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Joe and I took my 95-year old mother to Sakura, a local Japanese restaurant, for lunch today. It's the type of place where you sit around the grill and the chef cooks your meal for you.

"Cook" is really not the right word, because in between grilling your steak exactly the way you want it and mixing up the fried rice and taking the shrimp from grey to perfectly pink, he's also juggling the utensils, turning onions into volcanos and tossing a spinning raw egg from spatula to spatula and then catching it in his chef's toque!

It's a meal and a show, all rolled into one.

My mom loves it. She flirts with the chef and laughs during the cooking, and then exclaims about how she'll never be able to eat it all.

But what I've also noticed is that kids love it too. The last few times we've been there, we've been seated with families with kids, from toddlers to pre-teens. I've never seen bad behavior from any of them, and I believe it's because of the action. From the flames at the beginning to the clang of the utensils to the chef's patter, it fascinates the kids. Not only that, the food is served as it's ready, so the kids never get too hungry.

These places aren't cheap, though - but they're great for special occasions and celebrations. So if you want some great entertainment along with a great meal, check out your local Japanese steak house.