Gyu-Kaku: Japanese Yakiniku

Had dinner at Gyu-Kaku over the weekend with my wife and some of her friends. I had never heard of Gyu-Kaku and there is scant mention of it or Yakiniku on this lthforum. Apparently Gyu-Kaku is a very popular chain restaurant in Japan where they apparently have 700 locations. If the the number of Japanese patrons at Gyu-Kaku is any indication of popularity in Japan, the place must be a sensation.

We had a perfectly fine time apart from a mix up with our reservation and our drink order at the bar while waiting for our table. I will attribute these monor issues to the relative newness of the operation and how absolutely slammed they were. My wife never did get her sake-tini.

If you are curious about Yakiniku picture a Japanified Korean BBQ. The restaurant itself is very nice, especially compared with some of the hovels where i have enjoyed Korean BBQ. The problem here is also a solution. There is nothing (for the most part) that you will not find at a Korean place. Except an upscale atmosphere. They do not use charcoal and they do not serve panchan. That having been said, I can get my wife to eat here without argument and that is huge in my book. The ventilation was very good and the prices were relatively reasonable for the location. Would I choose this over San soo gap san? No chance. But sometimes I am not the captain of the ship.

On to the food. Everthing was good. We had a wide variety of grilled vegetables, several different cuts of beef and bimbop. We also had a terrific spicy tuna and avocado salad. Appetizers were also good with the standout being the hot oil seared salmon. Kim Chee was fine in a dumbed down kind of way, and the wine list was reasonable. Skipped dessert in favor of someplace else but over all this was a fine time within the parameters i described.

Gyu-Kaku Chicago
210 East Ohio St.
Chicago, IL 60611

The PDF file for the lunch and dinner menu looks good. I never have been to a place like this yet.
Like the idea and the built in grill in the table is neat. Not much love for this place on LTH?
http://www.gyu-kaku.com/il/chicago.htm

I must note that I found this place on Craigslist off the below post. This may or may not be a good sign?

Restaurant Manager *HIRING NOW!!! (Gyu-Kaku Japaneses BBQ)
Date: 2011-05-23, 6:28PM CDT
Reply to: job-mpxzn-2398184688@craigslist.org

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Restaurant is NOW HIRING MANAGER!!!!!

Location: Gyu-Kaku Japaneses BBQ
PostingID: 2398184688