Shabu Square

Man has always been entranced by the bucolic ideals of "do-it-yourself", whether the self-satisfaction arises from a working toilet, newly constructed Swedish furniture, or the fiendishly tricky Lego Knight's Catapult Defense. Feeding your inner yeoman: Shabu Square

From the former head chef at Montien Thai, 9Tastes, and Jae's Cafe, SS is a 35-seat light wood, soothingly painted Thai spot focusing on shabu-shabu, an Asian version of fondue which involves personally dunking raw vegetables and hunks of meat in a boiling hot pot of stock, then borrowing your girlfriend's makeup mirror, and yelling at yourself "I said medium-rare, dammit!". Shabu main courses, which come with assorted veggies and three choices of dipping sauces (Shabu, sweet Sukki Yaki, sour "MK"), include boneless short rib, sirloin, a platter of sea fare (salmon, cod, scallop, squid...fish cakes), surf and turf, and Japan-imported Wagyu, which costs $46, so don't screw it up. If you're too timid to cook, they've also got sashimi (scallop, salmon, yellowtail), Pho noodle soups (meatball, Dac Biet), and entrees like Five Spice Chicken, Steamed Ginger Salmon, and "Yum Yum" -- a meat, peanut, bean sprout, and noodle plate that makes up for its unoriginal name with enthusiasm

To top off your meal, SS has mango sticky rice, sticky rice ice cream, custard fondue, and smoothies -- themselves the intro to DIY, where the first and last step is "throw crap in blender".