Eyes of NYC: Morimoto - Chelsea, NYC

Oh My Morimoto

Before I begin. Let me start by giving those of you who don’t know who Morimoto is a little bit of background. Chef Masaharu Morimoto is best known as a renowned chef in both America’s and Japan’s show “Iron Chef”. While on the show, Morimoto won 26 of his 41 challenges. Meaning he’s a pretty damn good chef. From there, he’s opened 3 Morimoto restaurants (which are Japanese cuisine) in Philly, Boca Raton, and NYC, and 2 restaurants overseas. So two weekends ago (I’ve been dying to post this) I decided to try out this famous restaurant for myself and decide whether or not it lives up to the legend.

A tip when making reservations at Morimoto: Call days in advance. We called the day before and there were only two open reservations. Man, this place must be good, I remember thinking. And it was.

First impressions are not just for people. I judge restaurants within the first 30 seconds, just as people do with each other. My first thirty seconds at Morimoto: I stepped into this vastly large, two-story dining room/lounge/bar made up of luxurious and futuristic furnishings and fixtures. Immediately I could tell this would be some experience. The place was loud, but thriving with energy and you could tell just about everyone in there was having a good time. The service was great from the start, quickly accommodating and welcoming us.

Our seats were quite unique and possibly my favorite part. We were placed in the way back corner of the restaurant, at the sushi bar, where the cooks worked directly in front of us and we could see the kitchen. Now I know this doesn’t sound favorable, but this small little corner provided a quiet place to talk and have privacy in this loud and fast-paced environment. Plus, this part of the restaurant required dining without shoes on. So I got to free my feet of my heels. And that, my friends, I liked very much.

Okay, four paragraphs in and I can finally start on the food! My boyfriend and I started with the mixed green salad (with kabosu vinaigrette, shaved bonito) - which was big enough to feed a small country, but I really enjoyed it. Another reason why I liked this secluded seating...no one could see me make a mess. I have yet to master the art of salad eating and tend to be a bit embarrassing. Our appetizer, the yosedofu (fresh tofu, ankake, dashi soy, and wasabi), was ridiculously cool. It was actually prepared right in front of us and once the tofu finished cooking, it was mixed with mushrooms, seasoning, something crunchy, and something spicy. I was not exactly sure what I had just eaten but it was a blast of flavor and it was delicious. You definitely don’t have to love tofu to love this.

Now incase you forgot, I’ll refresh your memory. I’ve never eaten fish in my entire life...until just a few weeks ago. So even though a California roll (avocado, cucumber, and crab) is like a beginner sushi roll, it was a big step from my normal order of just cucumber and avocado. The waitress convinced me to try it and I’m happy she did, I loved the roll - which then led me to try my boyfriend’s bass and his shrimp tempura roll. Hey, if you’re going to try fish anywhere, it might as well be at Morimoto.

Ah dessert, my favorite. And this particular dessert was truly unique. A warm flour-less chocolate cake mixed with caramel popcorn, rice crispies, sesame-caramel sauce, white chocolate foam, and spiced pear sorbet. Yeah. Just imagine that. Enough said.

As if the food and the setting wasn’t amazing enough, towards the end of our meal, MORIMOTO HIMSELF came out, greeted us, and shook our hands. The man is a food genius. S0 whether you watch him on Iron Chef or not, chances are, if you’ve eaten at his restaurant, you’d be in awe just as I was.

So I would say this restaurant absolutely lives up to the legend. A definite recommendation!

Meal: 10

Dessert: 10

Interior: 10

Bathroom: 10

Atmosphere: 10

(on a scale of 1-10: 1=bad 10=great)

Price: $$$

($=cheap $$=moderate $$$=expensive $$$$=woah baby)