Since 1964 Benihana has defined "Eatertainment." There are 80 restaurants world-wide. (Strangely there are more Benihanas in Venezuela than in Canada! And only one in Japan. Romania also has one.)
Clay Aiken is a longtime devotee of Benihana's. We spoke a lot about the Claymate phenomenon, which extends to Japan, where fans naturally are called Claysians. (Fans in Kuala Lumpur are Maclaysians, which sounds a little fast food-y.)
Much of our chat, which included a discussion of Pan-Claysian cuisine, didn't make it into the video below. Still I hope you enjoy...
Mo Rocca has appeared on a bunch of shows, including 'The Daily Show,' 'I Love the 80s,'...
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Clay Aiken at Benihana
Posted May 9th 2008 2:30PM by Mo Rocca
Filed under: Mo's Videos, Mo Rocca, Clay Aiken
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Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.
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Reader Comments ( Page 11 of 12)
151. Mo - You are a genius interviewer! Perfect setting, perfect questions.
Please, please, please....may we see the rest of the interview? Claymates are omnivorous, especially when it comes to Clay talking. We lap it up!
Sally at 12:46AM on May 11th 2008
152. This is HILARIOUS !! I have seen that dude doing the interview before and it is funny! Clay is such a hoot trying to answer the questions and yet eat ! I LOVE YOU CLAY!
claysmyheart at 3:51AM on May 11th 2008
153. MO, thanks for video...it's always fun to see Clay enjoying himself, without crowds screaming at him!
He is entertaining wether he's being himself or not.
CD: awesome....can't wait to hear them live!
jalamafreak at 5:59AM on May 11th 2008
154. That was great and there was nothing about his fans being old or post menopausal or whatever someone said. What they talked about is a common phenomenon when women hang out together, which is that they are in synch with their cycles. It's a fact for many and it was a great interview. I love Clay and Mo chit chatting away and trying to eat. Great new CD BTW!
andie at 7:12AM on May 11th 2008
155. Great interview! I love the fact that now I know there is at least one meal that my husband and I could share with Clay...He has so many food allergies and I happen to love most of the things that he is allergic to!
And we could have his grandma's pineapple casserole too! LOL
SOOOO Clay if you are ever in the Cleveland area, we know a great restaurant we could take you to - ha ha!
I would love to see the entire interview!
Thanks so much for sharing this with us :)
velvet at 11:24AM on May 11th 2008
156. Mo, fantastic interview with Clay! Maybe you could post the rest of it ... pretty please!! :o)
Julie at 4:00PM on May 11th 2008
157. Aw Mo,
What a delight to be able to indulge in a video featuring such a bewitching, dashing, debonair dilitante who can embrace the fine art of entertaining and humourous conversation, while simultaneously being able to construct an antithesis bewteen the chanson of Chopin and the simplicity of chopsticks.
But who was the guy sitting across from you?
JG
John Giza at 8:58PM on May 11th 2008
158. Someday, I shall dine w/ Clay. Hopefully in this lifetime, not the next :)
ladyred at 12:24AM on May 12th 2008
159. Well Mo, you've just gained a fan. I'm definitely not the groupie type, but I have been a fan of Clay Aiken since AI2. How refreshing to see someone conduct an interview with an open mind and intelligence. Of course, I'm sure it helped having an intelligent, interesting and down-to-earth person to interview.
I would love to see and hear you regularly. I'm going to be doing some checking to see where I can find more of your work. You make some of the other interviewers I've seen on TV look like programmable robots who can only spew out some questions based on research they've done five minutes before the interview. Again, thanks for a great interview.
Debbie at 12:57PM on May 12th 2008
160. It wasn't said outright, but certainly inferred about the age of Clay's fans. I agree with you. Just once I would like to hear Clay really defend his fans. No one has or ever had fans as devoted as his. Hear me Clay??
kathy at 10:19PM on May 13th 2008
161. Hi I'm a huge Clay from Japan. Japanese Claymates are thrilled to see the interview. We'd love to tell Clay how to use chopsticks. By the way, we do not eat the pod of Edamame. Edamame is soybeans, a very popular appetizer. It goes very well with the beer. Thanks MO. I've translated the interview into Japanese to share with all the other Japanese Clay fans.
armin at 10:23PM on May 13th 2008
162. I just had to watch this again for the third time.
Clay: I guess you could eat dirt if you tried hard enough.
Mo: There are dirt eaters in GA. Babies eat dirt.
Clay: (laughs) I don't think there are dirt eaters in GA.
Mo: It's not really a cult: it's a lifestyle.
BWAH!! You two are adorable together!
MissThang at 6:09PM on May 14th 2008
163. Haha, great interview! Clay's fans are "nomadic" and "in sync" with their cycles. Too funny!
Psbntl, I never heard anything stated about "all" Clay fans being middle-aged, menopausal women? Relax, and enjoy the interview - it was fun!
MissThang at 6:10PM on May 14th 2008
164. Mo i used to love you on VH1!! I didn't know you had your own blog! This is by far one of the best interviews with Clay yet! Thank you for all those laughs! *Looks down at her thumbs* Yep no opposable thumbs... lol. I happen to be 17 and truly enjoyed this interview thanks!
Wendy at 2:27PM on May 15th 2008
165. Why is almost every post on here so pro-Mo. Even the Pope has his distractors. Very suspect, since it's the lamest, most kiss-ass gay interview I've ever seen. Not that being gay is a bad thing, but kissing Clay's ass at Beni Hana might be.
Friendster214 at 3:39AM on May 16th 2008