at something. Can I continue talking or are you still looking at something? Please continue. Yes. Oh, okay. Yeah, go ahead. Rocks, which in Japan represent the enduring nature of the earth, were brought from North Carolina and Georgia since boulders are scarce in the Sunshine State.

[00:43:16] Boo. Boo. Water, symbolizing the sea. Did you know that water symbolizes the sea, Dan? If I had to think of something to symbolize the sea, water would be one of the first things I thought of. Okay. Well, it's abundant in this pavilion. Next thing? The Japan Pavilion Garden has a little stream and a couple of pools inhabited in good weather by colorful fish. Hey, Dan, do you know what's at the Anaheim Benihana?

[00:43:46] What's that? Rocks in a stream. Do they have evergreen trees, which in Japan are symbols of eternal life? Yes. Because at Epcot, they're here in force. Okay. In fairness, at Tepanito, you are surrounded by more and more well thought out and more

[00:44:12] expensive, the thing that I talked about before. Orientalism? Yes. So, I mean, look, we've already crossed the threshold into Japanese culture as performance or as exhibition or whatever.

[00:44:35] So, it's fair to say that the one that does it more without going into cartoon territory does deserve a point. So, right now, it's Benihana 3, Tepanito 1. And gone. Here's some fun leadership facts, Dan. This is not – I'm not submitting this for points. This is for fun. So, Aoki died in 2008.

[00:45:02] And in 2009 – this is a public company at this point, right? The CEO was Richard Stockinger. Nice. But he replaced Joel Schwartz as the CEO of Benihana. Benihana. But then, in 2010, he became president as Juan C. Garcia resigned from Benihana leadership. It is. It's like Epcot. Yeah, exactly.

[00:45:32] Benihana agreed to be purchased in 2012 by a private equity firm, Angelo Gordon and Company, for $300 million. Angelo Gordon. And company. And company. Yeah. Anyway. Real quick, complete bad thing that I shouldn't be doing. Brandy needs to be picked up in 15 minutes. It's – Oh, man. I know. That was a fast color.

[00:46:03] Apparently. Yeah. But – Does that mean we pause and continue or we finish up real quick? Oh, no. We can keep going. We don't need to finish up real quick. I just – Don't we hope that – To be fair, maybe we could. I mean – We could. I think we could. I might leave this in. Leave it in. I – So, the reason I say that is that basically the Benihana is a made-up thing.

[00:46:32] Teppanyaki restaurants are a thing in Japan, but there are no Benihana restaurants in Japan. So, Teppanito as a teppanyaki-style restaurant is not authentically Japanese. It's just authentically Orientalism, I think, Dan. Yes. But the rest of it is basically the same, right? The meal is roughly the same. We could get into the cost of the meals. Let's do menu by menu because that's kind of – We've already established that they're essentially –

[00:47:00] I mean, if I'm going to be really fair, I think the interesting backstory of Benihana and the environment of Teppanito, we could just call them even, to be perfectly honest. I think that – Because as fun and ridiculous as the backstory is for Benihana, the environment around Teppanito is also fun and ridiculous in its own way. That's right.

[00:47:29] The restaurant's decor reflects the vivaciousness of the Edo period. That's a thing I read in a blog. I'm going to make some statements, Eric, and you tell me if it is the same or different. Okay. How about this? Rapid fire. Let's do it. Benihana is known for its unique theatrical dining experience where your personal chef prepares your meal on a large teppanyaki grill right at your table. Yeah, pretty much. The food. Hibachi dishes. Expect classic Japanese teppanyaki dishes like hibachi steak, chicken, and shrimp,

[00:47:59] often served with a variety of sauces and vegetables. Same? Different? Uh, pretty much, but they've got more these days. Wait, I'm not done. Nope. Sushi and sashimi. Benihana also offers a selection of fresh sushi and sashimi. Okay. Yeah, for sure. You can find a variety of appetizers and sides, including edamame, gyoza, and spring rolls. How about soy butter calamari and octopus fritters? You have me there.

[00:48:29] Um, so. I'm going to give a point for octopus fritters. All right. All of these meals include Japanese onion soup, salad, a shrimp appetizer, hibachi vegetables, and steamed rice. Okay. Yeah. Right? Yep. A typical Benihana meal, including a main course and the experience, can cost anywhere from $50 to $70 per person.

[00:48:57] Uh, could end up more if you're getting some of the fancy stuff. Yeah, but I mean, in general. Uh, main course, expect to pay $40 to $60 plus for a main course like steak, chicken, or seafood. Uh, some specialty dishes like Emperor's Feast or Tep and Trio can range from $50 to $70. Alcohol and other beverages will add to the costs. Okay. Hold on. We need to get into some of these names. Emperor's Feast. Mm-hmm.

[00:49:26] What else you got in that category of naming? Isn't that lobster and steak? Yes. Well, I mean, that's, yeah, that's the Emperor's Feast. Duh. I mean, if we're going to go in this direction, let's really go in this direction. Eric, what are some of the fun names that you have on your menu? Uh, there's the Asakusa, which is five ounce sirloin steak, five piece shrimp. Okay. There's the Nihonbashi, which is sirloin steak and chicken.

[00:49:54] Uh, I already hear all the dads complaining that that's, they don't know what that is. Emperor's Feast. I know. We know what that is. New York cut steak. Mm-hmm. That's a, that's a thing that dads can say. That is a hand cut daily USDA choice. But it's not Emperor's Feast level like now we're in. Well, Emperor's Feast to be clear is filet mignon and chicken breast.

[00:50:22] Well, I mean, still, it's clearly going to be more than one protein. Okay. And then Chateaubriand, eight ounces of our, sorry, the Hibachi Supreme. Oh, Hibachi Supreme. No, not really there. Chateaubriand. Dan? Yes. Wagyu. Wagyu steak. That's just saying the steak. Really? Are you really coming at me with Wagyu? How about the Wagyu of the world, Eric? There we go. There's more of that good stuff.

[00:50:50] Japanese Tokyo broil, five ounces. Australian New York strip, six ounces. American Masami ribeye, six ounces. Wagyu steak, fried rice. Okay. I'm just going to say what I'm looking for. I want more ridiculously imperialist names of things. Bounty of the seven seas. There it is. There it is. Come on. Appetizers, tuna tartare, crispy calamari, specialty sushi, spicy crispy rice, shrimp crunchy roll,

[00:51:19] entrees, ocean treasure, cold water lobster tail with Hokkaido scallops and colossal shrimp, and the hibachi salmon, grilled salmon served with the savory avocado tartar sauce, shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, and sauteed udon noodles. Finally, add to any of our tasty entrees a lobster tail scallop shrimp or shrimp fried rice. Asakusa Premium. So all the names sound so authentic. Right. See, here's the-

[00:51:47] Five ounce Japanese A5 Wagyu and five piece shrimp served with garden salad, udon noodles, vegetables, steamed white rice. Nihonbashi Premium. Five ounce Japanese A5 Wagyu, four ounce chicken served with garden salad, udon noodles, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. $88, Dan. $88. That's so great. Dan, would you like to know what the name of the kids menu is? Please. Kabuki Kids. Hell yeah. Oh, that is a point.

[00:52:14] You can get California World Chicken Tenders, hibachi shrimp. Can they get a julienne steak? Oh, Dan, and there's a free souvenir mug. Kabuki Kids members receive a special email certificate for their birthday. I'm going to lose this damn game. No, no, no. Free souvenir mug of their choice with the purchase of a Kabuki Kids meal. Oh, and you should see the picture. It's adorable. Here's where I'm torn, Eric. And this is a place that you could turn it into your favor. I truly don't know.

[00:52:45] Here's what I'm saying. Price point, they kind of work out the same if you do like the theme park. Like the theme park math, they work out to be the same. Where I'm seeing dissonance that I'm having difficulty with is that Benihana seems to be just leaning in hard on it being the thing that it is. Where Tep and Ito seems to be doing this thing where it's just like, ah, not just the tip.

[00:53:13] Like it's still respectable. We're still offering like, look at the premium thing we have where I really think that the approaches for their respective audiences could easily be flipped to where Benihana is doing the like, I'm going to actually name this thing in a way that respects the culture that it comes from.

[00:53:37] Or that I say it comes from, where Epcot would totally get away with something like Kabuki Kids and like the target audience would love it. A taste of Benihana is a Benihana onion soup and salad. And you have a choice of one, edamame, spicy tuna roll, rainbow roll, tempura, gyoza dumplings, dragon roll, or California roll. Your entrees, you can choose chicken, steak, or shrimp.

[00:54:07] And dessert, you can choose ice cream or rainbow sherbet. Tokyo sunset, coconut rum, crepe de banana, peach, mousse, pineapple juice, nigori mimosa, unfiltered nigori sake, orange juice, drink menus. Drink menus could be a good place for this. Before we get to drink menus, the lifestyle menu is low calorie options. Japanese breeze, coconut roll for ice with tart, cranberry, and pineapple juice. I'm liking this.

[00:54:37] Benihana punch, Myers platinum rum, bull strawberry peach the cores. Haiku colada. Haiku colada, Dan. Oh, yes. Exotic mojito. Benihana frozen mojito. Nah, it's still big. Rising sun lemon drop, Dan. That's good. Do you want to spend $48 on a carafe of Desai 45 Junmai Daiginjo from Yamaguchi, Japan? You could do that. You can get a whole carafe of sake. All right.

[00:55:07] Who has a fishbowl? Who has a fishbowl? Oh, man. Damn it. Dang it. There's the prickly pear margarita. The Benihana Long Island iced tea. What makes it Benihana? Oh, God. Bacardi rum, Hendrix, Patron silver, Grey Goose vodka, Kambler liqueur with fresh lemon sour black tea and a splash of cola. Black tea makes it Benihana. Oh, my God.

[00:55:35] Sake shaken with purple pear and lime juice. Oh, wow. Oh, seasonal drinks. The Dragon Bloom Margarita Bowl, Dan. We're just saying names. We're just saying names. We're just saying names. For two or more. Patron Traheila. Okay, entertain Dan. That's how we're trying to win. Elder flower liqueur. This is good. Okay, you're currently, I think it's officially, it's neck and neck is what we're looking at right now.

[00:56:04] Because I'm telling you right now, if Epcot were the more ridiculous one, granted, since we are in the category of experience that we're in, it would hands down win this entire thing. But it's still holding back. And like, I want it to be more. It's trying to be authentic instead of ridiculous.

[00:56:29] It's trying too hard when it's already like, it's already doing a style of, it's this teppanyaki thing isn't, it's for Westerners. It is. It's for Westerners. For Westerners, by Westerners. Also, do you want to know how many Japanese wines they have? Zero. It's all from France, Italy, California, and Oregon. Okay. Dan, do you want to hear about wines? Yes.

[00:56:58] You haven't lost this yet. There's one. There's one. Hakatsuru Plum Wine, Kobe, Japan. Okay. Okay. The rest are definitely. Well, there's a bunch of sake. We both got sake. Sake. Oh yeah. Everybody's got sake. Duh. I mean, if this were a Benihana versus what's the other, there's a nicer sit down restaurant, right? In the Japan Pavilion. There are two others. Yeah.

[00:57:28] One's like a Yoshinoya, Dan, and the other one is like a price fix menu. Okay. So the prefixy one. There's a big sushi place. There's a big fancy place that's like a few hundred bucks. I'm familiar with the Yoshinoya one. I like that place. So if this was Benihana versus whatever the nicer, more fancy places, the crap they're trying to pull with the like Wagyu and like the fancy stuff, like that would totally win me over.

[00:57:56] But instead, and I think especially because they already have that, like in this, in what I'm assuming is the same building, because the whole pavilion is just like two buildings anyway, then like they already have that there. So like if you're already going to do the almost ridiculous thing, like I want like soy sauce flavored cotton candy, you know, like. Dan, I think I'm going to be able to help you here. Okay. Okay.

[00:58:23] What can you get at Benihana that you cannot get at Teppanito? The happy hour menu. Oh. $3 edamame, $6 spring rolls, tuna rolls, beer for $6, $9 Wagyu burger, $9 wines, $9 mojitos. Is that available at the Teppanyaki though, or is it just the sushi bar? Menu items dates and times vary by location. Contact your local Benihana.

[00:58:51] Available in the sushi bar and lounge for dine-in only, Dan. Okay. Miso soup, $6. But wait. Edamame, $8. Let me finish. No. Can I finish? For $35 at the happy hour, you can get the Blue Ocean Punch Bowl. Oh my God. For two or more. Oh my God. Okay. Okay.

[00:59:16] Eric, first of all, do you have a sushi bar that isn't the restaurant downstairs? Genuine question. Can you go into this place and be like, hey. There used to be. There used to be a separate sushi bar. You can get sushi. There is a separate sushi bar. There is a fancy sushi place downstairs. This place does have sushi. Okay. Okay. Most importantly, is there a bowl?

[00:59:45] So you want me to go away from sushi and go down to alcohol? I don't think there's a bowl. And there is no damn bowl. Okay. I'm sorry. Okay. There's no bowl. Eric. Eric. Dan. In your heart of hearts. Lobster tail. Hold on. In your heart of hearts. Between these two places, would you not choose the one with the bowl? I don't want a bowl. And by the way. I don't want a bowl. I want sake. I want something fancy.

[01:00:13] But don't you want the possibility of the bowl? I want something nice. No, I don't. I don't want a bowl. I never want the bowl. I want the bowl so bad. It's important to note. It's ridiculous. But I don't want the bowl. It's important to note that next to Teppanito but a separate establishment is Shiki Sal, which is a sushi restaurant directly next to Teppanito, which is not Takumite and it is not the Katsura Grill, which is the Yoshinori.

[01:00:41] You're talking about the casual quick service place across the way. Okay. I do. That's in a majestic garden. In all seriousness, the godlight in the clouds of my mind, they're kind of like it's coming out.

[01:01:03] Teppanito doesn't really add much to what's already there other than just plugging in a Benihana-like place because almost like why not? However, Benihana on Ball Road kind of fills a gap that the entire resort area would otherwise have. That's... What does that mean? Sincerely where I'm at with this.

[01:01:32] It's like, okay, so first of all, we have to set aside, we're already saying that it's resort area versus resort. So, setting aside the fact that it's not on property, you have to take an Uber, all of that. I guess what I'm trying to say is within this conversation, if you were to take Teppanito out, you would still have the entire Japan pavilion. And multiple other restaurants. Right. Okay.

[01:02:02] And which also would offer the same whimsically pseudo-Japanese experience. However, take Benihana out of that resort area, and I don't think there's any representation of this kind of whimsy in the area. Real quick also, first of all, Teppanito, for me, I think you already said this, Dan,

[01:02:30] doesn't offer anything more or extra than does Benihana. What you'll get from it is consistency. The trouble with Benihana and many restaurants like that, it depends on the day and it depends on the chef. But you're not going for good food necessarily. Oh, I disagree. Nor should you. It's the performance. It's the performance. Yes. Oh, I see. I see. It's the performance. It's inconsistent. It's inconsistent outside of Disney World. Okay. At Epcot, it's always going to be the same.

[01:03:00] At the same time, your New York street- Because we did not have a good performer. No, we did not. No, we did not. But you'll always have consistency at Disney World. That's the one thing. You'll pay for it in that the New York steak at Teppanito is $45, whereas the steak, hibachi steak at Benihana is $30. So it's more expensive, but there's that whole thing. The performer is the missing bull, so to speak. Oh, totally. Oh, we brought it up. Consistency in performance, that is.

[01:03:31] Yeah. Okay. No, I'm saying it. So I guess it's safe to say then Benihana, when it's firing on all cylinders, would in a lot of ways beat out Teppanito. However, you don't always know that it's going to be firing on all cylinders, and you do at Teppanito. Who owns Teppanito, Eric? Is that a... I think it's a Disney one.

[01:04:00] I think you may be right. Yeah, because it's not Patina Group. I think if I remember from some of the stuff that the robots spat out at me, it was... Teppanito, but not a mass culture. There's a non-threatening. It's not fake. It's Simulacra, a copy with no original. It's Japanese in the same way Disney princesses medieval. The culture industry perpetually cheats its consumers of what it perpetually promises.

[01:04:32] Japanese adjacent. I think it did say at some point that a company in Burbank owns it or something. Let's see. Teppanito. It's owned by Benihana National Corporation. That would be amazing. Oh, it is a third party. Oh, oh, oh. In 2007, Benihana opened its 100th restaurant or franchise by Benihana National Corp. Benihana breaks Guinness World Record for longest cooking marathon in 2018.

[01:04:59] 2019 entered arenas and stadiums called Benihana Concessions in T-Mobile Center, Yankee Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, and Footprint Center, and then purchased in 2024 by the One Group Hospitality Inc. Oh, man. Tell me Teppanito's owned by the One. Please tell me. Please tell me. Please tell me. Please tell me. Please tell me. I'm looking. I'm looking. I don't... So where I'm coming around to... Disney food block, you are failing me.

[01:05:29] I think it's to... So I think I'm coming around to the idea of, okay, I'm putting on this, like, let's pretend how to, like, this sort of thing is my favorite thing. Like, I'm that person. I'm, like, 10 years old, and it's just, like, I haven't read any Adorno. I don't know anything about Orientalism. This is just the experience, and it's awesome, and I love it.

[01:05:54] So I go to a Benihana, and I'm looking forward to it for at least 20 minutes waiting for the table. I have this anticipation, and then the server comes and takes my order. I still haven't seen the sandwich artist in, or anything, whatever they call them, and, like... Oh, duh. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's owned by Mitsukoshi. Of course.

[01:06:23] Of course it is, yeah. That's authentic Japanese, by the way. Okay. The department store that is downstairs. Oh, got it. Okay. Of course. So I'm sitting there. I'm waiting. Anticipation's building. I'm looking forward to it. If I have the sandwich artist that made me love this place in the first place, but great night, I go home, I tell all my friends the next day that this was the best thing ever. I pressure my parents to buy the picture.

[01:06:53] It's a big deal. However, and then so same kid, I'm going to Epcot Center, and my parents are like, you're going to love this. It's just like Benihana. And for all intents and purposes, it's just like Benihana. The 10-year-old doesn't notice that there's no bowl. And the sandwich artist is consistent. I walk away with that same sort of feeling of, yay, this was awesome. And I'm so glad I got to go to this Benihana adjacent place at Epcot Center. However, same situation.

[01:07:23] I go and I get, like, they just roll out a sandwich artist who's like, it's their last day. And most likely he's Mexican. Well, I'm not going to get into that. But like, okay, sure. Okay. Sure. I mean, okay. We can add that as a little extra, like, featherweight thing that we can add there.

[01:07:49] But again, I'm in California, so like, I expect that to some extent. And it's just like, here's your food. They don't even acknowledge it's my birthday, you know, like, which can happen. Oh, it's your birthday? Oh. Like, I don't get, like, a little extra bonus shrimp for, you know, my six skate. Okay, I'm Asher in this example for my six skateboard skills.

[01:08:22] That would be a very dark feeling to walk away with. I think you're dealing with consistency and authenticity at Teppanito. Yeah. And while it was a good idea, in theory, started by a Japanese immigrant of a sumo wrestler. It devolved. And in the spirit of who does it better? I think I'm coming around to Teppanito. They kind of do it the same, but consistently better.

[01:08:52] But it's the consistency thing. That's the piece. That's the missing piece. And I think as we continue this miniseries, that might continue to be the piece, which is interesting to me. Authenticity and consistency. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Huh. I mean, it's authenticity in a weird way, though. It's authenticity masked within this inauthentic shape. Hmm. But does America consider it authentic?

[01:09:22] What's that? Does America consider it authentic? I think so. America considers a lot of things authentic. I mean, in the spirit of Epcot, right? We don't know any better. It's as authentic as anything else in any of the other pavilions. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's no... And in a way, almost, I think that the Orientalism aspect of it, while it's still there, it's kind of like muted by the time you get to that pavilion. It's just like, oh, it may as well be Japan.

[01:09:51] I think I'm going to call it... I really... This was the journey. I think hopefully people have enjoyed the journey with us. Hopefully people understand that our whimsical moments were just us being, you know, three white guys doing their best. Lots of whimsy. And I'm going to say that Teppanyaki restaurant.

[01:10:27] Before we go out, the one group owns STK, Kona Grill, Benihana, RA, Samurai, and Bao Yum. Mmm. Yeah. Great. I love that list of names. All right. That's the one group. The one group. That's right. We do have other shows. Yeah, we do.

[01:10:57] What are their names? Their names are... Hold on. Milk Milk Lemonade Around the Corner, Bantha Milk, also known as Bantha Milk Podcast. Puny Pod, where they talk about very small things. It's just always going to be funny to me. They talk about Marvel movies. Eric's on there a lot. I'm on there sometimes. We recorded two hours yesterday on a cruise. We recorded two hours yesterday on a cruise. Nothing to do with Marvel.

[01:11:27] There wasn't even a Marvel cruise? No. We also have a stream resort that you're listening to. There's Scraping the Vault. What was your last episode? Your last episode was Hot Frosty. It was great. I loved it. We were recording less and less, but we're still putting out shows. There's also Ears Up. Ears Up In Depth exists, and if you'd like to listen to old episodes of it, you can figure

[01:11:55] out why it doesn't exist anymore. Eric's on a lot of shows as well. The Hub Crawl. We got Bowie's planning that him and I do together. Sometimes. Sometimes. It's kind of the same recording schedule as Scraping the Vault, unfortunately. Yeah. We love you very much. We love our president. We love the future of our country. But most of all-

[01:12:25] Concierge will book your trip for you. Yes, concierge. And help book your dining at Tepanito. Yes. Or Benihana. Yeah. Yeah. Call Marie, your favorite concierge. I mean, you're right. Until then. I'd like to leave you, as we're playing out, I'd like to leave you with this. You can play the theme song. So I need- On January 30th.

[01:12:54] You can talk about the theme song. January 30th, 2011, Benihana Kuwait filed a defamation lawsuit against a blogger for writing about his experience on his website. Oh! Las Palmas, the company that owns Benihana in Kuwait, took legal action against the reviewer for his negative attitudes towards the restaurant. And for recording the video without permission. The company alleged that the blogger worked for an advertising company and might have personal

[01:13:24] motives that could be linked to his work to denigrate Benihana and praise its competition located in the same area. Wow. Well, that's the forward-thinking way of doing business. They weren't aware that that was going to be our future and they did it anyway. That was in 2011. Yep. Yep. Until next time. Hey, you know, everybody?

[01:13:54] And the show. Just, we didn't- I don't know what to tell you. I think you're all great. Rewind. And, uh, fresh baked. Be good to each other. Until next time. Good to each other. Until next time. Court is adjourned. Court is adjourned. Goodbye. Ooh, I like the added goodbye. That was good. Goodbye.

[01:14:23] I like it was a mini-series. I like that. Yeah. There is an El Torito right next door. I know. We did it. Nice job. She's not going to have to wait too long.