Kon Asian Bistro

A few months ago Kon Asian Bistro (http://www.konasianbistro.com/) moved in down the road from us here in Westbrook, Maine. My husband and I perused the menu we received in the mail with interest, and listened to our friends who got to eat there before we did. We were dying to go, but, for many reasons, had to keep putting it on the back burner.

Finally, Mr. X and I got the opportunity to have a rare night out without the kids, and decided to indulge ourselves by visiting Kon. On a recent menu that was sent to us, we saw that Kon offers Hibachi entrees at 50% off and sushi at 25% off when you dine in on Monday and Tuesday nights. This just helped to justify our Monday night outing.

When we arrived at Kon, we were very impressed by the decor (I'm a sucker for fountains/ponds in the lobby). The hostess seemed a bit annoyed by our presence, and seated us in the main dining room. When I asked if we could be seated at a hibachi table instead, she seemed even more put out and told us there would be a small wait. We said we didn't mind. After only about ten minutes or so, out put out hostess seated us with a few other diners who had come in behind us.

Once the hostess left us, the service was wonderful. We decided to start off with a sampling from the sushi bar- a piece of king crab sashimi, a piece of octopus sashimi, and a house specialty roll, the American Dream. The sashimi was fresh, and delicious. The king crab and the octopus had no problem shining without the assistance of any additions besides the rice it rested on.

The American Dream roll deserves special attention. As a true connoisseur of excellent sushi, I can say with absolute conviction, that this is one of the finest sushi rolls it has ever been my pleasure to eat. This must be a new roll, or one exclusive to the Westbrook location, as it's not featured on the online menu, or the one that was sent to us. If you have the pleasure to try it however, please do. The roll features a flavorful, creamy, lobster salad, which rests on top of the roll which contains avacodo, and tempura shrimp, and is sprinkled with fish roe. The roll slices are perfectly sized so that you can fit them comfortably in your mouth in one bite, allowing you to enjoy the blend of flavors.

For our hibachi entrees, I ordered steak and scallops and Mr. X went for the swordfish. Hibachi meals include a tossed salad and a clear soup. When my salad arrived, I was very disappointed, which is hard to do with a side salad. Unfortunately the salad consisted mainly of iceberg lettuce, and that was mainly core. The salad had clearly been prepped and them refrigerated for some time with the dressing on it, leaving the dressing thick and clumpy, and the entire salad was colder than our hostess. The soup was much better, full of flavor for a simple broth, with fresh mushroom slices floating on the top.

Our hibachi chef was personable and entertaining, very typical of most hibachi chefs. My steak was cooked exactly as I specified (rare) and my scallops were tender and not over cooked. My husband's swordfish was fresh, flaky and full of flavor. Our rice was delicious, and our side of veggies were firm and tasty. The servings were very generous, making it almost impossible to finish off the plate after appetizers, salad, and soup. We did not go for dessert.

Overall, the meal was great, and the hibachi performance was fun. If you do decide to go on a Monday or Tuesday evening, be sure to go early or make reservations- the hibachi tables fill up fast! Also, even though we chose to leave the kids at home, there were several families there with kids, and they seemed to be having a great time. Maybe next time we'll bring the kids ourselves. Maybe.