I’d say go to Hanah for the small plates and entrées, and maybe for the steaks if your ship comes in, but for sushi not so much. Maybe the Han brothers, owners Peter and Chris, are trying to do too much. A friend who’s spent a lot of time in Japan said, “Interesting concept to combine sushi and steak but seems kinda impractical. Am I supposed to order a steak AND sushi?”
Well, you could, if your wallet was as big as your appetite. Steaks start at $35 for a 7 oz. Wagyu hanger and escalate to a 38 oz. 30-day dry-aged bone-in Wagyu tomahawk at $230. Chef Tyler Haloostock recommends this be shared among three or four diners, and he or one of the owners will personally flambé it with bourbon in front of your eyes. Sushi rolls at $18-$45 are normal in size; the Emperor includes wagyu, caviar, and 24K gold flakes.
(Speaking of gold, which has neither flavor nor nutritional value, Hanah’s dress code forbids “exposed chains” as well as baseball caps, athletic apparel, tank tops, baggy clothing, and flip flops. Guessing that I wouldn’t fit the demographic that the owners seek to discourage, I tested the ban by wearing pants that flowed and a thick gold chain, and was not admonished.)
The Han brothers own two Osaka Steakhouses featuring hibachis, in Clawson and Shelby Township, with rather lower prices than Hanah’s. Hanah’s website says, “we take aim on a culinary mastered fused menu of Western and Southeast Asian cuisine,” which is odd, since Japan is not in Southeast Asia, and most of the non-steak dishes have a Japanese feel or ingredients.
Haloostock does a great job with starters. I’m not a fan of bao buns, soft flavorless pillows whose only utility is to hold a filling, but when the filling is chicken katsu with cherry barbecue, kimchi slaw, and yuzu pickles — just sweet and sour enough — I’ll take them. Silky tuna tartare with whipped avocado comes with an outstanding ginger marinade (I even took home leftovers); it sounds like it could be too busy, but it’s not. Crisp calamari rounds, with a little heat, also come with a good lemony dipping sauce. Char siu bao buns were less successful, rather bland with a jerky consistency and little fat.
In the entrée column, I’m an enthusiast of the Korean chili garlic noodles with shrimp, with their deep flavors not obscured by the heat. Squid ink scallop linguine uses enoki mushrooms, roasted beets, and shishito peppers to good effect with the umami-rich seafood — again, it sounds like too much going on, but Halooshock has calibrated it all to perfection. Other non-steak entrées are Japanese chicken and waffles, salmon, sea bass, and Peking duck.
The only steak I sampled was the low-rent hanger, and it was fine but not to write a poem to. The other steaks, in ascending order from $42 to $230, are sirloin, New York strip, a Black Angus filet, ribeye, and the aforementioned tomahawk. The menu warns: “chef recommends to be cooked up to medium — above medium is non-refundable.” You ask for it charred, no changing your mind.
The three sushi rolls my party tried were OK — just not interesting enough for an upscale joint, and in one case, a tuna roll called Crazy Crab, was not fresh enough. The Kiss of Fire, with yellowtail and serrano, was mildly hot, no complaints there.
Sides serve two or three and include various potatoes, fried rice, blistered shishitos, and charred romanesco. We liked a big heap of smashed marble potatoes, which came in a variety of shapes, but fried rice was too soft and salty.
For dessert, my true favorite was the Jalisco-Co cocktail, which hides the taste of reposado tequila with coffee liqueur, cinnamon, white chocolate, vanilla, cayenne, and cocoa. With its foam and floating cacao nibs, it’s like Oaxacan chocolate with several kicks. The cocktail list sports lots of sweet ingredients, such as a coffee-banana old-fashioned; chocolate appears in four out of 10 choices.
We also liked a creamy matcha crème brûlée, not too sweet — tea is a good way to finish a meal — but a banana chiffon cake was dry.
Hanah started serving weekend brunch on May 20; the menu includes fried chicken with taro waffles. There’s also a late-night menu from 10:30 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays.
A 20% tip is added to your bill.
Location Details
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated Chef Tyler Haloostock’s name.
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