Iron Chef Morimoto

Tonight was one of those nights I will remember for a long, long time. Why? Because there is nothing like eating at the restaurant of an Iron Chef. Well, there is one thing, and that is to enjoy that meal with an old friend. A Jesuit priest from Malta once told me that you know someone is a real friend when you can meet up with them after years of absence and pick up where you left off, moving forward and never looking back. Tonight was that exactly.

Where did we celebrate our renewed friendship? With Philadelphia's own Iron Chef, Masaharu Morimoto, of course. There are a few meals in your lifetime that stand out, and tonight's chef's choice menu at restaurant Morimoto was just such a meal. It was utter luxury, where flavor, texture, creativity, and presentation came together just like they have for years for the judges on Iron Chef and Iron Chef America. The meal began and finished with my all time favorite sushi, toro, a fatty tuna belly so buttery and luscious I felt like a shogun of old, offered delicacies reserved for he rules all.

Here is the complete menu:

First Course
toro tartare with fresh wasabi, ossetra caviar, and yamamomo, wild japanese mountain peach

Second Course
whitefish carpaccio seared with hot olive and sesame oils, seasoned with yuzu citrus soy and finished with shiso, ginger, and chives

Third Course
sashimi salad with wild sockeye salmon served over mixed micro greens with a soy onion dressing, chive oil, and balsamic reduction, finished with shaved bonito

Intermezzo
Strawberry gelee with fresh mint

Fourth Course
halibut wrapped in nori, three seaweed salad, steamed lobster claw, miso beurre blanc, sesame yupa chip

Fifth Course
panko encrusted lamb chop with yuzu rataouille finished with red-miso lamb jus and crispy basil

Sixth Course
selection of sushi including toro

Dessert
fallen flourless chocolate torte with white chocolate sakura mousse and rosewater gelee

Jealous yet? You should be. Next week, Galatoire's New Orleans.