Sapporo brings back memories and provides a link with the past.

We went to a Japanese steakhouse awhile ago. You know the type, where strangers are seated around a flat-topped grill and a Samurai chef chops, slashes and sizzles all the similar yet individual dinners in the sizzling style solely associated with these types of restaurants. It was called Sapporo.

SAPPORO STEAKHOUSE & SUSHI BAR

Fisherman''s Wharf II, Monterey,
333-1616

Open: Daily, 11:30am-10:30pm.
Lunch Specials: 11:30am-2:30pm.

Price: About $10 each if you''re in a hurry;
a wad if you hang out all night; everything in between.

The first time I ate at one of these joints I was a teenager. I remember how cool it was to sit at that big wide U of a table, awkwardly breaking ice with the unknowns around me, unsure of what was to come. Even now I remember that Japanese warrior with his quick wit and even quicker blade. How did he manage that horizontal cut down the back of the shrimp?

I was there with my girlfriend (the first serious one) and a gaggle of friends, so it was a matter of only-in-real-life coincidental beauty that on the evening I dined at Sapporo I was about to fly east to visit a lot of those people I used to hang with.

The next morning, with those memories ricocheting around my cranium, I sat in a wide body jumbo jet, flying toward a confrontation with my past. On the other end, family and old friends lay in wait, encrusted in those faded recollections that can seduce sentimental, unsuspecting souls by filtering out all but the sweetest memories. Memories are deceitful--they trick us and hold us hostage--not by threats of violence but by promises of rewards.

I found it difficult to write about my experience at Sapporo while lifelong anxieties rumbled around in the basement of my spirit, tremors in the foundation of my tranquillity. I had to wait until my return to Monterey to complete the piece.

Returning home from a week''s intense, deeply emotional reunion with family and friends, the memories floated to the background, leaving me to recall our visit to Sapporo on the eve of my flight.

Sapporo is located at the foot of Wharf #2, on the top floor. Over the years there have been a succession of restaurants, both chain and independent, in the space, but it was vacant for quite awhile until Sapporo opened last August. I used to go look at the place and dream about the possibilities of its two large rooms that give it a figure-eight shape. The best things about the space are its great views--overlooking the marina, the beach, the Monterey landscape, both wharves, the Sports Center and downtown--plus the abundant parking right outside. It really is the type of space that would rock in most areas but, because of the inherent difficulties of sustaining a restaurant on the Monterey Peninsula, with too small a population base and too short a tourist season being the most glaring, the success of a venture here is hardly guaranteed.

As you walk in, the place is divided into two styles of restaurant. The left room is more casual and contains the sushi bar and a small drinking bar. The Tuesday night we went in, this area was partially filled with a few large groups out for a fun time. Here you can dine on all manner of sushi or choose from a variety of appetizers, noodle dishes, salads or dinners. With an appetizer list of about 20 interesting items, plus the sushi selections, Sapporo offers a great spot for informal gatherings of friends out to have fun, get some good eats and enjoy each other''s company.

Sweet Thing, who visited for a sushi lunch, praised the quality, freshness, presentation and flavor of the expertly manipulated raw fish. Her favorites were the colorful eight-piece Rainbow Roll (a variety of shrimp, salmon, squid and tuna) and the Spicy Tuna Roll (in a cone-shaped seaweed wrap with perfect heat). We are looking forward to regular visits, especially when in the mood for that special combination of good, casual food with great views--a rarity.

The room on the right contains the hibachi grill tables, each of which seats about 10 people. At the center of the table waits a spanking shiny flat grill underneath an impressive stainless steel exhaust hood. A friendly, traditionally dressed waitress offers drinks (there''s a full bar) and explains the procedure. Similar to others of this genre of restaurant, there are a few different dinner possibilities, all based on the combination of meat and/or fish with vegetables and rice. Miso soup, then a small salad, are also included.

About the time the salads are presented, in strolls the samurai chef, rolling a cart full of your dinner ingredients--it''s time for "Let''s Make a Meal." The chef already knows what you''ve ordered so the only thing to do is sit back and enjoy the show. And hope that the food and drink are as good to eat as the show is to watch.

The guy we had, Simone, was everything we could ask for. He was funny, fast, furious, a bit funky and full of surprises. Plus, he could cook. The food--I had filet and shrimp, Sweet Thing had filet and scallops--was perfectly cooked and not overly salty, a real danger of this style of cooking when overzealous flair supersedes conscientious care.

By the end of the meal, which does not look that filling, we were well past the saturation point. With the Monterey sky deepening from dark blue to black we happily trudged home, bolstered by the addition of this better-than-usual-quality restaurant smack in the middle of tourist town.

Share after-dinner banter with Ray: (ray@coastweekly.com)