Fresh Direct

Swimster and I are going on a spring diet together (maybe you've noticed the restaurant reviews have slowed down a bit). He has a new job starting in a couple of months (London here he comes!) and he needs to buy himself a new work wardrobe. Who wants to buy new clothes when you have a little extra padding? Not me! As for me, I have a friend's wedding next weekend in Charlottesville and I want to fit into my favorite Kathlin Argiro floral dress from last spring.

Part of the dieting process, besides exercising (I just went on a run all around Central Park and it is so beautiful outside I didn't want to stop), is building a healthy kitchen cabinet and making your own meals. I try to do both on a regular basis but have gotten myself into a whole wheat spaghetti and oatmeal rut and decided to add a few more options to my make-at-home meals. I don't get out of work until 8 o'clock, so by the time I get home and make myself dinner it's already 9 o'clock. And I know eating that late, especially if it's carbs, is not a good idea.

I don't seem to ever have time to go grocery shopping so I decided to go with Fresh Direct.

My shopping list:

2 packs, Amy's Organic Veggie Burgers
1 bag, frozen garden veggie blend
1 can, refried black beans
5 cans, solid white tuna fish
1 loaf, whole wheat bread
16 oz, Fresh Direct freshly ground peanut butter
2 bags, oven roasted turkey
1 container, low fat cottage cheese
1 package, sliced Swiss cheese

All this came out to a total of $40.57 + shipping charge is $4.95 = grand total of $46.31.

I know, this list is devoid of any fresh produce, fish, and poultry. But sadly, I'm on a debt diet too, so I have to pinch where I can. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my FD experience. The all natural freshly ground peanut butter is incredible. I picked the delivery to come between the hours of ten and noon and the young smiling guy showed up at 10:01. When does that ever happen? Last time I called Cable Guy he showed up after his four hour grace period. I wonder what other people think of Fresh Direct. If some of you have never heard of it, I see Fresh Direct trucks around the city more than I see FedEx or UPS trucks. They are delivering pounds and pounds of neatly packed cardboard boxes to homes all over the city at all hours of the day.

Here was my package of healthy treats.



And here's the highlight of my purchase: thick, crunchy peanut butter I could sit and eat all day with a spoon and a smile.



Now, let's see how long this food lasts me...

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A Not-So-Irish St. Pat's

Remember I wrote about a gloomy day I had about a week ago, right before St. Patty's day? Well, Winette told me she was kidnapping me from work Friday night and putting me out of my misery with some serious alcohol. I promise, no more sniveling. So off we went, into the crowded green streets of New York, her in her usual black and me in my loud Irish t-shirt I sneakily purchased that morning at Hallmark. It was basically an "I Heart NY" t-shirt but instead of the heart and the white, the t-shirt itself was green with white writing and had a four-leaf clover where the heart would be. A must-have for any Irishman in New York who's not afraid to show their colors on St. Pat's.

Our first stop was a place called Whym. We were drawn to this restaurant like flies to a warm neon light because we love the older sister restaurant Eatery. Winette's and my favorite thing to do on a slow work day, or any day where we drank too much alcohol the night before, is to order comfort food from the restaurant Eatery. Ok, do you want to know what we really call the food? Hangover food. Here's why. They have amazing macaroni and (white) cheese with grilled onions and the best sweet potato fries, except for a batch I once had at New Canaan's Gates Restaurant. Since we love Eatery so much (Winette swears by their veggie burgers as well) we decided to give Whym a try. The place was packed on St. Patrick's Day, which was surprising because we felt everyone in the city would be drinking themselves into comas at Pat O'Brien's, Brother Jimmy's, Flannigans, McFadden's, O'Reilly's, and [insert any Irish last name here and I'm sure NYC has a bar of that name]. We shrugged our shoulders in confusion and snuck into the bar area and stood. The bar was literally standing room only with no highchairs or stools to be had. It felt a bit odd to be standing there but we got over the awkwardness and ordered a couple drinks. The food idea was out because neither of us felt like eating while standing. Who knows, maybe there's a method to this upright madness.

I tried a blood orange margarita on the rocks with salt, and Winette tried the mojito martini. I was more excited for the blood orange juice than the tequila and that was a mistake. I got ALL tequila. Winette's drink was excellent and I would definitely recommend it. I am really particular about margaritas and am sometimes known to request more tequila. This was the first time I wimped out and wanted more juice (but was too sheepish to ask for it).

Next stop? The Hudson Hotel. The Hudson never fails to make me feel self-conscious. I am always reminded of Phillip Seymour Hoffman's quote in Crowe's excellent "Almost Famous," where he says, "I am uncool." I always feel this uncoolness seeping out of me when I walk into the Hudson. This aside, I would have liked to have stolen a cozy warm leather chair in the Library but no such luck. There are three separate rooms each with unique auras about them to hang out at chez Hudson: the Cafeteria, the Library, and the Bar (plus the private park-their outside area when it's nice out). Out of the three the Library fits our tastes the best but there was no sitting room there. The bar is too clubby and the Cafeteria has one bar counter and it appeared a group of meatheads and Aspen blonds had just pulled up and weren't leaving for a while, not to mention the perky annoying hostess who was NOT friendly when we wanted to take a peek at the goings on inside.

So sayonara Hudson, and on to the last and final stop. We headed downtown to Enoteca i Trulli, a small bar off of the restaurant i Trulli. This is one of Winette's favorite places in the city and it's no surprise to me why, after our Friday night visit. We scored two seats at the end of the bar and sat for a couple hours drinking various flights of wine and dipping our eager forks and mouths into a couple appetizers. We tried an arugula salad with rosemary lemon vinaigrette and shaved parmesan ($10). Shaved parmesan is my favorite way to eat parmesan in a salad. And the dressing was very light but had a real sour punch to it. We also tried a noodle dish : cavatelli with broccoli rabe and roasted almonds. Cavatelli, as you may remember, is my favorite noodle, that and orecchiette. This cavatelli was unlike any other pasta I've tried. The cavatelli were thick and plump pockets of warmth and goodness. The rabe seemed like it had been put through the blender because it looked more like a pesto dish than one with rabe. Either way, it was delicious and Winette's first taste of cavatelli was a hit.

In addition to our great food, we each tried a flight of wine, which is something they're known for. The flight order comes with three half-glasses of wine. You pick a color off the menu than a theme, such as piamente, bianco misto, and meridionale. I liked the puglia red group of some heavier reds. Winette went with a white group.

This evening cheered me up and I'm now on the road to bigger and brighter things. And it reminded me once again how lucky I am to have, not only a great co-worker like Winette, but also a truly great friend.

Whym
889 Ninth Ave., between 56 and 57th

Hudson Hotel
356 West 58th Street, between 8th and 9th

Enoteca i Trulli
122 E. 27th St., between Lexington Ave. and Park Ave. So.
212-481-7372

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Blue Ribbon Bakery

I got an exciting voicemail a couple weekends back from a surprise visitor. One of my best friends from college GreekGoddess was in my city. She recently switched jobs and her training brought her up north. My friend K.Adler and I got the surprise alert and dinner plans were immediately in the works.

K.Adler, GreekGoddess, and I all met during our good ol' undergraduate days at Virginia. GG was a second year when K.Adler and I came in as first years on the swim team. Scary to think that was almost nine years ago. Since then we have all gone our separate ways, but dinner that night at Blue Ribbon Bakery (K.Adler's pick as it's one of her and her husband LeMec's favorite places to eat) reminded me distance and time does not sever close ties among friends. We caught up that night like no time had been lost and I realized how much I miss their friendship.

Blue Ribbon Bakery has the corner spot on Downing and Bedford. You can't miss its large open windows. As I approached the entrance around the corner, I glanced inside to find a cavernous dining room filled with smiling faces (and stomachs). I guessed this must be the place. Walking by I got a warm feeling inside of curiosity and wonder, it reminded me of the feeling I get when I walk by the Saks Fifth Avenue Christmas windows. This was going to be a special night.

I walked in and found the crowd bustling and staff zipping in and out of the tightly packed tables in the dining room. I heard my name called from the left and found GG and her new beau waiting, and K.Adler and her husband sipping on wine and beer, already enjoying themselves and the surroundings. The bar is immediately to your left when you walk in and it was a pretty tight fit. K.Adler and GG scored a corner seat by the window and we hugged and cheered over our excitement that we were seeing each other for the first time in months.

LeMec and K.Adler go to Blue Ribbon Bakery often and it showed as one gentleman (uncertain if he was a host or the manager) kept coming over to check on us, and gave us an update on how our table was doing. This treatment was greatly appreciated (and always is when you're at a bar waiting on a table). It gets on my nerves when you order up a strong cocktail and they come to seat you as soon as you've taken the first sip. You want to tip out the bartender but are left with some confusion as to whether or not the tab will be transferred to the table. Nobody wants to stiff the bartender. This said kind gentleman even gave us a choice of tables when two opened up, and we chose upstairs.

Blue Ribbon Bakery is one of the Bromberg brothers' five restaurants. Their others include Blue Ribbon Sushi (one in Brooklyn, one in Manhattan) and Blue Ribbon (also one in Brooklyn, one in Manhattan). The two brothers from New Jersey studied at Le Cordon Bleu in France, which translates into "The Blue Ribbon" in English. In 1995 a 140 year old brick oven was discovered in the basement of a bodega at 35 Downing Street in the West Village. The oven was originally used as a neighborhood oven and later by a family who owned a bakery. It had been dormant for 75 years before its discovery. The Bromberg brothers used this brick oven as inspiration to create their restaurant Blue Ribbon Bakery, and the brick oven downstairs still remains in use. The breads are sold wholesale to NYC restaurants (sadly not to us yocal locals yet). If you have to use the bathroom, head downstairs and the famous oven will be to your right.

After more catching up on the most recent news in our hectic lives, we were escorted to our six-top table along the banquette. Girls inside, boys on the outside. There was a long mirror that went from one end of the banquette, and the combination of this and the large square windows opened up the space. The walls were of exposed brick and I felt myself sinking in to the warmth and charm of Blue Ribbon.

I grabbed my menu to glance at the choices and was overwhelmed. The appetizers ranged from French fries to herring in cream, from pate to beet vinaigrette, from shrimp boil to pickled tongue. Something on the diverse list of appetizers was bound to please someone's tastebuds. LeMec recommended a few dishes and we fully trusted his choices. We ordered one steamed artichoke for the table, two asparagus vinaigrette plates, and two mushroom ravioli dishes, not to mention the bread basket that came to the table. There was a sourdough bread, a darker wheat bread, and an olive bread. All the breads are made downstairs in their bakery (go to the bathroom so you can see the bread elves in action). The olive bread was moist and salty and I couldn't stop putting my hands in the bread basket to "try" another piece. The steamed artichoke was hot and juicy and the vinaigrette dipping sauce was the same one served with the asparagus. It was light and had a citrus-y dill flavor. I think they are building a site for Blue Ribbon products, let's hope the vinaigrette will be one of the things you can buy. The asparagus was perfectly cooked with a slight crispness to it with the vinaigrette drizzled on top. The vinaigrette made this dish, and now whenever I see or hear asparagus I'm going to want BR's vinaigrette to go along with it. And last and liked most I think, we had the mushroom ravioli. There were three or four on the plate and we were all fighting for the last bites of each. The raviolis were rich in mushroom and cream, like pillows of goodness. I loved halving them with my fork and seeing the pasta dough wrap around the mushrooms inside.

For our entrees we all chose something different. My friends have fun with the fact I keep a restaurant blog and they wanted to give me as many tasting possibilities as they could. LeMec tried the fried chicken with mash potatoes and collard greens. The chicken was soft and tender on the inside with a cackling crispness on the outside-just how fried chicken's supposed to be. K.Adler tried the generous Hummus platter with iceberg and cous cous salad. I stole some of the warm pita and dunked it in some hummus. The hummus was the perfect proportion of garlic and chickpea. I tried the salmon with asparagus and mash potatoes in a mustard sauce. The generous filet of salmon was grilled to perfection and topped with crispy potato flakes. The mash potatoes were thick but not too thick. I grabbed gobs of them in my fork and the salmon, mash, mustard trio was excellent. GreekGoddess tried the French onion soup, that came out in a giant bowl, more like a cauldron, that was big enough for a family of four to share. I tried a big spoonful of onions and cheese and it was just the right sweetness and saltiness. And last but not least GG's new beau tried the rack of lamb in a roasted tomato sauce. Since we only just met, I decided it was too early for me to be reaching across the table and stealing food off his plate.

As if all this wasn't enough, the dessert menu had too many inviting things to try and ordering one (though it would have been enough to satisfy our full stomachs) was not sufficient for our curious tastebuds. After some discussion, we went with the hot fudge sundae (GG was like a little girl in Dylan's Candy Bar over ordering this dessert) and the banana walnut bread pudding with banana caramel sauce. The sundae was larger than life-I could have gone swimming in it, as was the banana walnut bread. Hot fudge was erupting out of the ice cream like an overflowing volcano. The bread pudding put all its cousins to shame. It was tightly packed but the bread was soft and light. A spoon of the pudding dipped in the caramel sauce put me over the edge of content. The Bromberg brothers definitely get my blue ribbon for excellence.

(BR gets three apples, temporarily blogger is not allowing me to upload images)
35 Downing Street (between Downing and Bedford)
212.337.0404

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Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I found this picture on the web and it fit perfectly, as it pretty much sums up the scene outside our newsroom.

I had a pretty bad day at work yesterday and thanks to my support network at the office, I was able to get through it. One friend at work had to practically spoonfeed me a slice of his homemade Irish soda bread, hoping it would make me feel better (I barely felt like eating all day). It worked like a leprechaun's charm and I figured I would share the recipe with you all, as a token of celebrating my Irish heritage. Thanks to SaltyDogHamilton for sharing it with me.

IRISH SODA BREAD
Ingredients:

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (use Hecker’s unbleached flour)
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups raisins
1 Tablespoon caraway seeds (optional)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 ½ cups buttermilk
2 Tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and caraway seeds. Mix with a wire whisk until well blended. Add raisins and blend well.

Add eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter. Mix again, with a strong fork, until all the ingredients are well moistened. Dough will be sticky - this is normal.

Place in a greased and floured 8 or 9 inch pan, either glass or aluminum, and bake at 350° F for about one hour, until golden brown*. The dough may be divided to make 2 small loaves, in 5 or 6-inch pans.

* Ovens vary in temperature, so adjust cooking time as necessary. A knife piercing the center of the bread that comes out clean and dry will tell you that the bread is done.

This is an original Irish recipe brought to America in the 1920’s.
By Mary Hamilton, County Antrim.

And here's a little Irish blessing to send you on your way... to the kitchen :)

"Here's wishing you the top o' life without a single tumble.
Here's wishing you the smiles o' life and not a single grumble.
Here's wishing you the best o' life and not a claw about it.
Here's wishing you the joy in life and not a day without it."

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We're off to see....

the home of the America's Cup races, the home of the Tennis Hall of Fame, and the former (umpteenth) home to some of the wealthiest Americans in history: the Astors and Vanderbilts.

Where is this?

Any guesses?

We're off to Newport, RI.

Swimster's spring break is this week and rather than spend just an ordinary weekend in the city (remember today and tomorrow are my days off), I decided we would take a very mini-holiday and head to the coast. Mom suggested it. Thanks Mom! We would have loved to go to Maine, or Nantucket, or Martha's Vineyard, but Newport seemed to be the closest bet. In a few short hours we'll be checking in to the Francis Malbone Inn, a bed and breakfast I found off the trusty tripadvisor.com. We'll be eating lots of seafood and hopefully enjoying a little quiet sun. I'm excited to experience the beachy town in the off season and mid-week, fingers crossed, we should have most of the sights to ourselves.

More from the road later.

Until then, Happy Tuesday!

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Weekend Zoo Blogging

As many of you know, I don't have a cat, and I don't have a dog. My parents still have Tucker in Carmel, but now that I'm 26 and out of the house, I can't really consider him my cat anymore. Instead of posting a picture of Tucker here for Weekend Cat Blogging, I decided to post some pictures of my recent trip to the Bronx Zoo, and I'm calling it Weekend Zoo Blogging. This blog is primarily about my adventures in food in the city (so please excuse this brief departure), but I could not pass up this opportunity to encourage you to support our local zoo. And if that doesn't work, join the Wildlife Conservancy Group, which I have since done.

If you live in the city and are an animal person like myself, then get up out of your chair and go to the Bronx Zoo now. Are you leaving yet? And don't forget the camera. A baby gorilla was born in January and if you go now, you will be able to watch the little Triska with her new family at the Congo Gorilla Forest. It is well worth the eight dollars to get in. I am pretty passionate about animals and could have sat there all day looking at this adorable face. Can you see why? And look how close I got. There was only a thick glass separating the two of us. I was a few short inches away from its nose (according to the sign on the glass they haven't determined if Triska is male or female yet). We were playing pattycake through the glass. It was truly amazing.

Triska was glued to her mommy's chest too. Any time the baby would try and "crawl" on its own, a feisty young gorilla would fly over to play and mommy would swoop it up in her long furry arms and back to her chest it would lie. It was a sight to witness. And the coolest part? I got to go on a weekday (the only advantage to working weekends) and I really had the gorillas (and all of the other animals too) all to myself. Here are a couple more:

Here are a few more of the other creatures I ran into. My last zoo experience was a long time ago, and I can't remember which one it was, but I remember being deeply saddened by seeing animals caged up. But the Bronx Zoo surprisingly has (for the most part) some beautiful facilities for its animals. And I just told myself, the zoos are trying to promote awareness and like the guy said who won the Oscar for "March of the Penguins," "If we can turn one child into a penguin-loving person, we did our job." To me, that's what zoos should be about, turning people into animal lovers who care about protecting them, in addition to providing the best nurturing environments for its wild animals.

I'm not a snake fan but I couldn't resist this guy staring back at me. It looked like he had just eaten a goat with his scaled body expanded to about one and a half feet in width.

And these cuties, especially the one on top smiling at me.

And finally Tiger Mountain. This was too funny. I have a really old digital camera and thank goodness Sasha (we identified her by a stripe chart on the wall in her house) kept pacing back and forth for me. But this was the only head-on I got! The picture actually takes about five seconds after I press the button so I kept on guess-timating when to take the picture. Oh was it frustrating. This still gives you an idea of how close I was.

I hope you will get to the zoo before Triska grows up. I figure, how many times in your life will you be able to see a baby gorilla? Next up, a zoo with baby pandas :) A lot of the animals were hiding out because of the cold, but I did get to enjoy some of the main characters: polar bears, grizzly bears, penguins, tigers, gorillas, giraffes, eagles, and many others. I hope in the spring I will get back to check on Triska, to pick up our pattycake game, and to find some lions.

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Salt

Swimster and I had been meaning to get together with his two friends from college for months. The two are engaged and set to marry right here in the Big Apple in June, and Swimster actually had a hand in introducing them to each other. The couple, without ever having met them, was nice enough to invite me to their engagement party at Megu back in December. And since meeting them that night, the four of us have been trying to schedule a dinner. Three months later it actually happened. Funny how this city works...

The two chose a restaurant in the village called Salt. I had never heard of it, but after a quick glance at their website (go see for yourself) I was intrigued.

I met Swimster after work and was really excited to try this place. I walked in and slipped past the host as I spotted Swimster sitting by his lonesome at the bar straight ahead. I cozied up to him and finished his wine (I know I'm terrible) while we waited for our friends to join us.

The restaurant is tucked away in a small room, with a bar counter facing the open kitchen (that is, there's a huge square cut out of the wall so you can more or less see what's going on in the kitchen). I noticed a girl in her whites came out from the kitchen to chitchat with her friends at the bar. I liked the warm feeling of this place already. I turned around briefly to check out the scene and noticed the dining room only had three long white tables and everyone was seated at them community-style. Community dining can go either way, depending on the occasion, but for this night it worked out perfectly.

LandRover and CambridgeDame met us and we were seated at our table, next to a group of four girls celebrating a girls' night. I had my own girls' night last night and forget how fun it is. We immediately were engrossed in conversation, Swimster with LandRover and me with CambridgeDame. LandRover took an amazing trip from Lisbon all the way to Tibet earlier this year-driving the whole way-and we were awed at the stories he told us. He did it solo and said it was one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. Perhaps we should all take part in something of this magnitude, a personal pilgrimage of discovery and adventure sounded like it was excellent for the soul.

Our adventure at the table began with an excellent choice of wine on LandRover's part, followed by appetizers and entrees for all. My appetizer was the slow roasted eggplant, beet tartare and blue cheese fondue. Did you get all that? While Swimster tried the venison tartare. The eggplant dish came out in a mountain of different layers. On top was the gooey cheese, below that the beet tartare, and below, waiting to be discovered, was the eggplant. The eggplant and beet combination worked really well and the blue cheese gobs meshed it all together. The eggplant was perfectly cooked and maintained a soft but not soggy texture. I think I left a squeaky clean plate because I dipped some bread in the juices. My entree was the grilled Newport steak with mashed potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts. Both dishes were excellent. The steak was tender and I barely needed my steak knife to cut it. The mashed potatoes were heavily mashed, no chunks, and silky smooth and buttery. Somehow my Brussels sprouts were given away to another table so I had to wait until I was practically stuffed to try them. That was the only hiccup the whole night. I can't complain though, because the ones I did manage to get down were well worth the wait. Swimster tried the whole grilled Dorade Royale in a balsamic reduction. He didn't like the bones in it, but what would you expect when the menu says whole fish, right? I tasted the Dorade and it was good to me!

A glass of port for all ended our dinner. I can't really rate this restaurant as I was abnormally polite that night, and did not insist on trying everything that came to the table (as you can see I could only write about the few dishes I tried). What I can say is Salt was a refreshing break from the usual New York City dining experience. A small, simple restaurant that is comfortable enough in its own skin, that they trust you will enjoy the food so much, the community seating and small space will not prevent you from oft' returning.

58 Macdougal Street, between Prince and Houston
212-674-4968

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Chocolate Banana Tea Loaf

Mom had some leftover very ripe bananas lying around the kitchen and she suggested we make a banana dessert with them, preferably some sort of banana bread. Sounded good to me. There's a first for everything, right? And after looking through some of the usual suspects, I decided to go with a new book this time, but not an entirely new theme. I seem to make things out of cookbooks bought in New York or based on restaurants or storefronts in New York. I guess I should start thinking outside the box (or island), but for now this did just great.

I picked a chocolate banana tea loaf bread from "Once Upon a Tart" written by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau, with Carolynn Carreno. Their bakery is at 135 Sullivan Street in SoHo between Prince and Houston.




1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, and a little extra for smearing in loaf pans
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour;
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 very ripe bananas, mashed (riper the better)
1 cup cold sour cream

1. position your oven racks so that one is in the center of the oven.
preheat to 400 degrees.
grease the 2 5x9-inch loaf pans

2. whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium-size bowl

3. in a separate big bowl, cream the butter and sugar until mixture is creamy and fluffy and a light lemon-yellow in color.
with the mixer on low, beat in the eggs. add the banana and continue mixing at low speed until it is completely incorporated in the batter.

4. stir half of the sour cream into the wet ingredients. fold in half the dry ingredients. repeat until all is combined.

5. use a rubber spatula to scrape batter equally into the prepared loaf pans

6. place pans in the oven and bake for about 70-75 minutes (we made one loaf and only cooked it for about 50 minutes and it was a little bit on the raw side but it was still delicious, like a big banana oozing brownie). I even read the authors of the cookbook like to take it out of the oven really early to have the chocolate oozing out of the middle.

Here's a slice for you to try. I dolloped a small spoon of ricotta on there, just for kicks and it was actually delicious, and toned down the sweetness just a bit. Enjoy!

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Morimoto

"I made reservations for us to eat at a fun place. I hope it's awesome. Save February 16th for a fun date." This is the voicemail I got about a month ago from Swimster. I won't complain about that. As soon as I put my phone down I started guessing to myself where I thought we were going to be eating. I had heard about a new Japanese restaurant opening, run by one of the Iron Chef extraordinaires himself Morimoto. So I threw that one out there for kicks.

"Nope, guess again," he said.

I went through a small list of places and according to Swimster I was way off, colder than cold, icy. After a couple more guesses and getting no warmer, I gave up.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and our dinner was just around the corner. I was extremely excited, as any foodie dork like myself would be. And two days before the date, Swimster gave in and disclosed the surprise dinner spot. I had been right all along. We were going to Morimoto! Swimster = trickster.

Masaharu Morimoto used to be the head chef at Nobu before he went on to open up his first restaurant that bears his name. I did my research and found that Stephen Starr is the restaurateur behind Morimoto, and the maestro has twelve restaurants in Philadelphia under his belt (anybody been to any of these: Striped Bass, Pod and Continental?). Morimoto II is what the New York version should really be called, as his "flagship" restaurant of the same name is in Philadelphia.

The restaurant was designed by Tadao Ando (the creative mind behind the Water Temple in Awajishima, Japan). You walk into the restaurant under a giant red noren outside, that was blowing elegantly in the wind like a scarf. As I entered the Morimoto world, I was wowed. The brightness of it was fresh and clean and I almost felt I needed to borrow a pair of tinted sunglasses from my favorite singer/activist Bono. The textured ceiling was made up of giant white flowing banners (which I later read were made of fiberglass). They were hung in such a way it looked like they were the ridges of a giant seashell.

We walked in to Morimoto and were greeted at the door by several staff members milling around the hostess stand. In college I think my professor to student ratio was twelve to one. At Morimoto the staff to patron ratio felt like three to one. And they were easy to spot in their all-black outfits to contrast the bright white interior. A friendly hostess, I say a hostess because it appeared there was a band of them, greeted us and told us it would be a few minutes till we could sit down, but we were welcome to go downstairs to the lounge area and have a drink.

We walked downstairs and my observing cap and memory stick were on (I couldn't help but think how I was going to put this experience into words to share with you, my blogging friends). The staircase is in the middle of the restaurant's two floors and seating takes place around this large staircase. The bar is directly in front of you when you get downstairs. To your left are the bathrooms (more on those later) and to your right were the lounge-ish seating areas of small pod-like seats, lowered tables and glass wall dividers, dividing each party from the next. I liked how this made the space you were in smaller and more intimate.

The bar was busy, but not so packed you had to annoyingly fight your way through to be seen by a bartender. Two stools opened up at the end and we snagged them. When I looked at the person's drink sitting next to me, I knew exactly what I was getting-a sake caipirinha. And boy was it delicious. The only problem here was when I sat down and ordered this from one of our many servers, he didn't know what I meant. I consequently had to change what I drank for the rest of the evening. The glass wall behind the bar encased rows and rows and rows of filled water bottles. The label-less water bottles had a funky shape to them and made for an intriguing backdrop.

The hostess, as promised, returned to our side to escort us upstairs to our table. We sat on the half-mezzanine level to your far right when you walk in-a seat with a view. We watched black-clad servers hopping around from table to table, filing people in and out, and balancing exotic dishes in their arms. There were a couple suits I noticed catering to a private table in the corner-must have been a VSP (very special person).

It wasn't two minutes into our sitting down that I looked over to the enormous open kitchen, about twenty five yards to our right. It was the nucleus of the room. Everyone eating would take turns twisting their heads around in awe to watch the chefs at play.

"He's here! He's here! Oh my god he's here!" I yelled giddy with excitement.

"Who, what, why?"

"Morimoto! He's in the kitchen!" I whispered. I realized I didn't want to give it away to everyone else who hadn't noticed.

Sure enough, there he was, in the same outfit I've seen him wearing before on television-his grey samue with the thin white strand of cloth holding his big sleeves up in a kind of holster strap around his shoulders. You'd think it was (insert any celeb you admire here) George Clooney. My night could have ended there and I didn't even taste a piece of food yet.

The server delivered our menus and it took me about ten minutes to actually open it up as I was still taking in my surroundings. Morimoto, like most high-end Japanese restaurants in the city, offers omakase, which, literally translated into English, means entrusting. It's something restaurants offer as a dining choice, where you are letting the chef decide what he/she serves you. Swimster and I toyed with the idea of being served dishes we had no say in picking. Part of me said I'd rather choose, and part of me said what the heck. We went with "what the heck" and ordered omakase. Our 9-course dinner follows in this order:

Ichi- A giant white bowl filled with ice, and topped with a small wooden, rectangular tray lined with a thin layer of toro tartare with caviar. At one end of the tartare was a small section of "dips" to go with it: avocado, sour cream, mini rice crackers (shaped like couscous and bursting in crispiness), wasabi, and shiso leaves. They also give you a small flat wooden paddle to scoop up the tartare and mix with whatever dressings you prefer. The toro was was so finely chopped and smooth it looked like a blanket. It was cold and soft like butter, a very refreshing first bite. And to top it off, after each dish they serve a Japanese mountain peach yamamomo, the size of a strawberry but not quite as sweet.

Ni- Yellowtail and white snapper sashimi, and on the side there were two oysters, one bluepoint oyster with cocktail sauce, and a kumamoto oyster with ceviche, as well as a fresh scallop perched on a slice of lime. The oysters were the highlight of this course. I never thought of myself as an oyster person, but now I'm rethinking this. It was like I was eating liquid gold.

Sun-Lobster and potato salad, in a pumpkin puree with a red wine reduction. This dish was a delicious winter combination.

Shi- Chawanmushi with duck, or a small bowl of a custard-like substance, it had the consistency of creme brulee, mixed with pieces of moist duck. I couldn't eat it fast enough.

Go-Prosciutto-wrapped Futo Maki, or fried sushi (futo means fat in size) with a yuzu foam dashi. The foam had a salty richness to it-this was probably the most impressive. Anyone that can serve a foam that tastes good is doing something right. Prosciutto and sushi? Yes, it was different than anything else I've ever tried and I loved the fried roll with a flair of Italian.

Roku-A small serving plate of green tea. One cup had the green tea powder in it and one container had the hot water. Servers actually came to the table and poured the hot water in the cups for us, and further ground and mixed in the powder. I felt like we were kings.

NaNa- Wag yu beef (kobe) with red snapper and potatoes. This surf and turf dish was probably one of my favorites. The red snapper was delicate and light, with the kobe being tender and rich in its juices. This was a deadly combo and I almost asked for seconds.

Hachi-Eel, yellowtail, octopus, snapper, and tuna sashimi. All delicate, all fresh and all chilled. This was a classic plate of all the best sashimi there is and made for ten bites of heaven.

Kyu-And last but not least, a marble cheesecake, with a banana-orange sorbet. This was a dense bite of hazelnut and chocolate, and the sorbet was sweet and tangy and really sent it home-the exclamation point to omakase.

In the middle of this food banquet, we were greeted by Morimoto himself. He was walking around the restaurant, in small breaks from the kitchen, and greeting customers. I shook his hand with warmth and gratitude thanking him for the tremendous meal. He bowed in humble appreciation and moved on...

I, however, will never move on, not from this experience. I am already eager to go back and watch the greatness in action, at one of the tables right in front of the kitchen. I imagine Morimoto's hands-on approach will soon come to an end. The staff will get its feet on the ground and Morimoto won't need to be there every night. But for now, he's there, keeping a close watch on his hard-working staff, making sure you try something unique and spectacular from any other Japanese dining experience. And that we did.

Morimoto gets Mona's third golden apple.

88 10th Ave., between 15th and 16th
(212)-989-8883.

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