Hahn's Hibachi AK Natural Meat Subs
On Monday night we were driving home down 24th Street and Vida announced that she was in the mood to go out for dinner. This is a radical change for Vida known to scream, “I don’t want to go out for dinner” at the mere mention of the possibility. Maybe it was the canned black beans and sour cream I was offering her for dinner that changed her attitude. There were a number of restaurant possibilities in the area but when I mentioned Hahn’s Hibachi and explained that it was a Korean barbeque restaurant she instantly agreed.
I had been to Hahn’s many times before but never actually eaten there. When I worked on 24th street we had an endless amount of weekly manager’s meetings guaranteed to make me lose my appetite. Ready for my nap instead of lunch I just got a glass of water and tried not to look glassy eyed. Now that we have been sold and we only get taken out for meals by the employee-contracting agency we use the meals are much better and less stressful. A few weeks ago we went to Houston’s near the Embarcadero. I had only a serviceable French dip sandwich served lukewarm in the nicely appointed but drafty corporate restaurant. But the spinach artichoke dip served with tortilla chips was worth the price of admission. Drinking two fisted which also helped. This was a step up from the first meals they took us to at The Cheesecake Factory. After trying to order the most sane items from an insane menu we finally got up the nerve to tell them we didn’t want to go there any more. I kept ordering angel hair pasta with tomato sauce to escape other generous and caloric meals.
I have to keep these events moving quickly so I was happy when Vida noticed a steak and shrimp tempura special advertised in the window (not very Korean more mass market I thought to myself). I quickly decided on the grilled steak and chicken combo. Victor of course was starting to melt down and no amount of water with lemon was going to stave it off. He wanted “nut” a.k.a. “milky” and there was nothing I wanted to do less than nurse a 2½ year old in a restaurant. But we had already ordered and the screaming was getting louder and it was that or walk out. Soon he was happy and back to the water and the cute plastic monkey plate they gave him to eat off it. It was a sign of Vida’s maturity that she didn’t get a monkey plate too--although she really wanted one. Nobody even asked for soda . . .
When our meals came it was a revelation. There was spicy pickled cabbage on the plate that I had to warn Vida about but she just pushed it aside. She picked up her own steak knife and started cutting up her own food. There were tempura shrimp but also tempura vegetables that she wasn’t excited about so I took those off her hands. I had never experienced her so independent in a restaurant before. I know the steak was a little tough and hard to cut and there was a strange gravy on the top but she just went with it. My steak was thinner and tenderer so I donated to her cause. The beef was delicious and the chicken tasted nicely of the grill but the slightly cornstarch thickened sauces were not too appealing to me. I would have liked to linger over the meal and eat the rice and pickles but it wasn’t meant to be—we were out of there.
Efficiency is the name of the game most nights. The week before I was driving Vida out to her last soccer practice and noticed AK Natural Meat Subs on Clement Street near 25tth Ave. Since Vida loves submarine sandwiches I thought this would be perfect—we would get home at 7 p.m. with a meal in our hands instead of frantically trying to pull something together. I dropped her off at the field and went back. The meat counter was trying hard to be the real deal but there just wasn’t enough stock to make it look like people actually shopped there. The meat guy stood behind the counter looking bored but the woman making sandwiches was very busy. I ordered Vida a ham and turkey sub on a soft French roll with lettuce and tomato without mustard or dressing just like she likes and a couple of meat and cheese combos for Victor and I. I was happy until I realized that I forgot to say no mustard on our sandwiches. I went to pick up Victor at Muffinville and then we went back to the soccer field. I kept him calm in the car while we waited with a half of a sandwich. He loved it mustard and all.
When we got home Vida sat down in front of a video and I laid out her sandwich. A few minutes later I heard the sad verdict, “I don’t like it what else do we have”. I really didn’t have much to offer—there were no cans of beans in the cupboard this time. She oddly enough asked for some chai tea and then very happily drank it and went to bed. That evening will be forever known as the night she had tea for dinner.
Restaurant Total: 262
