Trying out the Iron Chef

In NYC for a few days of meetings, I had a chance to try out Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s NY outpost of his long-standing Philadelphia flagship restaurant. Our omasake was, simply put, amazing. The first and among the more memorable of dishes was the Tuna Tartare, unlike any I’d ever had. Minced to a fine texture on a slab-like plate, it was accompanied by osetra caviar, crème fraîche, wasabi, dashi-soy and some tiny rice puffs. With the provided spatula-like utensil, we mixed the tuna with the condiments – sublime. Next up was the whitefish carpaccio with hot oil and micro-green mitsuba leaf. Very classically Morimoto and just a perfect taste combining cool fish with the hot oil. Next was a crave-worthy dish I will not soon forget – Oyster Foie Gras. Combining a freshly steamed oyster, uni, foie gras and a very light teriyaki sauce, the dish reached the pinnacle of unctuous decadence. Only comment would be that a raw cool oyster might work even better. Next up was a very refined maki/sushi course – I’ve had similar quality and frankly forgot to take a photo of this course. This was followed by a shot-glass of a very fine tea as an intermezzo. Next up was a ‘surf-and-turf’ of lobster in a fiery chili rub with kobe steak. I’m still not a fan of kobe beef – just seems to come out gray and unappetizing many times I’ve had it. But the lobster was great. The dessert was, I think, an apricot financier with a lovely house-made ice cream. A great meal all around I will remember for a long time.