Morimoto's website for those wanting to go to the site. :) It's flash, I think, so you'll have to have that.
On our recent trip to Philadelphia, Tiger had a surprise planned for me. He wouldn't tell me where we were going for dinner on Sunday night after the convention we were at, but I had to take formal dress. So, thoroughly confused, I packed up my formal and off we went.
Tiger spent the better part of a week looking smug and grinning. And he was telling everyone that we met that weekend where he was taking me. They all just grinned at me, too. *sigh*
So, the evening came and we hopped into the car and off we went. We were at the building before I even knew where we were going. And, yes, I'm afraid I did probably squeal when I read Morimoto on the sign as we walked in.
I had *NO* idea.
The restaurant itself is wonderful. The ceiling is wood, done in a wavy contour, and everything just seems to flow around you as you enter. The booths are light from underneath with purple light (they're some type of opaque plasticish modern stuff) and the tables (glass) are underlit with green light. *VERY* stylish. There is a sushi bar in the back where you can watch them preparing food. And yes, it looks *just* like the assistants running around on Iron Chef, black baseball caps and all.
I got to look at the menu, but Tiger had already planned my dinner for me. :) You see, he was getting a kick out of all of this. Some sort of perverse pleasure in making my little brain go *wibble*.
The waiter came over to take our order. Tiger, not being a big seafood person, ordered a steak for himself. For me, he ordered the most expensive Omakase on the menu. Which didn't mean anything to me at the time....but boy would it. He made sure that Tiger understood that if he was only ordering a steak that he would have a bit of a wait for his food while they brought out mine. Which was fine with him. He also ordered a carafe of Junmai Gingo Morimoto sake, the second of his three personal types of sake. Very good, though it was a good thing my dinner lasted three hours. :) We would have been wobbling out in anything under 2. They also carefully checked for any food allergies before they took the order back. Which was impressive.
Now, a bit about Omakase. Omakase translates roughly to "leave yourself in my hands". Chef's Choice. Tiger had ordered me the most expensive, since he was trying to make it a very special evening. ($120, for those wanting to know. :) ) While that sounds expensive....and it is....it's a very good price for the amount and type of food you get. Tiger extracted a promise that I would try everything they brought out. It was to be an adventurous night for me. No, you don't get to know what's on the menu til they bring it out. :)
The first course that they brought out was a toro (tuna) tartare with shallots, some raw some fried to crisps with caviar, ground wasabi, and a soy based sauce. There was also a little Japanese peach to eat once you'd finished the course. Wow. Awesome is not enough.
But...it gets better. :)
The second course was zensai sakizuke (Japanese Antipasto). There were three pieces to the course. A baby Japanese eggplant, abalone, and a whitefish (most likely yellowtail) each presented with their own garnishes. The abalone didn't taste or look at *all* like I'd expected. It's very firm...but when you bite into it it's like the ocean suddenly ruptured. ;)
The third course was an oyster foie gras; a deep sea oyster and sea urchin with foie gras jus. I've never been too big on muscles...but I did promise. And I tried it. I may never eat raw oysters...but this was *very* good. I'm a convert...I think. :)
The fourth course was sashimi salad; baby greens, tuna tataki, shaved bonita, and shuyo dressing. The dressing was a citrusy vinagrette style dressing. Oh! And it came with an edible orchid. YUM! Crunchy!
Then they took pity on me and brought out the Intermezzo. They serve this between major courses to cleanse the palate. And, before you all go "EEEEWWWW", it was very tasty. Wasabi lime sorbet. Well, it was a Japanese fruit that tasted like a lime with just a touch of wasabi in it for a bit of heat. It was very good...though I have to admit, not something I would have thought of.
(Please note, we haven't gotten to the bulk of the meal yet. :) )
Next, they brought out Lobster Epice. Lobster, pan roasted with a Morimoto blend of 8 spices served with creme fraische. (or however that is spelled) The sweet blended *really* well with the hot spices on the lobster.
The next course is not on the menu. *grins* Kobe beef with fois gras and roasted potatos. They'd fried the fois gras so that it was crispy. Kobe beef is *extremely* rich tasting and you can, literally, cut it with a fork. This dish was...wow.
I think I managed not to pop at that point...and found out I *still* had two courses to go. *OY!*
Next they brought out the sushi course. There were six types: sima aji (striped jack), sake (salmon), whitefish (again, probably yellow tail), conger eel, kohada (schad), and Edo style egg sushi (the yellow cake like one seen on Iron Chef). Served with soy, lemongrass, and wasabi. I've never really had the nerve to order sushi at a restaurant before. I was too afraid of not liking it. I have to admit, I didn't really like the kohada much...but the rest was good. Well, it was *all* good, but the kohada wasn't to my particular tastes. :)
The final course was the desert course. They messed this up, but recovered nicely. At the beginning of the meal, I'd told them I was highly allergic to nuts. That apparently did not get passed on to the dessert chef and they brought out something with a hazelnut sauce. Everything looked wonderful. But, back it went, and a new one was brought out with all *different* desserts.
Yes, desserts. Plural. There was a piece of Togarashi (yam cake with a ginger maple sauce), Morimoto "Mama Mia" Rice Cake with Chocolate ice cream, and Tofu Cheesecake served with lychee sorbet that is so rich I thought I would *die*, garnished with another edible orchid and a Japanese peach.
As they brought out each course, they explained what was in it. I never saw the same pattern of dish more than once. Oh...and the sake...it was served in bamboo carafes with bamboo cups. :)
Tiger almost had to roll me out of the restaurant.
