The local news started predicting a “dusting” of snow for Saturday towards the end of the past week. Leave it to my husband and I to have an anniversary in January. Mother Nature didn’t disappoint and the promised one to three inches of snow materialized. Luckily for us the weather wasn’t all too bad given the possibilities and we were able to make it for our reservations at Iron Chef Morimoto’s restaurant in Philadelphia.
Over the summer my husband had had lunch at Morimoto with work and came home raving about it. So our anniversary seemed the perfect occasion for something special. We both had the Chef’s Choice tasting menu, the Omakase, which is perhaps what they’re best known for. It was an eight course meal of small tastings of different specialties, such as a tuna tartar in broth, a huge scallop on a chestnut puree and a sushi sampling. The final two courses were dessert courses.
All of the food was amazingly fresh and I loved being able to taste the fish and the scallop was the first I’ve ever had and enjoyed. There were also a few dishes with fresh greens that I really enjoyed. Because each of the courses is small, there were a few times where I was left wanting a bit more. Sometimes it takes you til the end of the dish to really appreciate it fully. In particular, I especially liked the mandarin orange non-alcoholic cocktail I got, a mixture of ginger and orange juice. The service was also wonderful and very attentive. I loved being able to watch the chefs working in the open sushi bar at the back of the restaurant.
I don’t think I’ve made any secret of the fact that I’m a uncomfortably picky eater. It’s awful, and I know it. The good news is I didn’t have too much trouble. The bad news is it’s as though my husband called ahead and told the chef exactly what I don’t like. There were a few dishes that were just too spicy from wasabi for my suburban, low-brow taste buds. The penultimate course (“compliments of the chef”) was a shot glass-sized coconut ice cream with “jelly” of Irish coffee. The ice cream was lovely, the coffee flavor not really my cup of tea. (Pun intended.)
I enjoyed our visit to Morimoto. It was a nice change and a nice experience. Perhaps I went in with high expectations based on what I’d heard about the restaurant. In general, it was very nice but it wasn’t the greatest meal I’d ever had. That said, I’d like to go back and explore the menu a little bit more and definitely try some of their sushi. I’d definitely recommend trying Morimoto for yourself.
Morimoto
723 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
