I wrote back then: “What I love about WhaBah is it runs the gamut of choosing your own steak from a case, as you would in a fine restaurant, combined with the do-it-yourself salad and potato bar that offer the quaintness of a southern buffet. Either way, between this and cooking your own steak, the atmosphere lends itself to a lot of movement. You’re constantly meeting, greeting and interacting with other customers, which is different from other restaurants where you’re isolated at your table.”

Since all that is still true today, when my dining companion and I recently revisited for an update, we decided to order anything on the menu that wasn’t steak – just to see.

We began with the WhaBah pork wings appetizers. “What?” we asked. Apparently at WhaBah pigs can fly. How cool is that? This appetizer is three hearty and tasty grilled bone-in pork shanks with barbecue sauce served over tortilla chips. They really did look like large wings, the cut of pork made for a fantastic flavor and the barbecue sauce tasted fresh and homemade. We didn’t really get the reason for serving them on tortilla chips – but it made for an interesting plate presentation. One suggestion though – ask for two or more servings of sauce when you order the wings. Pigs need large wings to fly and you’re gonna need all the sauce you can get.

There were so many choices at the salad bar it actually overwhelmed my dining companion. All the usual veggies plus olives, real bacon, sunflower seeds, onions, cheese and a few homemade salads. He composed himself and made one large salad that we could split in the bowls that looked like the bottom of a large clay pot!

I ordered the skewered shrimp that is grilled after a light dusting of seasoning. I don’t know if it was the type shrimp or the grill, but it was chewy and a bit dry. I asked for the teriyaki dipping sauce, which saved the day.

My dining companion ordered the chicken, which was cooked the same as the shrimp; a generous portion grilled with a light dusting of seasoning. The chicken, even though it was still slightly under cooked, was also dry (I’m thinking whatever is in that dusting seasoning is sucking all the moisture out of its host) – but the cut and flavor of the chicken was good. He could have also ordered it grilled with barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce or blackened. I recommend you order the chicken (and maybe even the shrimp) with one of the sauces brushed over it during grilling and a cup of it with your meal.

So even though our particular visit was mixed, I would say WhaBah’s is still the best place in town to go for steaks, as well as excellent cuts of pork and chicken, with great potential for the chicken if ordered the right way.