Morimoto, New York
Being the Morimoto-lover that I am, I jumped on the phone to make a reservation the minute I knew I’d be visiting NYC (back in May). Reservations at the Morimoto sushi bar must be made 30 days in advance, not surprising for the hip digs in the meatpacking district. This is Morimoto’s second restaurant, the first being in Philly - which we all know I will probably never visit because hey… it’s Philly. J/K. The structure is huge, with uber modern design - very NYC. Downstairs boasts a modern-looking bar where good-looking people hang out for drinks while waiting for their table.
We were promptly seated at the bar, right in front of Morimoto-san! It was a while before I realized that I might be scaring him with my gazer-beam stare and had to turn away instead to focus on the day’s menu. We selected our favorite sushi/sashimi dishes as a basis for comparison, then ordered the really unique, creative dishes on the menu. I found the sushi and raw dishes to be mediocre, nothing compared to the great sushi you can find in LA (Sushi Sushi, Mori, etc). However, the Iron Chef really proves to be a master of creativity in appetizers, cooked dishes, and presentation. Most memorable were the lobster ravioli appetizer (4* check out the big chunks of lobster!), pork kakuni in a bed of rice porridge (4*), tacoyaki (3.5*), seafood stew in savory broth (4.5*), tofu cheesecake w/ yuba and sugared ginger candy (4*). Look at the pics and see for yourself!
Dinner was definitely worth the $200 tab, but only because I had a front row center view of Morimoto himself - he made our spider roll and uni sushi! Oh, and Vera Wang was seated at a table right next to us. Sorry guys, I was too shy to snap a picture of the Iron Chef, but I did get an autographed menu as a souvenir. =)
