This year's Thanksgiving did not include turkey. No mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, jiggly cranberry sauce from a can, tryptophan comas... nothing. This year, I flew to Amsterdam, since I have to be leaving on Friday at the latest for work, and had Indonesian Rijsttafel with George and Josh.
Based upon where all of us were staying in Amsterdam, I picked Sama Sebo, which got good reviews, and allowed for charging per person, instead of just by couples. They also seemed to have a more extensive menu of items that they bring out. I was not disappointed. Located at a prime corner of PC Hoofstraat, one of the ritzier shopping districts, Sama Sebo is known to be overbooked, and impossible to get a table. We were initially turned away by the hostess, but when they heard we wanted rijsttafel, they seemed to make a concession. The dinner runs 26.50Euro a person, which translates to about $32 a person. What you get is 17 family style dishes, which include a big bowl of white jasmine rice, and nasi goreng, the Indonesian equivalent of fried rice. Each dish is a small portion, but with 17 of them, there isn't enough room in your stomach to complain. Each dish is uniquely flavored, though a wonderful rich peanut sauce showed up on 2 very different dishes (a chicken satay and a bean and bean sprout dish which was cold and slightly crunchy like a salad), and a couple beef dishes tasted similar. The other lovely thing about this, is if you run out of anything, it's filled again! I highly recommend that anyone who goes to Amsterdam tries Rijstafel. It's worth every moment and every penny.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Monday, November 14, 2005
Evvia in Palo Alto: Greek food can be good
Jeffrey Steingarten says this about Greek Food, and is aversion to it, "I was also convinced that Greek cuisine was an oxymoron. Nations are like people. Some are good at cooking, while others have a talent for music or baseball or manufacturing VCRs. The Greeks are really good at both pre-Socratic philosophy and white sculpture. They have not been good cooks since the fifth century B.C., when Siracusa in Sicily was the gastronomic capital of the world. Typical of the Greeks' modern cuisine are feta cheese and retsina wine. Any country that pickles its national cheese in brine and adulterates its national wine with pine pitch should order dinner at the local Chinese place and save its energies for other things. The British go to Greece for the food, which says volumes to me. You would probably think twice before buying a Russian or Algerian television set. I had thought for 10 years before buying my last Greek meal."
Now, that is obviously a bit tongue in cheek, though everything he says is a bit tongue in cheek, but nonetheless, Greek food has been a bit of a mystery to me. I think of the general Mediterranean area, and know the Tzatziki and dolmas are from there, and that I've never had a Dolma that I liked, and I do like their use of citrus, but that was about it. Evvia, which is an upscale Greek restaurant in Palo Alto, CA gave me an idea of what good Greek food was capable of, and I'm very pleased with the results.
With 3 good friends who are at least moderate foodies, we all opted for the Family Style meal. I'll start from the beginning, and move my way through. It started with a bowl of Greek olives (the firm ones were excellent, though I found the slightly dried ones to be too strong in salt and overpowering flavor), and a plate of pikilia, which had a dolma for each, as well as a eggplant spread like a non-smoky babaganoush, tzatziki, and a tarmosalata, which was kind of a Greek salsa, with low acidity. It was served with thick, flavorful pita bread, that was leavened at least a bit. This was the first dolma that I ever enjoyed. The rice was perfectly cooked, with just a bit more texture than one of Asian decent would expect. The melitzanosalata which was the eggplant spread, and the tzatziki were both incredibly tasty, with their tzatziki being the best I've ever had. The yogurt was just the perfect amount of sourness, and the cut of the cucumber was paper thin, with just enough dill, but not too much like many people do. After we opened a bottle of Portuguese wine, which was light bodied, but complimented the lamb dishes very well, they brought out the rest of the appetizers. A fava bean paste which was deep fried, fire roasted octopus with lemon and oregano, and grilled lamb riblets, which were seasoned again with fresh oregano. The lamb was half fat, but this was not a bad thing. Just rich, succulent flavor with the crispness around the first bite, and a wonderful richness that consumed the mouth. The fried bean was good, though nothing to write home about. It was a fritter, of undescript means. The octopus was wonderful. The texture made you question if you were in fact eating octopus, though the flavor was spot on. It wasn't tough, but the teeth just cut through without effort. It was a smoky, citrus wonderment.
After the burst of flavor, they brought out a "classic Greek salad" called horiatiki. This was very well done. Crisp and light without too much oil, and bursting with crunch and flavor. The feta was lightly seasoned, and added a wonderful depth to the salad, which was comprised of thick cut chunks of cucumber, tomato, and thin shavings of red onion, red and green bell pepper, and feta crumbles with a few Greek olives tossed in.
Everyone picked their own main course. The two men both had kokinisto me manestra, which was a lamb osso bucco, and just fell off the bone. Judy had the Arnisia Paidakia, which was succulently grilled lamb chops (4 of them!), which I tried and were excellent. I had the moussaka. For those that don't know what moussaka is, it's a casserole with eggplant, lamb, potato, and a creamy sauce. Evvia served this almost like a very deep dish individual shepherd's pie. The lamb was rich and very flavorful, and the eggplant melted into the mix. It was topped by almost a crust of the cream sauce, which was baked until firm, but with just a bit of that in every bite, it balanced the rich spices of the lamb, and tasted wonderful.
We finished with a dessert which consisted of a small piece of baklava, pistachio ice cream, and a galaktoboureko, which is a vanilla scented semolina custard wrapped in phyllo. It was topped with a lavender honey infusion. Baklava is just too sweet. There is no way around this. I wish, I could get over it but I really can't. The other desert, was wonderful, and the lavender in the honey really was present in the flavor of the food. The pistachio ice cream was also excellent.
I definitely recommend this restaurant for people who want to see what Greek food could taste like, when prepared well. I was blown away, and would put this in the top 2 of places I've ever had lamb. It probably is the number one place I've ever had lamb, but I don't want to overstep while I'm lacking in my scientific approach.
Now, that is obviously a bit tongue in cheek, though everything he says is a bit tongue in cheek, but nonetheless, Greek food has been a bit of a mystery to me. I think of the general Mediterranean area, and know the Tzatziki and dolmas are from there, and that I've never had a Dolma that I liked, and I do like their use of citrus, but that was about it. Evvia, which is an upscale Greek restaurant in Palo Alto, CA gave me an idea of what good Greek food was capable of, and I'm very pleased with the results.
With 3 good friends who are at least moderate foodies, we all opted for the Family Style meal. I'll start from the beginning, and move my way through. It started with a bowl of Greek olives (the firm ones were excellent, though I found the slightly dried ones to be too strong in salt and overpowering flavor), and a plate of pikilia, which had a dolma for each, as well as a eggplant spread like a non-smoky babaganoush, tzatziki, and a tarmosalata, which was kind of a Greek salsa, with low acidity. It was served with thick, flavorful pita bread, that was leavened at least a bit. This was the first dolma that I ever enjoyed. The rice was perfectly cooked, with just a bit more texture than one of Asian decent would expect. The melitzanosalata which was the eggplant spread, and the tzatziki were both incredibly tasty, with their tzatziki being the best I've ever had. The yogurt was just the perfect amount of sourness, and the cut of the cucumber was paper thin, with just enough dill, but not too much like many people do. After we opened a bottle of Portuguese wine, which was light bodied, but complimented the lamb dishes very well, they brought out the rest of the appetizers. A fava bean paste which was deep fried, fire roasted octopus with lemon and oregano, and grilled lamb riblets, which were seasoned again with fresh oregano. The lamb was half fat, but this was not a bad thing. Just rich, succulent flavor with the crispness around the first bite, and a wonderful richness that consumed the mouth. The fried bean was good, though nothing to write home about. It was a fritter, of undescript means. The octopus was wonderful. The texture made you question if you were in fact eating octopus, though the flavor was spot on. It wasn't tough, but the teeth just cut through without effort. It was a smoky, citrus wonderment.
After the burst of flavor, they brought out a "classic Greek salad" called horiatiki. This was very well done. Crisp and light without too much oil, and bursting with crunch and flavor. The feta was lightly seasoned, and added a wonderful depth to the salad, which was comprised of thick cut chunks of cucumber, tomato, and thin shavings of red onion, red and green bell pepper, and feta crumbles with a few Greek olives tossed in.
Everyone picked their own main course. The two men both had kokinisto me manestra, which was a lamb osso bucco, and just fell off the bone. Judy had the Arnisia Paidakia, which was succulently grilled lamb chops (4 of them!), which I tried and were excellent. I had the moussaka. For those that don't know what moussaka is, it's a casserole with eggplant, lamb, potato, and a creamy sauce. Evvia served this almost like a very deep dish individual shepherd's pie. The lamb was rich and very flavorful, and the eggplant melted into the mix. It was topped by almost a crust of the cream sauce, which was baked until firm, but with just a bit of that in every bite, it balanced the rich spices of the lamb, and tasted wonderful.
We finished with a dessert which consisted of a small piece of baklava, pistachio ice cream, and a galaktoboureko, which is a vanilla scented semolina custard wrapped in phyllo. It was topped with a lavender honey infusion. Baklava is just too sweet. There is no way around this. I wish, I could get over it but I really can't. The other desert, was wonderful, and the lavender in the honey really was present in the flavor of the food. The pistachio ice cream was also excellent.
I definitely recommend this restaurant for people who want to see what Greek food could taste like, when prepared well. I was blown away, and would put this in the top 2 of places I've ever had lamb. It probably is the number one place I've ever had lamb, but I don't want to overstep while I'm lacking in my scientific approach.
Monday, October 24, 2005
There's always time for turkey
DisneyWorld's Magic Kingdom gave me the first chance to try a smoked turkey leg. Okay...First note...you get this...thing...a huge chunk of meat on it's natural stick. It's greasy, and covered w/ thin pieces of wax paper. It's heavier than a steak, and you're holding it in one hand, trying to figure out what to do with it.
Suddenly, I just found an approximate place to start, and took a bite. It tasted smokey, and fell off the bone. It was actually great. If I had 3 people to share it with, I would actually get one again. I think I ate a quarter of one, and that was when I was starving. Oh well. The grease was all in the lower leg, so if you just eat the top, it was quite good, moist, and not greasy as you eat it.
Suddenly, I just found an approximate place to start, and took a bite. It tasted smokey, and fell off the bone. It was actually great. If I had 3 people to share it with, I would actually get one again. I think I ate a quarter of one, and that was when I was starving. Oh well. The grease was all in the lower leg, so if you just eat the top, it was quite good, moist, and not greasy as you eat it.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Jiko - A Cooking Place
I fear eating in Orlando. As a rule...it's run by Disney, and the mouse house is known for food that is family friendly, affordable, overly salty, and just okay. Last year, our big night out was at Emeril's, which was good, but overpriced, a little pretentious, and weirdly so, as it was at Universal CityWalk, so you have people walking around just outside in tank tops with flop sweat, and a margarita around their neck. This year, I decided it would be a good idea to stay on the Disney property for our fancy dinner. We went to Jiko - The Cooking Place at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
First, while waiting, you can watch the giraffes and such grazing just outside the building. That is far more ambiance than watching margarita toting hefty folks. Next, it is supposedly African food. To me, I have no idea what this means. I think it's a more exotic spice regimen than I'm used to, curries, and peanuts, with a bit of flat bread. That's all I could think of.
Here's what was eaten...
We shared 4 starters...
Cucumber, Tomato, and Red Onion Salad with a watermelon vinaigrette
Marinated "Ahi" tuna with heirloom beans, and "Zough" yogurt
Flatbread with goat cheese, bacon, and tomato.
Maize "Tamales" with herbs and goat cheese, wrapped in corn husks
The ahi was excellent, as it was a tartare which when blended w/ the dressing and beans made for a surprisingly good texture and flavor which had spice, and didn't overwhelm the flavor of the fish. I also was a big fan of the cucumber, tomato and onion salad, as it was powered by white pepper, and had a powerful heat to it.
My dinner was seared Jumbo Scallops with "chaka-laka" and mealie "pap". It was excellent. The scallops were well prepared, and the chaka-laka, though silly to say, was quite a tasty tomato ragout. The mealie pap was basically a polenta, but a very nice blend of flavors.
The desert was mind blowing. I had their stone fruit napoleon which involved pomegranate syrup, and fruits soaked in the pomegranate flavors. The napoleon had a cardamon mousse which was exotic, and light.
First, while waiting, you can watch the giraffes and such grazing just outside the building. That is far more ambiance than watching margarita toting hefty folks. Next, it is supposedly African food. To me, I have no idea what this means. I think it's a more exotic spice regimen than I'm used to, curries, and peanuts, with a bit of flat bread. That's all I could think of.
Here's what was eaten...
We shared 4 starters...
Cucumber, Tomato, and Red Onion Salad with a watermelon vinaigrette
Marinated "Ahi" tuna with heirloom beans, and "Zough" yogurt
Flatbread with goat cheese, bacon, and tomato.
Maize "Tamales" with herbs and goat cheese, wrapped in corn husks
The ahi was excellent, as it was a tartare which when blended w/ the dressing and beans made for a surprisingly good texture and flavor which had spice, and didn't overwhelm the flavor of the fish. I also was a big fan of the cucumber, tomato and onion salad, as it was powered by white pepper, and had a powerful heat to it.
My dinner was seared Jumbo Scallops with "chaka-laka" and mealie "pap". It was excellent. The scallops were well prepared, and the chaka-laka, though silly to say, was quite a tasty tomato ragout. The mealie pap was basically a polenta, but a very nice blend of flavors.
The desert was mind blowing. I had their stone fruit napoleon which involved pomegranate syrup, and fruits soaked in the pomegranate flavors. The napoleon had a cardamon mousse which was exotic, and light.
Jim's Steaks - a special experience
To combat the high brow Morimoto, I took to the streets of Philadelphia, specifically South St. in Philly, for the infamous Jim's Steaks, and a true Philly Cheesesteak. The line for Jims, snakes inside 3 times, and when we walked past the place at halftime of the Eagles game, it flowed out of the joint and around the corner. We opted to wait until we came back from our walk before picking up a greasy bit of love.
As we walked up the 2nd time, the line didn't leave the building, which we took as a good sign, and walked in about 5 feet before hitting the curving line. It took about 15-20 minutes to hit the front of the line. I was warned, know how to order, they don't tollerate stupidity here. So, we had the order ready to go... 2 with provolone and fried onions. They take a slightly warmed roll, slap 2 slices of provolone on it, and chopp meat into the bun...It gets flipped over, and spatula full of grilled onions gets dropped on top. It's handed off, and it's done. By the time we get to our orders, we're starving. We walked back to my friend Jenny's place to eat them while watching the wrap up of the game. By this time, the cheese had melted into a gooey loveliness. It was greasy, the bread was slightly crisp on the edges, the onions and beef and cheese melted into a nice harmony, and it wasn't overly salty. It was heaven on a roll. Some time, I'll have to spend a week in Philly, trying a different steak each day, but it might just kill me.
As we walked up the 2nd time, the line didn't leave the building, which we took as a good sign, and walked in about 5 feet before hitting the curving line. It took about 15-20 minutes to hit the front of the line. I was warned, know how to order, they don't tollerate stupidity here. So, we had the order ready to go... 2 with provolone and fried onions. They take a slightly warmed roll, slap 2 slices of provolone on it, and chopp meat into the bun...It gets flipped over, and spatula full of grilled onions gets dropped on top. It's handed off, and it's done. By the time we get to our orders, we're starving. We walked back to my friend Jenny's place to eat them while watching the wrap up of the game. By this time, the cheese had melted into a gooey loveliness. It was greasy, the bread was slightly crisp on the edges, the onions and beef and cheese melted into a nice harmony, and it wasn't overly salty. It was heaven on a roll. Some time, I'll have to spend a week in Philly, trying a different steak each day, but it might just kill me.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Dinner @ Morimoto... a journey into loveliness
This is the first meal that I actually chose to document as I ate it. With my childhood friend Jenny, and her Fiancee Jason, we had the $80 Omikase dinner at Morimoto in Philadelphia. I asked what made the $80 dinner different from the $100 or $120, and our waitress said it was based upon the value of the ingredients...as in actual street costs.
The first bit will be the actual description of the course, and the following will be the critique. Note: I am very willing to be very critical as the food allows.
Hamachi tartare with shallots and garlic cut into the mix. Topped with chives and osetra caviar. The sauce it sat in was dashi based with shoyu, and had tempura bits and suru daikon in it. It comes with freshly ground wasabi, and a yamamomo (wild mountain peach, native to Japan)
The flavor of this was amazing. We were recommended to take just a bit of wasabi with each bite, and it added a wonderful heat, but added so much to the flavor of the item. The tempura "cracklins" for lack of a better term gave a very balanced texture to the soft tartare, and the osetra caviar did add a little depth to the dish. I would get this again.
Suzuki (striped bass) seared with hot oil with ginger very finely minced, shallots,microgreens, and chiffonade of shiso. It was seared with hot nut oil, and topped with a bit of chive oil as well.
Again, this dish was excellent. The quality of the fish was incredible, and pulling together the light crispness of the greens, the sour of the shiso, and the sweetness of the fish made for a complete sense of umami. I do believe that it hits that unique Japanese flavor sensation not covered by salt, sweet, sour, bitter.
Sashimi salad with Spanish mackerel, microgreens, suru daikon and shichimi togarashi in a dashi based dressing with chive oil, and a thin cracker of bonito on top.
Mackerel usually has a much heavier flavor to it, though I suppose, that's jack mackerel, and this was Spanish. The salad was light, and the fish blended beautifully with the spiciness of the daikon. The dressing was similar to the flavor of the previous dish, but had more of a ponzu element as it was a dressing so the sour was represented as well. The sour cut the oiliness of the fish perfectly.
An intermezzo course of raspberry wasabi sorbet with a snip of mint leaf on top.
I never expected to like this combination, but the raspberry flavor was intense, and as the heady berry taste began to lighten, a slight tingly heat which comes distinctly from wasabi set in. The tiny bit of mint added a lovely freshness to the dish.
Rock shrimp tempura with a spicy 'kochujan' aoli topped with chive and grand marnier. Two pieces of endive were on the plate to use as a scoop to eat the shrimp with.
The aoli had a nice smooth heat to it...Subtle, but just enough. It had a distinct feel of a Japanese version of sweet and sour, but with a creamier base. My main critique of this was that there was just too much of it. This was the first main dish feel, and it was rather filling. It was perfectly fried, and the endive scoop which you nibbled on as you ate the shrimp added a very elegant bitterness to the dish, taking it from insanely good popcorn shrimp, to a classy dish to talk about.
Morimoto's version of black cod with miso. Topped with a seared piece of foie gras, and aka miso and shiro miso sauces. A small sampling of kuromame, and pickled bell peppers.
This dish felt like an homage to what he is known for, in a playful way. The black cod with miso is a signature dish at Nobu, and the bell peppers felt like they were playing to his Iron Chef status. The kuromame was a little bit less succulent than I would have liked...Honestly, my mothers is better, but I think they use a different kind of black bean. The black cod with miso was excellent and you can never go wrong with foie gras...and yes, that can be disputed, but this did not disappoint. The black cod was NOT as good as the one served at Nobu, mainly because it had more of a traditional Japanese tilt to it, and tasted more like black cod kasuzuke, than the Nobu version, which is lighter in flavor. The grade of fish also felt like it was a tiny step down from that which was served at Nobu. It's all about comparison, but it did not thrill me as much as I initially hoped. I would still take it any day over most food on this earth.
The sushi course. One piece each of maguro, hirame, sake, sawara, and aoyagi, again with beni shoga and freshly ground wasabi on the side to be enjoyed with shoyu.
This was actually a mixed bag in my mind. Morimoto is best known for his sushi preparation. Note, he wasn't actually making sushi that night, so I can't blame him for anything, but the fish was not of the highest caliber I've had. There are 3 places that I can distinctly call out higher grade fish. The fresh wasabi added a perfect wild bite to it, and here is what made this sushi very very very good even without the fish being out of this world. The rice was perfect. The texture of each grain was maintained, it was as if each grain pointed in the same direction, so as your teeth cut through it, the texture was perfect. The su- they used on the rice was a bit lighter on the sugar and vinegar than most places I've had sushi, including Nobu, and it allowed the flavor of the rice to be better revealed. Also, the salmon was actually a lightly smoked salmon, which I am not a big fan of in general for sushi. The aji (mackerel) was excellent fish, but the maguro was not up to what I assumed it would be.
Dessert. Chocolate cake with shiro miso ice cream, and an apple sake puree with 3 lightly salted almonds.
I never expect much from Japanese desserts as they are usually either bitter, or way too sweet. I forgot he also had classical French training. Wow. The cake was rich in flavor from darker or bittersweet chocolate, but very light in texture, and moist. It was a borderline souffle texture. The shiro miso ice cream definitely had the essence of miso, but not the salt...just a sense of the ingredients. Very delicate in flavor, and had what tasted like chocolate cake crumbles underneath it. The center of the plate was painted with a stroke of apple sake puree, which when added to the cake enhanced the richness and depth of flavor even more. The very lightly salted almonds gave it a wonderful finishing touch, and the different texture that it needed.
The meal would have been perfect if the fish quality in the sushi had been a bit better, but it was excellent. We also had 2 of Morimoto's Rogue ales...the soba and the hazelnut. The hazelnut was dark and sweet, without any of the Guinness bitterness. The soba was a tiny bit nutty, and went very well with the food we had. We finished the dessert with each of us having a pot of our own sencha tea. It was perfectly steeped, and not the least bit bitter.
On a 1-10 scale, I give this a 9.5. Very high points for creativity and richness of flavor, really hitting every sense with every dish. The down sides of Morimoto were that the service could have been a bit better, as they spilled some of the shoyu off the sushi dish, and didn't clean it up for a good 10 minutes, and that was after one of the floor managers saw it, was horrified very quietly, and went back to tell her to clean it up. They were also not that educated about the dishes. The pronunciationgood, they would go into intense detail about part of the dish, but forget to explain what some other element was. That and the fish quality stopped me from giving this restaurant perfect marks, but I highly recommend it.
The first bit will be the actual description of the course, and the following will be the critique. Note: I am very willing to be very critical as the food allows.
Hamachi tartare with shallots and garlic cut into the mix. Topped with chives and osetra caviar. The sauce it sat in was dashi based with shoyu, and had tempura bits and suru daikon in it. It comes with freshly ground wasabi, and a yamamomo (wild mountain peach, native to Japan)
The flavor of this was amazing. We were recommended to take just a bit of wasabi with each bite, and it added a wonderful heat, but added so much to the flavor of the item. The tempura "cracklins" for lack of a better term gave a very balanced texture to the soft tartare, and the osetra caviar did add a little depth to the dish. I would get this again.
Suzuki (striped bass) seared with hot oil with ginger very finely minced, shallots,microgreens, and chiffonade of shiso. It was seared with hot nut oil, and topped with a bit of chive oil as well.
Again, this dish was excellent. The quality of the fish was incredible, and pulling together the light crispness of the greens, the sour of the shiso, and the sweetness of the fish made for a complete sense of umami. I do believe that it hits that unique Japanese flavor sensation not covered by salt, sweet, sour, bitter.
Sashimi salad with Spanish mackerel, microgreens, suru daikon and shichimi togarashi in a dashi based dressing with chive oil, and a thin cracker of bonito on top.
Mackerel usually has a much heavier flavor to it, though I suppose, that's jack mackerel, and this was Spanish. The salad was light, and the fish blended beautifully with the spiciness of the daikon. The dressing was similar to the flavor of the previous dish, but had more of a ponzu element as it was a dressing so the sour was represented as well. The sour cut the oiliness of the fish perfectly.
An intermezzo course of raspberry wasabi sorbet with a snip of mint leaf on top.
I never expected to like this combination, but the raspberry flavor was intense, and as the heady berry taste began to lighten, a slight tingly heat which comes distinctly from wasabi set in. The tiny bit of mint added a lovely freshness to the dish.
Rock shrimp tempura with a spicy 'kochujan' aoli topped with chive and grand marnier. Two pieces of endive were on the plate to use as a scoop to eat the shrimp with.
The aoli had a nice smooth heat to it...Subtle, but just enough. It had a distinct feel of a Japanese version of sweet and sour, but with a creamier base. My main critique of this was that there was just too much of it. This was the first main dish feel, and it was rather filling. It was perfectly fried, and the endive scoop which you nibbled on as you ate the shrimp added a very elegant bitterness to the dish, taking it from insanely good popcorn shrimp, to a classy dish to talk about.
Morimoto's version of black cod with miso. Topped with a seared piece of foie gras, and aka miso and shiro miso sauces. A small sampling of kuromame, and pickled bell peppers.
This dish felt like an homage to what he is known for, in a playful way. The black cod with miso is a signature dish at Nobu, and the bell peppers felt like they were playing to his Iron Chef status. The kuromame was a little bit less succulent than I would have liked...Honestly, my mothers is better, but I think they use a different kind of black bean. The black cod with miso was excellent and you can never go wrong with foie gras...and yes, that can be disputed, but this did not disappoint. The black cod was NOT as good as the one served at Nobu, mainly because it had more of a traditional Japanese tilt to it, and tasted more like black cod kasuzuke, than the Nobu version, which is lighter in flavor. The grade of fish also felt like it was a tiny step down from that which was served at Nobu. It's all about comparison, but it did not thrill me as much as I initially hoped. I would still take it any day over most food on this earth.
The sushi course. One piece each of maguro, hirame, sake, sawara, and aoyagi, again with beni shoga and freshly ground wasabi on the side to be enjoyed with shoyu.
This was actually a mixed bag in my mind. Morimoto is best known for his sushi preparation. Note, he wasn't actually making sushi that night, so I can't blame him for anything, but the fish was not of the highest caliber I've had. There are 3 places that I can distinctly call out higher grade fish. The fresh wasabi added a perfect wild bite to it, and here is what made this sushi very very very good even without the fish being out of this world. The rice was perfect. The texture of each grain was maintained, it was as if each grain pointed in the same direction, so as your teeth cut through it, the texture was perfect. The su- they used on the rice was a bit lighter on the sugar and vinegar than most places I've had sushi, including Nobu, and it allowed the flavor of the rice to be better revealed. Also, the salmon was actually a lightly smoked salmon, which I am not a big fan of in general for sushi. The aji (mackerel) was excellent fish, but the maguro was not up to what I assumed it would be.
Dessert. Chocolate cake with shiro miso ice cream, and an apple sake puree with 3 lightly salted almonds.
I never expect much from Japanese desserts as they are usually either bitter, or way too sweet. I forgot he also had classical French training. Wow. The cake was rich in flavor from darker or bittersweet chocolate, but very light in texture, and moist. It was a borderline souffle texture. The shiro miso ice cream definitely had the essence of miso, but not the salt...just a sense of the ingredients. Very delicate in flavor, and had what tasted like chocolate cake crumbles underneath it. The center of the plate was painted with a stroke of apple sake puree, which when added to the cake enhanced the richness and depth of flavor even more. The very lightly salted almonds gave it a wonderful finishing touch, and the different texture that it needed.
The meal would have been perfect if the fish quality in the sushi had been a bit better, but it was excellent. We also had 2 of Morimoto's Rogue ales...the soba and the hazelnut. The hazelnut was dark and sweet, without any of the Guinness bitterness. The soba was a tiny bit nutty, and went very well with the food we had. We finished the dessert with each of us having a pot of our own sencha tea. It was perfectly steeped, and not the least bit bitter.
On a 1-10 scale, I give this a 9.5. Very high points for creativity and richness of flavor, really hitting every sense with every dish. The down sides of Morimoto were that the service could have been a bit better, as they spilled some of the shoyu off the sushi dish, and didn't clean it up for a good 10 minutes, and that was after one of the floor managers saw it, was horrified very quietly, and went back to tell her to clean it up. They were also not that educated about the dishes. The pronunciationgood, they would go into intense detail about part of the dish, but forget to explain what some other element was. That and the fish quality stopped me from giving this restaurant perfect marks, but I highly recommend it.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Welcome to the barbeque
Summer wouldn't be summer without a little open flame. I've now purchased a grill for the condo, and at $199 plus the cost of a tank, I have 45,000 btus of power at my fingertips, plus a side burner to warm sauces and butters. The grill was broken in last week with a plethora of meats (chicken breasts, teriyaki skewers, marinated pork, carne asada, burgers, hot dogs, sausages, and tri tip) and fresh white peaches, and peppers. It works wonders. I'm a very happy owner of a new powerful grill.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Summer simplicity
Just because you're eating alone does not mean you can't have a flair for flavor, or color, or style when you cook. Tonight was no exception. Summer flavors make it easy to keep it simple, but truly enjoy the food available. A heirloom tomato caprese salad with basil picked off the plant, and tomatoes picked just the day before. Baby russet potatoes, quick baked in the microwave with a basic russian yoghurt on top. A quick saute of shitake mushrooms with salt and pepper, and it's a feast fit for a king. Total prep time, 12 minutes... Time for enjoyment, significantly longer. :)
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