intro:
so the mrs and i made a foodie pilgrimage to morimoto, the philly restaurant founded by iron chef masaharu morimoto.

i use the word “pilgrimage” very deliberately here. as a long-time watcher of both the original japanese version of iron chef as well as the food network incarnation, i’ve been a fan of morimoto for a long time. although formally trained as a sushi chef (which he did after playing professional baseball in japan), he’s stretched cuisine well beyond the borders of the japanese islands while retaining an undeniably japanese bent

what follows then is my impression of our delightful visit.

ambience:
it’s absolutely impossible to speak about morimoto without first discussing its absolutely stunning design. a pair of pale yellow glass doors (which incidentally lack any marking, logo or anything else identifying the restaurant) opens into one of the most unusual dining rooms you’re likely ever to see. while a classic rectangle in size, the seating consists largely of 2 seat booths running along the right and left ends, while the middle is made up of two rows diner-style booths, alternating between four and eight people capacity, which breaks up the straight line monotony. i describe the booths as diner-style, which is a bit of a disservice to the design, as the barriers between areas is made of lighted lucite which varies from purple to sea green (the mrs calls the color ‘sea glass’) to blue (she calls the color amethyst). while the effect may sound peculiar, it’s very gradual and in fact was quite soothing to experience.

the room has a cathedral ceiling, and there is (what i think was) a wood-plank sound barrier that waved its way from the front of the dining room to the back, where the kitchen and sushi bar are situated. apart from the lucite structures forming the booths, there were no straight lines inside the entire establishment that i particularly noticed. i suspect that this is a deliberate aesthetic decision to help “center” the diner, allowing him or her to focus on the food. and i have to say, i think it worked pretty well, once i got accustomed to it—it took me around ten mins or so.

service:
morimoto uses a front/back system for service. for those not inducted into the specifics of how waiting tables works: a front server is the person in charge of whatever you need at your table, checks up on you between courses, etc., while one or more other servers will bring things to you as needed. as opportunities present themselves, the “back” servers address those needs when the “front” server is otherwise occupied. this method can be difficult for wait staff in certain establishments: the entire group is dependent upon good teamwork and when one person screws up, everyone suffers re: tips, but the teamwork i witnessed in morimoto was stellar. while i’d have preferred a somewhat less intrusive wait staff presence—the servers insisted on greeting us every time they were at the table, which quite frankly i dislike—they were pleasantly attentive without hovering, i must say.

cuisine:
we ordered the omokase, a tasting menu. like a number of restaurants offering a tasting menu, there are several “sizes”, depending upon how much you want to spend, and basically, the folks in the kitchen make something they think you’re going to enjoy for your money—yes, the servers ask about food allergies/dislikes. we opted for the most modest omokase, which was $40/head.

menu:
yellowfin tuna tartare in a soba sauce with osetra caviar and fresh wasabi:
when presented, the server suggested we use our spoons to get a little everything together, the tuna with caviar and wasabi. it was absolutely fantastic, and as i said to the mrs, with each bite, i felt the impulse to stop and meditate upon this new wisdom. it was a thing of beauty.

sashimi salad with shaved scallion & ginger, yellowfin tuna and salmon dressed in a soy and onion dressing with carrot oil:
there was a bit too much dressing for the salad but otherwise, it was simple, clean—spartan. it allowed the fish to speak for itself, which is really what i look for in sashimi.

chilean sea bass with shaved scallions and ginger dressed with plum sauce and walnut oil:
OK, granted that chilean sea bass is scarce so we wouldn’t have knowingly ordered it, but…

o
my
god

it was buttery in a way that fish has no right to be. i’m pretty sure the sea bass was steamed rather than using any other kind of preparation: it was cooked through but there was nary a hint of the cooking process used. in theory, it could have been cooked using a sous vide, although i think that unlikely for reasons i can’t describe. whatever the case, it melted on my tongue.

sushi sampler of 5 types of fish: tuna, yellowfin tuna, japanese red snapper and 2 other types of fish which i no longer recall:
it was sushi. it was beautiful. need i say more?

plum and almond tart with white chocolate mousse with apricot tuille:
you won’t believe how good it was. indeed, i don’t think that i can describe it adequately.

beverages:
she had a cilantro gimlet—insanely good—and i had a morimoto hazelnut ale—not quite what one might expect, very tasty yet light and no, not sweet. that ale is available in certain stores, btw.

summary:
yes, you will spend more than you are probably accustomed to spending. that isn’t even a question. having said that, it’s completely worth it. every. single. cent. o, and btw, morimoto has a NYC location, for those of you who get to manhattan. :>

besides, how often does anyone ever get to realize their dream of being an iron chef taster? :>

ed