I had the chance to venture to Chelsea Market about a month ago (when I went to Governors Ball) and I've been dying to go to Morimoto. For those who are unaware that I'm in fact a "foodie", he's one of my favorite Iron Chefs and ever since I found out he had a restaurant in NYC I've had it on my list of places to eat. The weather was gloomy, but that wasn't going to stop me from having at least one appetizer before heading back to Boston.
The entrance, was nothing short of quaint. Automatic glass sliding doors, steel interior...the whole place was right up my alley. My friends and I were greeted by an attractive young woman, and escorted immediately to the bar where we could watch the chefs prepare our meal.
The menu had plenty of options, from various entrees to a sushi section that featured Wagyu and Toro (fatty tuna for the non sushi enthusiasts). I decided on the sea bass bento box , all of which were pre fixe options for $25. Like the menu states, each option comes with miso soup, salad, tempura, sushi, and a seasonal fruit panna cotta.
Everything on the menu looked exquisite, drinks included. Although I didn't order a specialty drink (was feeling a cold coming on), my friends ordered both the morimoto iced tea and the ginger lemonade.
The iced tea received some mixed reviews (I'm gunna say it was because of the calpico, but that's just my opinion) but the ginger lemonade was superb, and would recommend it to anyone who wants a refreshing drink to accompany their meal.
Once my bento box arrived I was astounded at the amount of food that it came with. (starting from the right hand corner) The sea bass was on a bed of sauteed vegetables, and almost perfectly cooked. The miso soup was accompanied with fresh scallions and the perfect amount of tofu. Next, there was what I assume to be some sort of potato? and asparagus tempura, accompanied by a bleu cheese..? dipping sauce. A small balanced salad with crispy onion croutons and a punchy vinaigrette. Finished by an assortment of sushi; half of a spicy salmon roll, followed by a piece (from left to right) aji (horse mackerel), sake (salmon) and hamachi (yellowtail) sushi.
- aesthetics: 8/10 - the entire restaurant was nearly perfect, the stools could've stood to be a bit more comfortable but that's really my only critique.
- taste: 7.5/10 - the fish was a touch overcooked, but nothing heartbreaking. The sauteed vegetables underneath had a smidge too much sauce, which kind of overpowered the fish a bit. As for the sushi, a dab too much wasabi (refer to Jiro Dreams of Sushi).
- presentation: 7/10 - nothing out of this world, everything was simple & clean.
- service: 8.5/10 - the hostess was really cheerful, despite the gloomy weather, and the waiter was very informative/attentive as fuck with the water. I'm not going to include the woman who was kinda rude about the suggested tip amount though because "bitch don't kill my vibe".
** side note: if you're looking to expand your sushi knowledge/wanna wanna watch a fanfuckingtastic documentary on food I highly encourage.recommend.demand that you watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The videography is amazing, because it really enhances the passion.dedication.overall badassness of Jiro and his craft. (it's available on Netflix, so queue that bad boy) **
keep it appetizing.