(2007-12-06) Morimoto

Jihi dragged me out to Mori Moto last night. She owed someone a dinner, and owes me an extra 7yrs of freedom (Number Three). Some random Restaurant Review notes:

• For 4 people we spent $600, including tax/tip.

  • we tried a couple different red wines and found them both rather weak, at roughly $80 each.

• This was Jihi's 3rd time there.

  • "Chef" (Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto) was in-the-house the 2nd time.

    • I'm irritated by the Fetishism of "Chefs" from foodies who watch too much TV. It reminds me of people with PhD-s who want to be called Doctor.

  • She believes the food is a definite notch up when he's there.

    • She had some dishes under both conditions, and found the flavors much stronger when he was in.

    • She noted some sub-standard quality issues (brown edge of a vegetable) which said "he wouldn't let leave the kitchen"

• None of us were real raw-fish fans. So the Toro Tartare, while cool to look at, was wasted on our peasant palates.

• The Spicy King Crab was awesome, and I'm not generally a crab fan (other than Soft-Shell Crab).

• The 2 Rock Shrimp appetizers were kinda tasty/sweet, but not really any better than you'd get at Saigon Grill.

• My Rack Of Lamb was excellent, just really simple. (But is that worth premium prices?)

• Jihi loved her braised cod, but I didn't taste it.

• The chocolate-hazlenut dessert was a very nice combo of flavors. But the chocolate flavor wasn't intense enough, I thought.

• I thought the space was a little too "cold" (in feeling, not temperature).

Bottom-line: if I were really rich maybe I'd enjoy eating there occasionally, but I can't enjoy spending that much money on a meal anymore, even if it were someone else's money.

Dec30 update: Jihi went again tonight. He was in the kitchen tonight, and the food was better again (supposedly).

Feb22'2008 update: in case you thought the Iron ChefAmerica contests were really Reality Tv...