Morimoto (Philadelphia)

[Andrew Fenton]

rule of thumb: be at least as well dressed as your waiter....

True, true. Still, at most Starr joints, that's a pretty low bar to clear... grumblegrumblewaiters in T-shirtsgrumbleunprofessionalgrumblegrumble

[philadining]

Hey Ellen, thanks for the report!

That looks like a really nice meal. And seemed eerily familiar....

I find it kind of surprising that your meal was amazingly similar to an omakase I had there almost a year and a half ago. We did it at dinner, so there were a couple of more courses, but I think we had everything you had, served almost exactly the same way. That's not inherently a bad thing, I really enjoyed everything, but I guess I had assumed that the individual selections were changing all the time, at the whim of the chef, whatever was fresh and new and exiting that day. So it's funny to see an almost identical parade of dishes.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a few hot hits showing up all the time, but, like, everything?

Have other folks had the omakase there and gotten something completely different? A little different?

[adamru]

I went to Morimoto when it first opened and had the omakase and I've tried it at least once a year since and I always thought every dish was the same every time because I always went in the spring and it was a seasonal menu but looking at those photos, it seems years later and no matter what the time of year you get the same food with the tasting, although I never once got a chocolate dessert with that menu before.

It's always been the same high quality and a value for the highest-end tasting compared to what you get in NYC, but I wonder if the price or the menu will be different at all when he opens in Manhattan in the fall.

[cinghiale]

I've had the omakase maybe seven or eight times, and at varying price points. Each time, I've been with people who were having it for the first time. The server always asks if anyone has had the omakase before. Since I always reply in the affirmative, I've pretty much gotten a different series of dishes each time (at least as far as I can distinguish). The newbies, however, always get the same "standard" omakase. So, I'd suggest asking them to prepare something different for you.

On a related note, at the Labor Day visit mentioned upthread (non-omakase), one of us was vegetarian. It took much arm-twisting to get the server to inquire with the chefs/kitchen about dishes other than egg/tofu/edamame. And the results weren't very spectacular. Kinda disappointing for a restaurant billing itself as creative...

[-sheila mooney]

rule of thumb: be at least as well dressed as your waiter....

True, true. Still, at most Starr joints, that's a pretty low bar to clear... grumblegrumblewaiters in T-shirtsgrumbleunprofessionalgrumblegrumble

←

but probably not wearing baseball caps as they serve you, right? or muscle T's? or shorts 'n' sandals....?

[markabauman]

We have a reservation at Morimoto for a weekday night in October when we will be visiting Philadelphia. Was looking at the sample menu in their website. Noticed different price levels of sushi/sashimi and separate listings for the omakase. Like other "tasting menus", we sometimes have a problem since we eat fish, but not beef/pork, etc. Obviously, omakase refers to chef's choice, but does the diner have any input/selection at all? Should we just stick to the sushi choices plus perhaps some ala carte?

[philadining]

You can give them guidelines for the omakase, I don't think it would be any problem at all to ask them to avoid beef and pork. I did the least-expensive omakase ($80 per person at the time, I think it's still that price) and I got only fish without even asking for that, except for a small piece of foie gras with the cod. But that changes at the whim of the kitchen, so if you have preferences, just tell them what you do NOT want to eat, they can work with it, especially your particular restriction. (They might have trouble if you tell them "no fish".)

Ordering a la carte would be fine, but I found the surprise and variety of the omakase to be quite entertaining, I'd recommend it.

[markabauman]

Omakase shimasu. Domo arigato!

[shacke]

A small group of us immensely enjoyed the final night of the white truffle omakase last evening. Percyn took the pics and hopefully will add them to the menu descriptions. While it seems perhaps far fetched to concoct a white truffle japanese omakase, it was all delicious and presented beautifully. Two in our party were brave enough to get the wine flight on a "school night". Percyn and I were not among them.

The menu......

Yuzu Margarita "shooter" with Caviar: Yuzu frozen and liquid combined in glass rimmed with truffle salt, malden sea salt and dried yuzu. Served with ossetra caviar. Down the hatch!

Truffle butter poached Kinme-dai (golden eye snapper) served with Moromi miso, micro scallion, soy dashi foam and espresso reduction. This was the crowd favorite.

"Yana Gawa Nabe": Fresh sea eel simmered with sweet japanese fumet, burdock root and mitsuba, white truffle and wild chicken egg.

Lamb carpaccio served with sudachi juice, yuzu pepper paste, salt and micro shiso.

Roasted golden tilefish, white truffle chawan mushi (eggs,dashi,light soy and truffle oil), a broth made with dashi, clams, lemon verbena, ginger, lemon zest, celery tops and white soy. served with ravioli stuffed with oxtail, white truffle, foie gras over a bed of julieened beets.

Kobe Shabu Shabu: sliced kobe placed in dish with quail egg, scallion,ginger,truffle,truffle oil served with lemongrass broth.

Temari sushi: Sashimi of bluefin tuna and fluke wrapped around sushi rice and white truffle served with house brewed soy sauce.

White truffle sweet potato cake, asian pear, chestnut ice cream, cranberry puree, wasabi candy.

Overall a leisurely, luxurious and over the top experience. The goldeneye snapper and lamb carpaccio were particularly thrilling. I had been for lunch there before but was still alarmed at how good the fish is at Morimoto. I did not remember the quality of the fish being so high but it shouldn't surprise me.

I will absolutely return for the traditional omakase.

Now to get those pictures..... we refrained from flash so hopefully Percyn was able to capture the beautiful presentations.

Evan

[percyn]

As Evan suggested, I will add pics to his description of the dishes, but I must apologize in advance as most of the pics were taken without a flash, which hurt the quality of the pics.

I would also like to thank Evan for the invitation to this great dinner.

Let me start with a picture of the famous interior of the restaurant

A small group of us immensely enjoyed the final night of the white truffle omakase last evening.  Percyn took the pics and hopefully will add them to the menu descriptions.  While it seems perhaps far fetched to concoct a white truffle japanese omakase, it was all delicious and presented beautifully.  Two in our party were brave enough to get the wine flight on a "school night".  Percyn and I were not among them.

The menu......

Yuzu Margarita "shooter" with Caviar:  Yuzu frozen and liquid combined in glass rimmed with truffle salt, malden sea salt and dried yuzu.  Served with ossetra caviar.  Down the hatch!

Truffle butter poached Kinme-dai (golden eye snapper) served with Moromi miso, micro scallion, soy dashi foam and espresso reduction.    This was the crowd favorite. 

"Yana Gawa Nabe":  Fresh sea eel simmered with sweet japanese fumet, burdock root and mitsuba, white truffle and wild chicken egg.

Lamb carpaccio served with sudachi juice, yuzu pepper paste, salt and micro shiso.

Roasted golden tilefish, white truffle chawan mushi (eggs,dashi,light soy and truffle oil), a broth made with dashi, clams, lemon verbena, ginger, lemon zest, celery tops and white soy.  served with ravioli stuffed with oxtail, white truffle, foie gras over a bed of julieened beets.

Kobe Shabu Shabu:  sliced kobe placed in dish with quail egg, scallion,ginger,truffle,truffle oil served with lemongrass broth.

Great dish, but horrible pic, which I will not post here 

Temari sushi:  Sashimi of bluefin tuna and fluke wrapped around sushi rice and white truffle served with house brewed soy sauce.

White truffle sweet potato cake, asian pear, chestnut ice cream, cranberry puree, wasabi candy.

This was served with a gingerale and cherry cocktail

Overall a leisurely, luxurious and over the top experience.  The goldeneye snapper and lamb carpaccio were particularly thrilling.  I had been for lunch there  before but was still alarmed at how good the fish is at Morimoto. I did not remember the quality of the fish being so high but it shouldn't surprise me.

I will absolutely return for the traditional omakase. 

Now to get those pictures..... we refrained from flash so hopefully Percyn was able to capture the beautiful presentations.

Evan

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[Capaneus]

Overall a leisurely, luxurious and over the top experience.  The goldeneye snapper and lamb carpaccio were particularly thrilling.  I had been for lunch there  before but was still alarmed at how good the fish is at Morimoto. I did not remember the quality of the fish being so high but it shouldn't surprise me.

I will absolutely return for the traditional omakase. 

Now to get those pictures..... we refrained from flash so hopefully Percyn was able to capture the beautiful presentations.

Evan

←

Looks like an awesome meal. Wish I might... How did you guys work out the booze? Did you order or did the house match the dishes?

[shacke]

We went with the house chosen accompaniments with each course, each of us waving the white flag at some point to stop the madness.

Evan

[shacke]

Went for lunch today and while the food was terrific and the sushi reaalllly good, the service was flat out comically awful. Nothing went our way and at some point the waiter even said "boy I have screwed up everything for you". Understatement. Ironically the place was pretty empty.

Having said that, the two other times I have been were great and so I consider it an "off" day.

As he was polite, we were going to leave 15% which for us is a sign of discontent with the service. When our check came and items promised to be removed were not, I left my personal "bad doggy!" tip of 10% (have done that maybe a couple of times before in my life) and mentioned the service to the chap up front. I could have fixed the check but it was like "let's end this thing"

Still going back, happily.

BTW, the Kobe tartare appetizer was pricey but terrific. The sushi combo lunch is $28 and you get like 8 pieces and a roll with soup and salad. Pricey yes but top quality fish.

[katbert]

Last weekend, not this weekend.

I really like sitting at the sushi bar rather than the boothy seating if you're a party of 2-3 because you get to see pretty much everything coming off the sushi bar for omakase, as well as interesting interactions between the servers and the sushi chefs. Someone who was someone ordered two $120 omakases and got something special/extra sent out. We also talked to all our neighbors and checked out what everyone else was getting.

I sold my friend on the omakase- and they had no problem with a restricted diet: no land animals.

Her favorite:

more salad:

A sashimi sampler that wasn't part of our dinner, but it was beautiful- the nice guy beside us was kind enough to take the photo b/c he was closer. Looking at it, I'd like to crop it a bit, but he did a nice job of reducing hand shake.

I am skipping the photos of the sorbet intermezzo even though it was on some very cute dishware, and the popcorn shrimp beside the belgian endive leaf and orchid b/c I find it a pain to put up photos in these posts and something had to go. The neighboring omakase was a step up and they also had half a lobster at some point.

black cod. This came out of the kitchen with a slab of foie gras on top- I offered to scarf it, but our server protected it and whisked the plate back to the kitchen for another one minus foie:

random sashimi:

sushi (my dinner):

frozen parfait off the dessert menu (the omakase dessert was a green fluidy almost drink with a pine nut tuile):

Apparently Morimoto signed off on some Wagyu cows in Oregon; all the specials (shabu, sashimi and big honking steak) were beefy. Last, our server was well informed and perfectly nice even while I made him describe neighboring dishes that weren't ours, and we waited half an hour after being on time for our friday 8pm res and were comped drinks (apparently it helps to be annoyed).

[TarteTatin]

Four of us went to Morimoto last night. Just like some of the reviews above, the food was super, but the service awful.

In the NY Times a few Wednesday's ago, there was something about restaurant trends lately, where you feel like you are doing them a favor to dine there. That's how we felt, about dropping $400 for four people for dinner. This is not a diner. Wait until all are finished before you clear the course. Don't drop the check until asked. We might have been inclined to order your expensive after dinner drinks! We hadn't even finished our coffees, or our last dessert! When we complained about that and other service issues, a gentleman came over and apologized.

Anyway, the food really was good...The tofu appetizer that cooks at your table (which you can get for a quarter of the price at a Korean restaurant in North Philly). A pork belly on congi-delicious. Tuna tartare with a teeny amount of caviar (four eggs, maybe). Then, two of the party ordered a combination sashimi, sushi platter, another ordered a few rolls. I had kumamoto oysters, so very creamy and incredible. I also had miso soup with clams. Very good. We had a couple of desserts, and a few bottles of sparkling wine, along with some sake to start.

After getting rushed out of our table, we decided to visit the upstairs bar for after dinner drinks.

I guess we didn't get served after 15 minutes of sitting there (others that arrived after us were), because we were twenty years older than anyone else up there. So we left without ordering. Oh, well, their loss...

[dagordon]

We had a pretty mediocre lunch today at the sushi bar at Morimoto.

First, it is a truly bizzare setup that they have where even though you're at the bar, it seems that you're forbidden from interacting with the sushi chefs directly. You have to order your food (even non-kitchen items) from your waiter.

This of course defeats a large part of the motivation for sitting at the bar in the first place. And it seems totally out of place here. I mean, perhaps it's to be expected at a very high-end place in Japan where the sushi chef won't deign to even acknowledge your presence if he doesn't recognize you, but c'mon folks, this is Philly, and it's a restaurant that has tuna pizza on the menu.

What we wanted was, more or less, an omakase meal with a focus on sushi, nigiri in particular. It was impossible to order this. We could either order the omakase, which it seemed would not mainly feature sushi, or we could get sushi "combination platters" of various kinds.

So we opted to get the combo platters and add on some dishes a la carte. We got the rock shrimp, the toro tartare, and the black cod. The rock shrimp were delicious, and pretty addictive, but were, I thought, kind of out of place; they were reminiscent of buffalo wings almost. I love buffalo wings, but not generally before a sushi meal.

The tartare was perfectly standard. The black cod was a very well-executed version of this by now completely standard dish.

The sushi was disappointing. It was one large platter, for three of us. Not a couple of pieces at a time, with the chef judging and adjusting to our reactions, as we'd hoped. The sushi itself was perfectly fine, but not any better than Zento, for example, or even Genji at its best.

I should say that when we ordered the sushi we stressed that we wanted the very best the chef had to offer, and that we weren't really on a budget. But the platter had completely standard stuff on it, nothing special.

After we finished the platter we ordered some more sushi a la carte -- toro, hamachi, fluke, kind crab. When the platter came the chef said that he'd included some hamachi belly, as well as some different parts of the fluke, which was welcome. This platter was significantly better than our first, though, like the first, shiso was overused, this time overwhelming the delicate fluke.

I get the sense that this place is not about the sushi, but about the stuff from the kitchen. Fair enough.

[Capaneus]

We had a pretty mediocre lunch today at the sushi bar at Morimoto.

First, it is a truly bizzare setup that they have where even though you're at the bar, it seems that you're forbidden from interacting with the sushi chefs directly. You have to order your food (even non-kitchen items) from your waiter.

This of course defeats a large part of the motivation for sitting at the bar in the first place. And it seems totally out of place here. I mean, perhaps it's to be expected at a very high-end place in Japan where the sushi chef won't deign to even acknowledge your presence if he doesn't recognize you, but c'mon folks, this is Philly, and it's a restaurant that has tuna pizza on the menu.

.....

I get the sense that this place is not about the sushi, but about the stuff from the kitchen. Fair enough.

←

That's substantially different from early days.

On the other hand, the times I was there were dinner, and Morimoto was actually there, which is probably rare these days. But there was interaction with the sushi chefs, even if it wasn't necessarily that great unless you were recognized by the Big Guy.

[percyn]

Pics from the lunch dagordon refers to:

Tuna Tartare: Good, but not great, perhaps because the dashi broth(?) and shallots over powered the dish.

Black Cod w/Miso: As mentioned, well prepared and not over powered by the shiro miso.

Rock Shrimp: Decent as a snack, but not what I imagined getting

Sushi platter: It was OK and not as good as the one to follow

Toro, Hamachi, Hamachi belly, fluke and 2 pieces from near the fins of the fluke (you only get 2 per fish):

King Crab: I was a bit skeptical at first, but the crab was sweeter, brinier and spongier/fluffier that I expected

[mrbigjas]

King Crab: I was a bit skeptical at first, but the crab was sweeter, brinier and spongier/fluffier that I expected

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that totally looks better than the king crab we used to get for the $15 all you can eat special at chesapeake bay seafood house up by the oxford valley mall.

[MikeTMD]

Morimoto Restaurant/ Philadelphia March, 2008

My soon to be eighteen year old sister is having a blast. Remember those years? Everything is new, and oh-hhhh … so exciting! Every day brings novelty, you make friends left and right, break-ups only mean new romance is behind the corner, and anticipation of trying the unknown, the wild, and sometimes the forbidden is sometimes more enjoyable than anything else. Grown-ups trade the novelty for experience, and that, may I say, is quite enjoyable as well, but the expectations are not the same, it’s more about anticipation, than excitement. Unless, of course, you are about to have dinner at Morimoto’s.

I found myself on the plane to Philly, unexpectedly. Thick snowfall, yet again –not something I was expecting at the end of March, was holding me back from getting to my destination on time, and although quite comfortable in my seat, I just couldn’t sit still – all I wanted is to be done with my morning business, so my reservation at the sushi bar at Morimoto’s place in the City of Brotherly Love wouldn’t turn into an unintentional no-show. It’s a feeling similar to being eighteen and having a big, no not big – huge date and watching snow fall without a mercy, constantly checking your watch and your “rent’s” driveway: Is Dad gonna be back home on time, so I can take his car? Is Mom gonna give me a ride? Anything else would be the end of the Western civilization as we know it…

I got out the cab in front of Morimoto’s door with a few minutes to spare. My heart stopped for a brief moment… Open, Sesame!

The entrance into the restaurant does do justice for what you are about to see inside, it’s inviting, yet it makes you feel somewhat humble – just like entering a traditional Japanese house. There is no need to bow here, yet it felt similar. Also, I felt like this before entering a cave – if that’s not exciting, I don’t know what is…

The restaurant itself indeed reminded me of a cave, with changing colors, high ceilings, wildly creative design and interesting sounds. Also, the constantly changing smile of a Japanese girl in the hallway made the place feel contemporary and traditionally Japanese, at the same time.

Well, I’ve been waiting for a long time to be here. Let’s see what this night is going to be like…

The restaurant was quite full, with no available tables in sight – somewhat surprising on a Good Friday, but not noisy. The patron crowd was very eclectic - families, yuppies on a date, couples, girls, guys, mix of the two, friends, and more. Morimoto’s food appeals to many, if not everyone.

I was seated at the L-shaped sushi bar, with 4 or 5 sushi chefs behind it. I asked how often the Master himself works there, but nobody seem to be very clear on that subject, my feeling Morimoto-san shows up in Philly occasionally, although one of the chefs behind the bar was recently on Iron Chef America. Good sign – Morimoto teaches and delegates well, I thought.

Service started on a swift note, as I was looking at the Morimoto Signature Sake menu. My server suggested a Fukumitsya sake flight, priced @ $30, to which I instantly agreed – choices were plenty, and I wanted to try as many things as possible, for the purposes of this review, as much as for my own enjoyment.

All three sakes in the flight line: Fukumitsya Morimoto (let’s shorthand it: FM) Junmai, FM Junmai Ginjo and FM Junmai Daiginj were excellent, and progressively more sophisticated. I choose FM Junmai just because it tasted milder than it’s counterparts – that choice was based purely on taste, and was not in any way price related (FM Junmai was priced a bit lower than the other two). Noteworthy, FM sakes are available by glass, carafe and bottles, where the other sake choices are glass/bottle only. More on Morimoto sake as we go on.

My primary interest was about Morimoto Sashimi and Sushi, more so than anything else on the menu. For those of you who get to try Morimoto/Philly for the first time I would very strongly suggest to try an Omakase (Chef’s Choice) Menu - $100.00 option seem to gives diners the most exposure to what Morimoto’s food is about. I started with $75.00 Exotic Sushi and Sashimi combination, recommended by both the server and youthful sushi chef Hiroki-san. In all fairness, it may have been a better option to order sushi “a la carte” – I am just not sure if you win anything with Chef’s Sushi Choice, whereas Omakase has a distinct advantage as far as value as concerned. That said, Morimoto/Philly is not the kind of place where you worry about budget – it’s very expensive, although prices reflect quality of ingredients, talent and investment put into the business.

Well, my wild ride was about to begin. First, I was offered Sashimi.

Starting in the lower left corner, clockwise: Maguro/Red Tuna, O-Toro/Fatty Tuna, in the center of the plate, left to right: Kanpachi, Octopus, Kinmedai/Golden Eye Snapper, Sayori/Needle Fish, Hamachi/Yellowtail and Uni.

I want to describe that first bite of tuna, but sometimes there are no words… I don’t know what exactly made that slice of slightly pale, ruby-colored, pristine fish taste the way it did, but for a moment it just took me away from reality. Everything tasted exceptional, octopus was particularly noteworthy – raw, but exceptionally tender, sayori was quite delicate, yet flavorful. The biggest surprise on the plate was Sea Urchin – although highly prized by sashimi purists, it often times has a faint iodine undertone, but not at Morimoto’s – Uni tasted phenomenal, with no aftertaste at all. I wonder if has to do with quality of the urchin they get, or if it was somehow treated to eliminate secondary taste. Wasabi on the plate seem to’ve been of the paste kind - wish it was freshly grated, but that’s a rare treat in our part of the world.

As we are exploring the Sashimi world, there is a Morimoto plate that grabbed my attention.

Left to right: cucumber stuffed with crab meat, with salmon roe garnish, salmon with seaweed and chives, yellowtail with daikon radish, red tuna with wasabi, fatty tuna with caviar. The plate looked spectacular, although tuna seem to have quite a bit more of silver skin than the tuna on my sashimi plate. Still, will order this next time without hesitation.

At this point, guys to my right were served Lamb with Ratatouie.

For a second I contemplated asking to change my order to the Omakase menu, but decided to stay on the sushi trail, after all.

Then, it came - 8 perfect pieces of nigiri: fatty tuna, red tuna, some thing Hiroki-san called “Big Muscle” (not sure what that fish was, but it tasted great), few kinds of whitefish, gizzard shad, a slice of Egg Castella – more egg sponge cake than an omelet, Tempura Soft Shell Crab Roll, and Salmon Roe with Miso–Honey dressing. The latter is just about the only thing I wouldn’t necessarily order again – the dressing did not add much taste to the roe, which was great by itself.

Fellas to my right were enjoying Soba Noodles, Carbonara style – a small serving seem to’ve packed a lot of taste, as they’ve told me. Again, it shows how much more you get with the Morimoto Omakase. My new friends were finished with their noodles, and their meal moved towards the dessert, as I was still exploring Moriomoto Sushi Universe.

Left to right: Snapper, Whitefish, Octopus, Scallop, Giant Clam, Fresh Water Eel, Sea Eel. Scallops at Morimoto are still attached to their shells, and sushi chefs remove the mollusks from their habitat with a great reverence – it’s quite a scene.

At this point I have asked the server for advice on aged sake: it’s not easy to choose between the 5- and the 10- year vintage. She compared those to Tokaj wine and Cognac, respectively, and steered me towards the 5-year variety. Indeed, it reminded me of the aged wine, with a subtle sweetness and amazing aroma. Also, it had an interesting, almost mineral secondary tone, as if it was aged in a stone container of some kind.

Still, there were two more things on my menu. First was the much acclaimed fatty Tuna Tartare.

I have attempted to make this dish at home, so I knew the ingredients well – it plays the contrast of fresh and fried shallots, garlic, chives, and of course the main event – the fatty tuna. My particular dish had a slightly bigger piece of fried shallot than it needs, but the taste was breathtaking, nonetheless.

The sauce made of Soy Sauce and Citrus Juice was not salty at all, that extra bit of saltiness came from the caviar, and pickled Umeboshi plum tied the salty and savory sweet together, as the final bite.

The meal crescendo came in the form of Rock Shrimp Tempura.

Shrimp was of the highest quality, tempura batter was very light, and chili sauce provided quite a bit of a spicy kick. My server insisted on matching tempura with the bitter endive on the plate – I did just that, but went back to tempura morsels “as is”.

I finished with Morimoto Vanilla Mint Ice Cream – crisp and refreshing taste, and a perfect way to get back to reality. The dessert came with two small shortbread cookies. Delightful.

Overall, the meal at Morimoto/Philly was a great, nearly perfect, phenomenal experience. It was everything I was expecting and then some – just like a hot date when you are eighteen. On the second thought, that kind of excitement is not related to age – it calls for passion, adventure and open mind. Ahhh-hhhh, what a pleasure!

Morimoto Restaurant

723 Chestnut Str.

Phialdelphia, PA

215-413-9070

http://morimotorestaurant.com/

[Vadouvan]

Great review !

I just revisited it last night.

Morimoto doesn't quite call for an open mind, it's actually fairly standard slightly overpriced for the quality Japanese food. It could be a great restaurant but a few quirks like sitting at the sushi bar and not being able to order sushi from the sushi chef set it behind the better Japanese restaurants that charge way less in the country and why the hell are they serving lamb with ratatouille ??????

IMO if you order the omakase, set some parameters, they tend to add a few filler courses, definitely specify the cooked to raw ratio of food and skip the regular menu items.

They have the best chicken soup in the city but that shrimp tempura with blue cheese sauce must be the wierdest thing I have ever tasted.

[ellencho]

I was at Morimoto last night too What was with all the dishes and glasses breaking?

The omakase is fun, especially when there's someone else to order a different priced omakase than yours because then you get to try almost double the amount of food.

[Chris Hennes]

I had the Chef's Sashimi and Sushi Plate at Morimoto last night. Which was stupid, since I was at Fuji last week and the sushi at Fuji is head-and-shoulders above the stuff at Morimoto. In my defense, I had the Omakase last time I was at Morimoto and until I ate at Fuji that was the best meal I had ever had, so I had fond recollections of Morimoto. If you go to Morimoto, get the Omakase, and I would recommend going light on the sushi and sashimi, which is not where they excel. Some of the cooked dishes from the omakase were very, very good when I had it. YYMV, of course, but in my opinion the sushi experience at Morimoto isn't worth the money.

[dagordon]

I guess I'm pretty late to discover this, but the sushi and sashimi at Morimoto is not their strong point, whereas some of the cooked stuff is quite good.

The "Morimoto Ramen Soup" on the lunch menu is very, very good. We've had it for lunch several times in the past couple of weeks. It's more reminiscent of Jewish chicken soup with some Japanese accents than any ramen I've had, however. The broth is super intense, and the pieces of chicken in the soup are super tender.

The thing is, though, the soup is crying out for a good slow-cooked egg to be put in there, as well as some good shichimi togarashi.

So, I decided to take matters in to my own hands.

Aladdin "Micro Lunch Bowl", $12 from Target:

2 fresh Meadow Run Farm eggs from Fair Food, cooked in the water bath at 63.8 F for about 1 hour. Lunch was at 1:30. I put the eggs in the bath at 12:30. At 1:25 I transferred the eggs into the container, along with some of the water from the bath:

I grabbed some Yagenbori shichimi togarashi:

and headed over to Morimoto.

When the ramen came we surreptitiously took out the container, retrieved the eggs and broke them into the soup, put the shells back into the container, and hid the container. Then a slight dusting of the togarashi.

OMFG. This was transcendent. Out-of-control good. In part because (for whatever reason) the MRF eggs are maybe the best they've ever been, and the togarashi provided just the right level of heat and added complexity.

Edited July 16, 2008 by dagordon (log)

[mattohara]

where do you get your togarashi? i only found it at dibruno's and it's not great.