Ribera Steakhouse

Ribera Steakhouse
A shot of one side of the exterior of the Meguro location
Restaurant information
Food type Steak house
City Gotanda
Country Japan
Other locations Meguro

Ribera Steakhouse (ステーキハウス リベラ, Stēkihausu Ribera) is a Japanese professional wrestling, boxing and mixed martial arts-themed steak house restaurant with two locations. The original location is in Gotanda, and there is a second, larger location in Meguro. Professional wrestlers frequent the restaurant when touring in Tokyo, a rite of passage in the wrestling community.[1][2] In addition, some wrestlers receive a satin Ribera Steakhouse Jacket from the owners.

History

Wrestler Kaitlin Diemond wearing a black satin Ribera Steakhouse jacket

Chris Jericho credits wrestler Stan Hansen with "discovering" the restaurant in the 1970s.[3] Hansen, however, credits Bruiser Brody with being the first American wrestler to discover the restaurant.[1] In the late 1970s and early 1980s, American professional wrestlers began to frequent the restaurant when they were wrestling in Tokyo.[2] Over time, the owner began to cover the walls with hundreds of pictures of the wrestlers who ate at his restaurant.[2][4] The owner rotates the pictures to correlate with the wrestlers currently touring the country.[3] The restaurant is also decorated with other sorts of memorabilia such as title belts and trophies.[5]

The owners of Ribera Steakhouse give out the Ribera Steakhouse Jacket to selected patrons.[2] The jacket is satin and has a bull logo on the breast.[2] Road Warrior Animal popularized wearing the jacket with Zubaz pants.[2][6] Later, it became a rite of passage for American wrestlers to go to the steakhouse and receive their own jacket.[1][2] Ricky Fuji has said that in English Ribera means, "I'm a wrestler, and I've been to Japan."[3]

The restaurant features New York-style steaks in three sizes—1/2 pound, 1 pound, and 1 1/2 pounds—and sides such as corn, rice, salad, and soup.[5] There is also a Ribera Akebono eating challenge.[5] The challenger must eat 1.35 kilograms of steak and several side dishes in under 30 minutes to win 10,000 yen (approximately US$98 as of November 2015).[5]

A second and bigger location was built in Meguro, and it is run by the original location's owner's son.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sonny, Julian (2014-07-04). "The Legend Of Ribera: Visiting This Steakhouse In Japan Is A Rite Of Passage For Pro Wrestlers". Elite Daily. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Linder, Zach (2013-08-07). "Wrestling's favorite restaurant: The oral history of Ribera Steakhouse". WWE. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
  3. 1 2 3 Jericho, Chris (2007). A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex. Grand Central Publishing.
  4. ↑ Roberts, Jeremy (2009). Rey Mysterio: Behind the Mask. Simon and Schuster. p. 104.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Liew, Frank (2011-06-27). "Tokyo: Wrestle-mania". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
  6. ↑ Melok, Bobby (2011-12-06). "Superstars recall Ribera Steakhouse, bring back Zubaz". WWE. Retrieved 2015-04-18.

Coordinates: 35°37′48″N 139°43′43″E / 35.63000°N 139.72861°E / 35.63000; 139.72861

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.