Morimoto (Philadelphia)

[robert brown]

Does anyone here know when and if Morimoto is opening his place in Philly?

[Preet Baba]

Robert the restaurant was promised in February 2001 and then in March 2001. The latest information I have as of September 7 2001 is that it is now to open in "late fall." You can keep track of this on the www.chefmorimoto.com site.

[Jinmyo]

Morimoto's opened in November. In a newspaper article he said he was glad to be in Philadelphia so he won't have to just churn out Nobu fare but can create his own cuisine.

Reservations:

215-413-9070

(Edited by Jinmyo at 10:11 pm on Dec. 7, 2001)

[Steve Klc]

Just called the restaurant today to buy a gift certificate--thanks Jinmyo.  Spoke with Jennifer, who was very professional on the phone.  Might be a sign of good things to come.  The 5 page menu is not up on the website yet--but can be faxed.  Omakase are listed as ๠, 100, 120 and up.  Noticed he also has "Warm octopus carpaccio--hot oil and mitsuba leaf" and "Warm whitefish carpaccio--hot oil and mitsuba leaf"--anyone know whether this is the flash sear with hot oil business the NYTimes wrote up Nobu for?  Steven?  Robert Brown?  any insight?

I'm wondering if this might be the same technique--from Nobu--and just how innovative it might have been for Nobu or perhaps, for Morimoto?

[robert brown]

Steve, I wish I could help you. I clicked on this site because my wife had the brilliant idea of taking good friends and also clients down there since these people are " the man and woman who have everything". Let the word out if you go. I'll do the same. Have a happy 2002. I hope it's the year we meet up. And of course if anyone else goes, please share your visit with us.

All the best,

Robert

[robert brown]

Jan. 4 is the scheduled visit. I'll try to remember as much as I can. Meanwhile I think there's a lot of commentary on the Philadelphia Inquirer site.

[Lumpy]

Just made it to Morimoto on Sunday evening.  All of the following comes with the caveat "in my opinion" since I am no expert but rather enjoy the overall experience and am much less into the details than many of the posts I've seen on here.

Overall, the dinner was enjoyable but not exemplary for me.  I went with the 贄 Omikase which started out strong (excellent tuna tartare w/caviar) but ended in a bit of a whimper with sushi that was good but not great or memorable (rice was slightly dry).  

One of the dishes was a sort of whitefish in a type of soy based sauce...this sauce tasted extremely salty and overpowered the fish completely.  In addition, a wasabi sorbet was served as one of the courses.  My wife and I live in NY, and have eaten a few times at Nobu where we've always ordered the Omikase.  I've never been served sorbet as one of the courses at Nobu, although I'm not sure if that has changed.  I'm not opposed to sorbet, but would prefer it not to be counted as a "course".  On the positive, in addition to the tuna tartare, a black cod course with a sweet sauce (miso?) and a tempura style course (can't remember the exact name of the fish, but it was listed on the sushi menu and there is no translation for it - has a japanese name) were excellent.    

The decor is definitely different ... the only thing I did not like was the giant picture when you walk in with the morphing face that gives it very much a MOMA-type of feel ... again, this is definitely an 'in my opinion' type of thing since I'm sure many will love it.  The rest of the decor is very well done and the changing colors of dining booths is a nice and interesting touch.

The service was the most disappointing thing, however.  Waitstaff was very nice but not helpful ... and in someways even made things worse, albeit unintentionally, with poor recommendations.  Our waiter was well trained to be able to tell us what each dish was when he delivered it, but if we asked a question about the dish or for more information or for a recommendation, we received either a "deer in the headlights" look or poor advice.

After re-reading the post I think it may appear more harsh than the experience was.  It was an enjoyable dinner (especially given the company of our closest friends), but it was one of those finishes where you look at the bill at the end of the night and say that it really should have been a heck of a lot better than it was (imo).

Good luck with your dinner on the 4th, Robert.  I'll be interested to hear about your experience.

[robert brown]

Lumpy, thanks. I'm trying to find the time to report my impressions. The visit was interesting and had a lot going on in several ways. Maybe by tomorrow afternoon as my post will not be a short one.

[robert brown]

Masaharu Morimoto has been a leitmotif in my gastronomic life for more than ten years. For about two years, circa 1990, he was our neighborhood sushi chef at the recently-defunct East Side Lenghe’s on Third Ave at 83rd St. My wife and I and others constituted a coterie that once or twice a week put ourselves in Morimoto’s hands. (Back then we called him simply “Mori”.) With the limited ingredients of a standard, all-purpose Japanese restaurant, he nonetheless made us unusual Japanese dishes: interesting rolls, yellowtail cheeks and shoulders, and a variety of hot dishes for which he would disappear into the kitchen for several minutes at a time. Ultimately Barry Wine, who was running the food operation for Sony, got wind of Morimoto, whose pan-oriental appearance (he is part-Japanese, part Chinese), endearing smile, slightly raspy voice, gift for cutting up (in both senses of the word),  and rapid-pace, sing-songy speech that is sometimes hard to understand give him a large amount of charisma, and we lost him to the five-seat private sushi bar in the Sony Building. Two years later, on our first visit to Nobu, we saw him working behind the sushi bar. Very soon after, he was directing the other sushi chefs, eventually becoming the Executive Chef.

Within the past five years, his position at Nobu led him to prestigious outside work; one time he told me how he had just returned from Europe where he had been engaged for several days to be a chef on someone’s yacht. Then, of course, his career took a giant leap forward with his “victories” on the Iron Chef program, to the extent that he was able to appropriate the program’s title to describe himself. I watched only one of the programs and thought that the Japanese chef from Restaurant Alain Chapel in Kobe was better trained and much more sophisticated, making me wonder how well Morimoto would fare on his own.

On the evening of January 4, as a Christmas present for two friends, we drove to Philadelphia to find out. In a prime downtown space, the 700 block of Chestnut St., Morimoto opened his first restaurant with Philadelphia restaurateur Stephen Starr (first, because others are envisioned, with the next being scheduled to open this summer at Washington and 14th Streets in New York).

On entering from the street through  Plexiglas doors and a reception area, we were taken aback by a tunnel-like room with an undulating ceiling of narrow wood slats that may have been ten times longer than it was wide. The overall effect made me feel as though I were in some otherworldly place that evoked what three years ago would have been called some 21st-century giant space station. The white upward- curving walls covered with fabric that created forms running through the middle that evoked spoons without handles seemed inspired by the biomorphic forms of Jean Arp or Joan Miro, as did much of other aspects of the restaurant such as some of the furniture and the bar area. On ground level the seating was democratically laid on in a way that  evoked both a double-aisle economy class cabin of an airplane and the configuration of an open office. Tables for two were on a riser that ran down the sides of the dining room; larger tables were sectioned off by low Plexiglas barriers that all changed colors periodically and uniformly: white, pink, light green, and pale blue. All together the restaurant seats 140 and its socio-economic goals are Conranesque. In the rear was the sushi bar that accomodates 13 people, the surface of which was made of curved green plastic. A small, cozy bar where you can also eat creates a truncated second floor from which there is a birds-eye view of the dining room that heightens both the bustle and dramatic décor below. Morimoto’s is an audacious, avant-garde setting designed by the noted Egyptian-Canadian industrial designer Karim Rashid.

The main event at Morimoto is ambitious in its choice of dishes, especially when one adds in all the sushi/sashimi possibilities. An Omakase dinner is available at ๠, 贄, and 贘. As grazing is the order of the day, we thought it best to call Morimoto to our table and collaborate on choosing the dishes a la carte that would get us most of the way through the meal. The conceptual comparisons with Nobu are obvious and, I suppose, inevitable. Overall, it is the same sort of restaurant in terms of the kind of food and the informal, friendly, well-executed service that only flagged toward the end of the meal when the restaurant became even noisier and more crowded.

Ultimately we tasted eight dishes, ending up with three that we could directly compare to Nobu and five of Morimoto’s own creations. We found Morimoto’s sashimi salad with baby greens and shoyu dressing superior to that at Nobu, due in large part to the addition of shavings of smoked bonito. Yet, when we received Nobu’s famous black cod with miso as reinterpreted by Morimoto, the dish, which he enhanced with an ingenious, if inappropriate sardine cracker, mustard sauce, red and green peppers and fermented soy sauce, had us shaking our heads in wonder as to how someone could allow such a maladroit, misconceived dish to be served. The third Nobu dish, which Morimoto seems not to have altered, the sashimi-style Kobe beef with soy sauce, chives, ginger, and scallions could have been transported in tact from Hudson Street. At either restaurant, it is a remarkable pastiche of texture and diverse-yet-harmonious tastes.

With his very own dishes, Morimoto more than acquitted himself. The Chilean sea bass (a fresh, perfectly cooked piece) with black bean sauce, shaved ginger and hot oil was on the mark. Yosedofu, which is a theatrical dish because tofu that is brought in a heated earthenware pot turns while you wait from a liquid into the soft texture of finished tofu. It was unfortunate that a slightly sweet and watery crab sauce and the other sauce of fermented soy beans were not what was demanded by the tofu.

Our one kick at sashimi, since previous visitors seemed under whelmed by the quality of the raw fish, was Toro served three ways; cubed, sliced, and chopped and wrapped in algae. While perfectly adequate, we wondered about the provenance that, according to Morimoto was the Mediterranean, as well as the role of his object of pride, the cryogenic freezer that goes down to minus 90 degrees. (Perhaps when medical science figures out a way to revive dead tuna, Morimoto will be able to offer the whole fish once again fresh.) A better choice was the drunken shrimp “yopparai”, grilled in sake and served with a Thai dipping sauce (like naam plaa, which turned out to go the best with the yosedofu) and accompanied by strips of a thinly rolled grilled, chewy substance that our waitress told us was the ferments that accumulate at the bottom of a sake barrel. She also told us that the shrimps had been alive 18 minutes ago, but not who was watching and who was counting.

Saving describing the best for last, even if it was the second dish we ate, our dish of the night was the 10-hour Pork Kakuni. In this dish, the small piece of pork tenderloin was braised for 10 hours and served with a rice “congee” or porridge that is a staple of Japanese breakfasts. A previous diner had complained about the pork’s stringiness. Such was not the case with us. It was sweet, soft and flavorful and a perfect foil for the mild and delicate rice porridge. This was a masterpiece for which we would consider going Greyhound to have once more.

We climbed up to the bar for dessert sans café. We shared an order of three scoops of the five- Japanese-spice ice cream, whose taste I thought was not far from cinnamon and nutmeg, along with a slice of rice cake (in the Western sense of the word) that was an interesting blend of rice kernels and flour served with a small scoop of somewhat icy chocolate ice cream.

Other than a noticeable drop-off in the pace of the service, we were annoyed by the almost miniscule amount of sake in each bamboo container. The sake was of excellent quality: soft, delicate, subtle, and made, according to our waitress, “especially for Morimoto in Kyoto”, At ฦ. per container, the four that we ordered during the course of the meal were inadequate, making the sake overpriced. The wine list was fairly large (perhaps around 60 choices) and very eclectic. The wines on it that I was most familiar with, Chablis and other white and red Burgundies, were fairly-priced but too new to drink. Our cost for the meal with tip was 贄. per person. I doubt you can bring your own sake.

Two months is rather short for a restaurant to be in existence to determine definitively its qualities. It seems, based on the comments of earlier visitors, that the restaurant is on an upward trajectory. The quality of what we ate ranged from one mishap of a dish to five that were very good to exceptional. For eight in total, this is hard for any restaurant to equal. All the Central New Jerseyites and Eastern Pennsylvanians have a wonderful eating resource readily in reach. For those of us in New York, I would advise waiting for the New York restaurant to open if traveling to Philadelphia to eat at Morimoto has been the sole activity you have in mind. . Morimoto told us that once he opens in New York, that will be where he will be spending most of his time.

Robert Brown & Susan Reinhold

(Edited by robert brown at 11:16 pm on Jan. 9, 2002)

[Steve Klc]

Robert, thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful piece and thank you, too, Lumpy.  Philly seems to have a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to accepting other's assessments of their culinary value--and their reduced standing nationally.  I'm envious you two have had the chance to see things firsthand.

[robert brown]

Steve, welcome back and thanks for your kind words. Where have you been? Are you involved in the gift certificate visit? I hope Lumpy and I won't mislead you, or anyone else for that matter.

[Holly Moore]

Philly seems to have a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to accepting other's assessments of their culinary value--and their reduced standing nationally

Yo Steve!  What ya say?

Guess one person's inferiority complex is another person's pride.  Didn't know there was a responsibility to accept another person's assessment.  Consider it, sure.  Accept it - only when there is merit.

Don't know when Philadelphia's "reduced standing nationally" came about.  Whose standing?

Philadelphia will never have the culinary depth of New York City, and you can't get a really, really good pastrami sandwich hereabouts.  But other than that we seem to hold our own rather well.

New York probably has more great restaurants than Philadelphia.  But it probably has more worse restaurants than Philly too. ;)

And Philadelphia has Carman's Country Kitchen.

[Steve Klc]

Oh come on Holly--do we not read the same stuff?  Granted, I do not pour over Philly's newspapers and magazines as much as I am sure you do--but Philly restaurateurs and chefs have griped and sniped forever about national media not paying appropriate attention to Philadelphia as a viable, dynamic restaurant destination--that it's been basically some variation of "Georges Perrier and then what?"

John Mariani of Esquire (my frequent faults with him aside) has long championed Philadelphia as a sleeper city--perhaps more so than any other national food personality and I wonder what you think about his current piece in the January 2002 issue of Philadelphia Magazine, titled "Is this a great restaurant city or what? Here's what he says in his first graph:

"For reasons that range from mere naivete to pure ignorance--and not a little snootiness--Philadelphia's remarkably diverse restaurant scene hasn't registered with Americans in the tantalizing way other cities' have. Which rightfully annoys Philly's restauranteurs, and certainly bewilders me."

His words, not mine.  My sense as an outsider? By the mid to late 90's insular Philly restaurateurs and chefs figured out how to play the pr game--instead of backhandedly bitch--how to advertise, promote and bend the food machine to their benefit a little better (or so it seemed to me) how to play politics a bit better and get the city to start promoting itself as undergoing a renaissance of hotels, entertainment, conventions and RESTAURANTS.  And all of a sudden there was more in Philly than Perrier and Susanna Foo.

Americans start reading about Center City, Old City, Rittenhouse Row, tourists start coming AND STAYING.

Pasion! pops up in a slick package--at just the right time for Nuevo Latino--gets branded best New Restaurant of Philly, bags a James Beard Best Chef-MidAtlantic nomination and lo and behold is the only Philly restaurant in Gourmet magazine's (admittedly specious) 50 Best American restaurant list.

I'm not saying I agree with that assessment--just that Philly chefs have griped about it.  (I can't intuit whether they "believed" it.) But I have read about their "annoyances" when seemingly compared unfavorably on the national scene--be it perceived historical under-representation in the glossy magazines or at the glossy James Beard award selections of Best Chef-MidAtlantic--for years and years.  Granted I haven't filed any of this stuff away, but to deny this is folly.  I guess we could go back and see which chefs got nominated and when--and then slot Philly's score historically against DC, Boston, wherever after New York's.

I realize sensing a city's self-worth, culinary identity and significance is a tough, ephemeral endlessly arguable thread.  Again, that isn't what I am trying to start.  I cannot put Philly in its proper national context or ranking because I haven't eaten there enough nor enough in SF, Chicago, Boston et al to compare authoritatively.  

That won't prevent me from sharing my sense, however:  Philly reached critical mass as far as a top destination restaurant city around 1998 and it has been full steam ahead ever since.  It's pointless to try to rank it, or any other of the secondary cities, as Mariani does.  The US is too large and there is too much going on in the top tier of secondary cities, to which Philly belongs.

To me, Mariani has seemed inextricably linked to an outsider's perception of Philadelphia for years and years--and this goes way back to the rise of The Book and the Cook events held in Philly.  You see, Mariani is a critic who also writes, promotes and wants to sell his books there--talk about a double dipper!--and natch there will be a few book signings in Philadelphia at Philadelphia restaurants he promotes in print.  Gee, not a surprise that Philadelphia Magazine--which relies on soliciting restaurant advertising--asks a notable national shill, (oops, I meant authority) to write about Philadelphia restaurants.

Here's an interesting link to the Book and the Cook/Mariani/Philadelphia commingling:

http://philadelphia.bcentral.com/philadelphia/stories/1997/03/10/smallb2.html

Sorry if I offended your sensibilities Holly.  didn't mean to.  hope this helps flesh out what I meant.

[Holly Moore]

1.  You won't get any arguement from me re John Mariani or his validity as a barometer of national opinion, though I do appreciate his "Dictionary of American Wine and Food."  It's been a handy reference from time to time.

2.  Alas I stopped reading Philadelphia Magazine about 10 years ago.  Maybe 15 years ago.

3.  I think the "lead with Le Bec-Fin strategy" is not as prevelant now that Walnut Street has grown up and some excellent new restaurants have opened elsewhere in the city.  I'm trying to remember if Bryan Miller's recent piece on Philadelphia in the Times Travel Section placed much focus on Le Bec-Fin.  Don't think so.  

4.  True some Philadelphia restaurants whine about national press ignoring Philadelphia.  Suspect there was some whining in NY too after Gourmet published its top 50 list (I agree Gourmet's list was inane with little relevance).  Actually, I'm not sure I've ever known a restaurateur anywhere who doesn't whine at least a bit when he's not included on a list or article on which he feels he rightfully belongs.  It's interesting that the Philadelphia chef who for a long time got the most national press, Jack McDavid, receives hardly any local press.  Over that period the more consistant whining hereabouts was, "how come Jack gets all the national press?"

5.  "Top tier of secondary cities."  Out of curiosity, which are the first tier U.S. restaurant cities, or is there only one U.S. city on that tier?  Philadelphia is something like the 5th or 6th largest city in the country so I'm not sure it should be classified as a secondary city, nor do I believe Philadelphia is a secondary tier restaurant city in comparison to the other major U.S. cities unless, of course, one believes that New York City towers above all from its lone perch on the top tier.

[Steve Klc]

Holly--re: point #3--remember when it all of sudden became fashionable NOT to lead with Le Bec-Fin?  I wonder what role the critical mass of new restaurants played in that--and what role food & travel writers, out to make a name for themselves, played as well.  I'd be curious to see you place the NYTimes role in that context.

America media loves the fallen star resurrected story.

And I'm one of those people who does believe NYC is the top tier--all alone and not even seriously threatened.  Depth, diversity, competition, media density, talent, compensation across the broadest spectrum.

Not that size matters (gee, where else have I heard that?) but if prodded, I'd list my secondary top tier food destinations in no particular order:  SF, Chicago, Boston, Philly, LA probably with the edge over DC and Seattle.

I haven't spent enough time in either of the Portlands, Vegas, Houston or Atlanta or any of the other media favs to assess, but doubt they'd crack that list.

[Bux]

It appears to me that what Steve is saying is that Philly is under-rated. I don't see how any fan, booster or just proud citizen can ever complain about being under-rated. It just means Philly is better than people think it is. It's really not a comment on how high, or low, it's rated. I don't know the city very well. I had one of my best meals in Le Bec Fin recently and a great breakfast at Carman's, but that's not enough to make me any sort of authority, nor are those two places enough to make a citiy's reputation. They should at least put it on the map.

Unfairly or not, and I assume it's unfair for many reasons, Philly has long been the butt of many jokes. I believe the oldest one goes something along these lines.

I just won second prize and was awarded a two week vacation in Philadelphia. The first prize winner got a weekend in Philly.

While it's not PC to tell ethnic jokes, lawyers and Philadelphia are still fair game. My assumption is that along with lawyers, Philadelphia can take it. Hey, I grew up in Brooklyn during WWII. Ever see a war movie where the guy from Brooklyn wasn't the butt of all jokes? The joke would only lose it's humor if Philly were truly a handicapped city. And if anyone wants to award me a two week expenses paid vacation in Philadelphia, I'm accepting. By the way, I would place S.F and Chicago in a separate tier just below N.Y., but maybe that would be based on heresay. A lot of subjectivity in all this and I found it interesting that N.O. did not appear on Klc's list. Nor did Las Vegas.

[Holly Moore]

Actually the oldest joke is W.C. Field's epitaph - All thinkgs considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia.

[GordonCooks]

Morimoto – a fish story.

I’ll have to admit that the main reason for the Philly trip was dinner at Morimoto’s (Iron Chef cache aside – I love his cooking) Entering the restaurant, I was amazed at how a pretty mundane retail space was transformed into a such a Zen like feel of water. We requested Sushi bar seating for the full Omakase treatment.(note that if you are eating at the “L” shaped Sushi bar – request seating at the longer main part for a full view of the action. The shorter side bar is dominated by a chest high seafood cooler that blocks most of your view)

We opted for the Omakase (priced at 80.00, 100.00, and 120.00 per person) we did the 120.00

Beverages were

Morimoto Martinis – Nice Sake-tinis with Sea-cucumber slices

Carafe of Junmai Daiginjo Sake

1.) Toro Tartare – A mold of tartare served in a dashi broth with fresh wasabi topped generously with Osetra caviar

2.) Hot Oil cooked Sashimi of Lobster and King Crab led with mizuna leaf and micro greens

3.) Sashimi Salad of Toro, Yellow Fin, and micro greens with yuzu vinaigrette

4.) Kobe Beef with yam potato cooked shabu-shabu style in a Broth reminiscent of Pho as far as flavor

5.) Intermezzo of Wasabi Citrus Sorbet that was spicy and delicious. A small portion of Chinese berries (not sure what kind – almost raspberry like but sweeter

6.) Pan Fry Lobster with 8 spices accompanied with citrus crème fraiche

7.) Kobe Beef Grill – A nice sized 5-6 oz strip loin grilled and topped with Foie Gras. The sauce accompanying the dish was a rich asian demi-glas that was a star on it’s own.

8.) Sushi Course – BBQ Eel – Striped Jack – Salmon – Toro – Red Snapper

9.) Dessert - 3 ways: Chocolate Fig cake with hazelnut toffee sauce, Tofu Cheesecake with cherry sorbet, and “Mamma Mia” Rice Cake (like a rice pudding pie) with a green tea and 5 spice ice cream.

The Omakase is almost a bargain when you consider the ingredients and prices for some of the items a la carte of the dinner menu. Chef Morimoto held his own at the Sushi Bar, helped the main kitchen, watched the floor, etc,….. the man was everywhere. The Sushi guys were amazing to watch work – the knife skills and technique were awesome! Morimoto was very friendly and accommodating to us at the bar. I didn’t see any request for pics or autographs denied for anyone in the restaurant. Morimoto is most definitely the Real Deal – it’s here to stay !

Morimoto at the Sushi Bar

[cabrales]

GordonCooks -- Thanks for the report. Morimoto is one of the places on my "to do" list. From the linked picture, it appears that Morimoto wears glasses. I wonder if he has always needed them, and just wore contacts on IC. Not that I take note of photos of Morimoto, but that may be the first photo I have seen of him with glasses.

[GordonCooks]

I think I read, they're just for show. He wanted a new look for the new place.

[Liza]

Would it be possible to get off the Amtrak from DC to NYC and scoot over to Morimoto's for dinner? If I can get the reservation, of course of course.

[Kim WB]

How about a Morimoto e-gullet dinner, in the fall. Oh, the possibilities!!!

[jordyn]

Would it be possible to get off the Amtrak from DC to NYC and scoot over to Morimoto's for dinner? If I can get the reservation, of course of course.

Most Amtrak tickets are not interruptable mid-journey, although all or nearly all New York to DC trains stop in Philly. However, it may not be much more expensive to get a ticket that goes New York to Philly, and then Philly to DC.

I'm hoping to go to Morimoto soon as well. Maybe in August. How hard is it to get reservations?

[cabrales]

jordyn -- I think Morimoto lunch might be capable of being secured last minute, although I have not actually looked into the question. Since a combined Le Bec Fin/Morimoto day trip might be feasible, I wonder how difficult getting both reservations would be.

[GordonCooks]

As far as resv's - I prefer a later seating and haven't had a lot of problems. The Morimoto res was 30 days out for 9:30 and Le Bec Fin was the same for 2nd seating. Nothing like Trotter's. LBF was on fri and Morimoto was on Saturday. Morimoto has a little cocktail lounge upstairs when you can drink and order off the dinner menu. You could rollin at 10:00 or 10:30 to check out the place.