Today we have a guest commenter, my gf whose comments are in green below.
Morimoto
88 10th Ave
New York, NY 10011
(212) 989-8883
morimotonyc.com
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So for Valentines’ day, I suprised (suRprised!!!!!!!!!) my gf and took her to Morimoto in NYC.
For those of you who don’t know who Morimoto is, shame on you!! J/k. Morimoto is a legend
in the realm of cooking. He was one of the iron chefs from the original iron chef show in japan
whose cooking style always fascinated me.
He is currently one of the iron chefs of the iron chef america show on food network.
So how did his restaurant fair? Who’s cuisine will reign supreme??? Read on!
Food
1
kakuni (appetizer)
ten hour pork, congee, soy-scallion jus
$16
10/10
perfection. pork was “punch myself in the face” good. first time i wanted to cry when i ate something
in a very long time. steve’s face literally froze in shock
2
seafood toban yaki ( main meal)
half shell lobster, king crab, mussel, clam, diver scallop, red miso-sake broth
$36
10/10
what made this dish perfect is the broth. never tasted like it ever in my life. ever. second time i cried… in one meal. broth was indescribly amazing, it was impossible to tell what was even in it from tasting it
3
chef’s raw bar combination
oh-toro sushi
unagi sushi
yellowtail sushi
clam sushi
tamago sushi
saba sushi (boston mackeral sushi)
fluke sushi
$35
9/10
what a steal/value. $35 for all the sushi listed above.
some were really amazing (tuna) some was dissapointing (mackeral)
but overal, you can tell the stuff was really fresh.
4
spicy yellowtail roll
salmon roll
maguro (tuna) sushi
freshest piece of fish i ever ate in my life. i did not know tuna could taste like this,
it was like it just jumped out of the ocean onto my plate
tobiko (flying fish roe)
king crab sashimi
tai sashimi (japanese red snapper)
$4-7 (for each peace/roll)
9/10
same as #3. the red snapper stood out for me.
5
negitoro roll
chopped toro, scallion
$13
9/10
drinks
6
ginjo sake – 10 oz $31
10/10
wow. sooo smooth. i could only finish one cup before i started getting woozy (10 oz = about 4 cups)
7
shiso leaf – $12
9/10
eh. sort of like a mojito with more alcohol
dessert
8
tofu ‘hot & cold’
$12
soy milk souffle’, tofu cheesecake, maple ice craem
maple sauce
9.7/10
never would have thought tofu could have been used in such ways.
I DON’T EVEN LIKE TOFU OF ANY KIND AND THIS DISH WAS REALLY GOOD.
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overall food
9.8/10
i was blown away by the food. closest thing to perfection.
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decor
10/10
hard for me to describe. 2 floors, very chic, simple, yet elegant
bathroom stalls were also amazing (including toilets from japan)
value
n/a
when you go to these places, expect to pay alot.
however, there are some steals (i.e. the sushi deal, the sushi rolls)
that you can find if you want to skimp out on.
service
10/10
impeccable service.
overall experience:
10/10
originally i was going to place 9.5/10, but i caught a sighting of the man himself, morimoto.
according to the waiter, he is usually there on the weekends. if you like seafood,
you HAVE to try this place. guarantee you will not be let down.
in fact, i was fortunate enough to take a picture with the man himself (i know, it’s dark)
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side notes:
a.
one of the sushi specials was fugu.
for $50 a piece! but i remember that fugu, as the waiter told me, is the poison fish from japan:
a chef needs to train for a minimum for 7 years in japan to be certified to serve fugu.
unless morimoto himself cut it for me, i would have been very nervous for anyone else to cut it.
b.
check out the chelsea market adjacent to morimoto.
the lobster place seafood market (rated a 27 on zagat) has the freshest pieces of fish i’ve ever seen.
c
they sell autographed copies of morimoto’s cookbook at the restaurant.
d.
reserve in advance – for valentines day i had to call 1.5 months in advance, and even then there was only one time slot left.
e.
sit at the sushi bar if u want to see the chefs at work. they use blowtorches!
