Journey To Morimoto

When I sit around sifting through the food memories stored in my mind there are some that stick out more prominently than others and one of my favorites involved a road trip. While the food was truly sublime, it was my friends who made the evening perfect!

It was my last month in New York(Feb '06) and my birthday was coming up so I decided we needed to do something memorable, something out of our normal daily life...and that something was to travel to Philadelphia for the weekend and eat at my favorite Iron Chef's restaurant, Morimoto.

Yes I know what you're probably thinking--New York has enough amazing restaurants..why travel to Philly? And for that I really have no valid answer other than why does anyone do anything that they do?

So off we were on a cheap stinky Chinatown bus to what we hoped would be an exciting culinary adventure! And an adventure it certainly was...

We arrived at the hotel and had only booked 2 rooms for 7 ppl in trying to keep the cost relatively low...this turned out to be interesting as the hotel policy was strictly 2 to a room...with a per person surcharge if there were extras...so majority of us had to sneak into the hotel so we would only pay the normal room rate...hehehe...anyway on to the food...

Later on in the evening we all walked over to Morimoto which was a few blocks away...I opted for the chef's choice tasting menu to sample as many dishes as possible...and here's what followed:

An Oyster Trio

A Raspberry Wasabi Sorbet Amuse Bouche


A Spiced Lobster

An Assortment of Sushi


Kobe Beef and Fois Gras


A Warm Chocolate Cake w/ Miso Sorbet

And a Creme Brulee

The Creme Brulee was not part of my set but I just wanted a photo anyway....this whole meal took about 3hours to eat...and I was totally stuffed by the end of it but I must tell you it was wonderful! Each Oyster came with a different flavor...the Sushi was so fresh....and the Kobe Beef paired with the Fois Gras was decadent! And being a beer lover...I must say that Morimoto's own brew is not bad at all...

It was a wonderful way to spend my birthday and my last few days in the states and I owe it all to the wonderful people in my life who agreed to go on this food chase with me! Thanks Justin, Joyce, Shala, Peter and special thanks to Steph and Ralph who made the trip from Pittsburgh not New York just to be there with me!!