Morimoto – the thick-jawed samaurai in Iron Chef. Such things don’t really impress me but I read some very good reviews on this new restaurant. Fair enough, set aside $300 and give it a shot.

I expected an overly commercial club-like atmosphere that wouldn’t be out of place in Las Vegas – I wasn’t too far off. In the ridiculous scene that is Morimoto, I may have been the coolest of them all. “Who is that guy” I heard once as I strode past some tables for a bathroom break – I was only one eating omakase and, thus, I had my own table w/ Chef Morimoto serving just me.

The design of the restaurant is strange. For omakase, you have to wear slippers (fine) but you must climb out of the omakase table (hard to explain) and wear your slippers through a dining room, down the stairs, and through the bar. How uncomfortable. The omakase should have its own bathroom away from the jungle.

My waitress was exceptional. I had my own waitress and 2 chefs. The waitress and I hit it off when I mentioned I love Kuruma – she used to work there. The chefs and I hit it off when I told them of the wonders of Urasawa (his dream restaurant) – from that point on, the dishes got cranked up a notch or 2.

Highlights:

1. Buri sashimi – this was an *exceptional* piece of yellow tail; it rivaled any yellow tail i ‘ve had at Sawa (that is something you’ll never hear me say.)

2. Japanese uni – what a world of difference from the typical Santa Barbera uni served in most places. The only way i can compare them, in SAT terms to bring back bad memories, is “SB uni : Japanese uni as Ice cream : Gelato”. The japanese one was creamier with a stronger, sweeter flavor whereas great SB uni is just a ‘hint’ of the sea.

3. Ankimo ponzu puree – Oh. My. God. This might be the most decadent thing one could ever eat – the monkfish liver was of supreme quality and the pureeing made it even creamier. Ridiculous.

4. 40-day aged wagyu steak – a peter luger steak in every bite. 3 pieces, 3 bites, an insane concentration of flavor. It wasn’t as soft as i expected, some pieces had a bit of gristle (?), but the flavor was tremendous. Aging makes an incredible difference with steak – the 30-day aged piece was a shell of this.

5. Salmon risotto w/ uni – this was the grand finale – the chef showing off. And it was absolutely perfect. Cooked in what must have been a salmon broth, the risotto was not very creamy, but the uni, when mixed, gave it the perfect creamy consistency. The rice itself was slightly crispy w/ an underlying salmon flavor. Spectacular, special, this one really made me smile. *This* is what you’d expect from a restaurant bearing the iron chef’s name!

Overall, the whole affair is a bit disjointed and over-priced. If you go a few times, and show them you are serious, I think you would get true “Iron Chef” type dishes. However, this place is not designed for loyalty – i believe Morimoto would rather be printing money in the back if he knew how. The assistant chef & waitress saved the night for me and cranked the meal up a few notches. But was it really worth $440? Sawa $300, Urasawa $350, Masa $500+, Morimoto is a bit on the high side for the overall quality of the menu. Reduce it to $250 all-inclusive and you’ve got a repeat customer in me.

The Complete Menu w/ comments:

1. Tofu w/ truffle oil & black truffle (served by Morimoto)
I hate truffle oil; if the truffles are good, why use oil too? This dish was very bland – it need a liberal dose of sea salt.

2. Tofu w/ house special soy sauce (served by Morimoto)
Omakase was 9 dishes and the first 2 are bland tofu dishes? for $300? And morimoto served this dish before I finished the last one. I was getting furious inside… again, bland…

3. Steamed abalone w/ ocetra caviar & bamboo shoot
It *tasted* like liver. It was a nice piece of abalone, but in my head, this was 3/9 dishes and, while good, nothing spectacular by any means.

4. Hairy crab (kegani) w/ fresh seaweed
Others have raved about this dish but i have no idea why… The ‘guts’ of the crab were pretty good but the crab meat itself, while moist & slightly sweet, was nothing i couldn’t do at home. The seaweed was delicious – it was sweet enough to be confused with jelly.

5. Wagyu, Buri, & Soi sashimi
The buri was exceptional; never had soi before but it was a ‘bright’ fish w/ a nice bite; the wagyu lacked flavor and the garlic sauce provided killed it.

6. Braised Yellowtail w/ truffle
Moist & ridiculously rich, the sauce (miso-based) was cloying. Didn’t know there were truffles til i just read the menu.

7. Shimi Aji & Uni sushi
Uni was spectacular. The rice is very interesting – you can really taste each piece. Unfortunately, it’s not warm like a Masa or Yasuda and you almost feel like it’s an afterthought. The waitress explained that Morimoto believes there should be some pockets of air between the rice.

8. Flash Frozen Persimmon
This was exciting & interesting – the outside had a fried-like shell from the flash freezing and it burst open in your mouth when you bit down. Very cold – they would make *excellent* summertime treats.

9. Spiny Lobster in Yuba Glaze
The lobster meat is an afterthought to this dish; the star is the slightly yuzu-infused broth with strands of tofu skin. The texture from the tofu resembles delicate noodles w/ the faint citrus carrying a lasting tone as you eat.

10. Monkfish Hot Pot w/ Ankimo Ponzu Puree
This was a challenge from the chef – every piece of the monkfish was in there save the eyes – meat, bone, the stomach, and some other odds’n'ends. The stomach was *very* difficult eating – it was about the size of a large strawberry and it took about 5 minutes to chew. 5 minutes of chewing on an intestine. 5 minutes…. (I had been very sick for the entire week and I nearly threw up twice during this 5 minute chewing exercise..) But this was a joke from the chef (albeit a cruel one) after i told him I ate everything but sea cucumber intestine. The broth, again, was exceptional especially when you added some of the yuzu pepper paste. very strong & concentrated flavors. The ankimo puree was exceptional as detailed above.

11. Grilled Toro w/ Habanero pepper sauce
Too full to enjoy this but it was buttery. I really would have liked to try it as sashimi as it had lots of potential.

12. 40-day aged Wagyu steak
Excellent as detailed above

13. Salmon Risotto w/ Uni
Excellent as detailed above

14. Tofu Cheesecake
3 tiny pieces – very light & delicate – nice stuff.

This is *no* Urasawa – there’s no competition – Uarasawa is a far better experience. While Morimoto can hit a few high notes thanks to the some very unique ingredients, Urasawa’s cuisine is more balanced, consistent, and it has more soul in one dish than the whole block Morimoto rests on.

- chuck