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.
"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.
posted by Mona at 12:40 PM
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24 Comments:
WOW WOWOWOWOWOWOW! That sounds like a fantastic meal, and so cool that you got to meet the Man himself.
cool. great review. Have you checked out Frank Bruni's new blog?
He has a great article on the value of celebrity chefs. It was interesting to read your review and how it answered Bruni's thesis.
Cool. Thanks Mona.
As for Artisanal..yeah, what up with not telling the world about the Fondue festivities?
Mebeth, oh it was girlfriend. Definitely worth a trip, if not several. I was reading about a guy who's gone back continuously for omakase and he never gets a repeat-very impressive.
Badge, hey thanks :) Yes I did actually read that article and thought it pretty funny I was in the middle of writing about my celeb sighting. I am weary of celebs and their food not living up to the hype, but this food (and the restaurant and the service) did live up and pass my expectations.
Hi Mona,
Fantastic post! You have a tremendous talent for summing up your meals.
I'd heard of Nobu but didn't know that Morimoto had left to start his own place. I hope you get to go back!
i think i will come to NY just for that restaurant it sounds SO fantastic. oooo you lucky lucky girl :)
Oh, I wish I could type this in green, because I am so jealous of you. Swimster sounds as crafty as Amy. I can't keep a secret. Great review.
Yay - my hometown foodie is being welcomed with open arms in NYC! Been to all of the Starr eateries, and more than once. You are in for a treat. And if he did Morimoto in NYC as he did in Philly, spring for the tasting menu at no less than the mid-level price. Heaven. Pure heaven. By the way, Starr's also putting a Buddakan up there - (if the menu is the same) go for the barbecue pork and stay for the dessert bento box. Enjoy, Mona!
Ivonne, thanks so much! You are too kind but thank you! Yep, I guess Morimoto learned from the best and me too (on hoping I go back).
BC, that's great-ha :) Yah I can't keep a secret either, and I always do my best to get to the bottom of secrets.
Paige Jennifer, that's great you're familiar with his other restaurants. And will keep your tip in mind. I imagine it's just as impeccable as his Morimoto in Philly. Who knows, someone will have to decide eventually which one, if either, is better I guess :) We can compare notes. I'm looking up Buddakan right now...
Catesa, oh no I missed you. THanks for visiting. I hope you are planning a trip to NYC soon. I'd love to hang out and eat a great meal with you.
Wow, how cool is that? Betcha Swimster scored a few brownie points with that dinner. :)
He scored mucho brownie points..we're talking double decker dark chocolate brownie points;)
Woo! Sounds like a hot ticket to me.Thanks for sharing.
Greg, oh you are welcome my friend :)
Wow, truly impressive! It sounds almost like pure, gorgeous sensory overload, with each new experience trumping the previous.
You meet the man, AND get to eat his food?! You just broke the mold, baby!
S'kat, sensory overload. Ha, that's great...yes it was. I was in la-la-land :) Have a good weekend?
I would think I'd died and gone to heaven. Great that you were brave enough to do the omakase thing. I've been trying to remember that word for weeks. The last time I read the word, the translation was something like "in your hands", so when I was in a great sushi place here in Atlanta where the chef doesn't speak English and tried my "in your hands" routine -- he told me where the restroom was. Guess he thought I wanted to wash my hands. I'm gonna write the word down right NOW!
Yeah! Glad you had so much fun!!!
Malibu
Janice, I love that anecdote-that's hilarious!!
HA!
"In your hands" sounds pretty accurate too. Hope you're doing well!
Mal, There you are. You were telling me to write about this dinner and then when I did you were missing..ha :) Hope things are going well in VA!
Really cool, Mona! Thanks for sharing with us.
Love your GOLDEN apple!
Paz
Paz, aw thanks! Yes, Morimoto deserved it!!
Yummy! In case you're interested...
http://www.xanga.com/feed_moonbunny/457072907/morimoto-nyc-special-omakase-bar.html
yvo, thanks for sending me that link. that's awesome. i love your pictures! incredible. always love new visitors, come back again soon!
Mona, we watched when the Food Network did a show about setting up that restaurant in Philly. It was really cool how they did the build out there and how they talked about the fish they used and the special freezer they needed. The whole show made me want to make the 6 hour drive from here to Philly. You really will have to tell us how the meal is once you go!
What a doofus I am. Sorry I got so excited about seeing that you were going to eat at such a wonderful place, I didn't scroll down and read the rest of the story. DUH!
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