Iron Chef Morimoto

The elf has been traveling and that has caused a serious decline in entries over the past week. I promise to do better, especially now that I am drinking.

The boss and I were in NY this past week for meetings. Wrapping up meetings means time for dinner (and drinks)! A bud of the boss suggested we hit Morimoto, and we did.

Hidden behind fluttering red banners, this is a restaurant of bold neutrality in color and design. It was not overwhelmingly busy, most likely due to it being both a Monday and President's Day. Good to know dead presidents were working for us.

Behind the curtains and through two sets of glass doors you enter. It is split-level and the bar is downstairs. We were taken to the back of the room and the sushi bar. Extending along the back wall and in front of the kitchen, the sushi bar is a powerful statement. It forms an anchor for the entire space and seems to float in air. The chairs are comfortable, solid, and perfectly integrated into the bar. The web site for the restaurant has great pictures of all of this; on to the food.

We had a lovely and very helpful server, so we asked her to recommend. Her suggestions were on the mark across the board -- it really pays to trust your server.

Here is what we ate:
toro tartare -- an unusual presentation of the fish pressed into a slab and the little metal spoons used to scoop and eat, but taste was amazing
spicy king crab -- super flavorful crab in the shell with nice bite, lots of it
sea bass -- served in a rich broth with Japanese eggplant and avocado tempura (avocado tempura rocks!)
soft shell crab roll -- perfectly prepared

Food is nice, but the real fun is always in the liquid. Here we had one of the special brew house sakes:
Morimoto Ginjo -- lots of fresh fruit including pear and plum, hints of vanilla throughout. This was an outstanding sake and beautifully served in a custom decanter set in a bowl of ice.

Morimoto himself was there, hanging out casually around the sushi bar, helping some people he seemed to know, and appearing very genuine.

This was well worth the visit.