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. This is just cute.
Carole at 11:27AM on May 10th 2008
152. Fun interview! Thank You.
Clay's cd is absolutely wonderful... I cannot stop playing it!
I'm proud to be a "nomadic", diversified, Clay-fan !!! :-)
MrsDM at 11:46AM on May 10th 2008
153. i am more than happy to be a roccocat...Mo rocks :D
bfs at 1:17PM on May 10th 2008
154. This is so funny. I wish it went on longer. Can you do another one soon?
Gerry M Morgan at 2:04PM on May 10th 2008
155. 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
156. What a refreshing interview, fun relaxing and totally enjoyable; great job Mo! Clay you look cute as a button hehehehheheee :o) Watching you guys eating and enjoying some Benihana acrobatics was hilarious *HUGE GRIN* Thanks for this.
P.S. Clay you and your new CD rock!!!! and Mo you rock too!!!!
missmobius at 3:26PM on May 10th 2008
157. What a fun interview! Made me laugh!! I wouldn't eat those pea pods either ... substitute shrimp for them please! Mo, thanks for a really great interview. Wish I could have seen the whole thing!
JD at 5:23PM on May 10th 2008
158. Refreshing interview. Mo, Benihana and Clay Aiken....good menu. Aiken is so natural and funny. I would also like to see the outtakes. Leaving now to buy that new album. Thank You Mo.
Janie at 5:38PM on May 10th 2008
159. That was soooo funny! Any chance of seeing the rest of the video? Clay seems to be such a nice young man with an angelic voice. Love the new CD and especially "What I Don't Need", which is a little different style than other Clay songs. Thanks for a great interview!
Crazy4Clay at 8:48PM on May 10th 2008
160. The best, most natural I have ever seen him. If there are any additional minutes of the interview not posted yet, please post them. Loved every minute and second we did get.
ask at 11:13PM on May 10th 2008
161. 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
162. 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
163. 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
164. Someday, I shall dine w/ Clay. Hopefully in this lifetime, not the next :)
ladyred at 12:24AM on May 12th 2008
165. 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