Back to Napa

Time for the annual trip to Napa, and that means that our first stop must be at Morimoto in Downtown Napa.  This year we arrived early and were able to take advantage of lunch instead of dinner, so I'm able to talk about different menu items than the ones I posted last year.

Wednesdays in Napa are very quiet, so we were able to dine while hearing what the other said, which was a challenge with last year's Friday night dinner.  Our waiter asked us if we had any questions about the menu, and I only had one "How do you decide?"  I had already been thinking about just ordering from the appetizers, and he actually recommended it stating that some of their most unique items are listed there.  He recommended ordering 3-4 appetizers and supplementing with sushi.  Okay, no twisting of my arm needed.

Morimoto has two tartares on his menu.  Last year we decided to try the hamachi tartare, but this year we went back to the tried and true toro tartare just because I prefer toro to hamachi.  Everything else about the dish is the same: perfect.  The tartare is served with nori paste, wasabi, sour cream, chives, guacamole, and a crispy sesame puff, along with a soy dipping sauce so that you can create the perfect bite.  Realistically, they are all perfect bites.

toro tartare – wasabi, nori paste, sour cream 

Next up was the wagyu carpaccio which I tried to convince my husband was absolutely awful.  My tease failed and I had to share the heavenly dish.  The beef was perfectly tender, just a hint of searing, and the sauce was the perfect compliment.

wagyu beef carpaccio – yuzu soy, ginger, sweet garlic

The kitchen decided to serve the sushi next since our remaining two appetizers were on the heavier side.  We are big fans of saba, so to see horse mackerel on the menu, we knew we had to try it.  We also really wanted to try the amberjack.  All of the sushi was fresh and simple.  The kitchen didn't add any sauces to the enhance or change the flavor of the fish.  There was, of course, soy on the side and wasabi served with the dish.  One thing to note: the prices listed on the menu are per individual piece of sushi and not per pair as is more traditional.  So be careful when ordering if you're worried about money.

Clockwise from top left: hamachi / yellowtail, aji / horse mackerel, kyu-ri / pickled cucumber, kanpachi / amberjack, saba / japanese mackerel 

There are no words to describe the next dish.  No words that could possibly give it the justice it deserves.  All I will say is this: I love the pig and I feel for those who are unable to eat pig due to dietary or medicinal reasons.  You might recall how much I loved the pork belly at Hinoki and the Bird.  Well, I only like it in comparison to this.  I never wanted this dish to end.  And when eating the congee mixed with the natural juices of the pork, along with jus, it made me happy that the dish wasn't over just yet.  Our waiter said that next time we need to order the sticky ribs, but I can't imagine them being better than this.

kakuni – ten hour pork belly, rice congee, soy-scallion jus

And for our final dish, we were served our hamachi tacos.  The wonton taco wrapper was light and airy and the fish was served very naturally  A light way to end our meal.

hamachi tacos – avocado, yuzu koshu, lime

I can't wait to go back to Morimoto try even more dishes (and have the pork belly again).  Having been to both his Napa and New York locations, perhaps its time to venture to Philadelphia and Waikiki to see what they have in store for me.

The Son of Neptune

If you are a fan of Iron Chef America, then you must be a fan of Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto.  Chef Morimoto only has a few restaurants, so whenever I'm in the neighborhood I feel obligated to take advantage of the opportunity.  This time we were in Napa, California so a late night stop into Morimoto Napa was in order.

We had been here once before and yet somehow I had forgotten how loud it is inside the restaurant.  The decor is beautiful, but it allows for the sound to reverberate off of the walls making your own table conversation difficult to hear.  But your mouth will be too busy eating the decadent food that you won't mind.

The first thing I ordered was the White Lily which I think is The Best Drink On Earth Period.  I had the non-alcoholic version at Morimoto in Manhattan, but have made sure to have the hard version the two times I've been to his Napa location.  The drink is so subtle and so tasty and I think there should be more yuzu products in American markets as yuzu is the perfect citrus fruit.

White Lily (shochu, calpico, yuzu juice and fresh lemon)

This time we started with the hamachi tartare having tried the toro tartare on our last visit.  The presentation is the same, just different fish.  The whole dish comes on a bowl of shredded ice to keep everything cool.  You scoop a little bit of fish on your shovel (the silverware that comes with the dish) and then dip it into any of the six available toppings: nori paste (yum!), wasabi, sour cream, chives, guacamole, rice cracker balls).  Its up to you to come up with all of the various combinations available.  Personally I love the nori paste with a little wasabi and some chives. My husband and I seem to make a game out of this with our various shovel designs in the fish and the constant competition to gather up the others remnants on the side.

hamachi tartare (wasabi, nori paste, sour cream)

My husband knowingly ordered what I had eaten on our last trip, but it turns out that I ordered the same thing he had previously ordered as well.  I guess you can say we are creatures of habit.  All I knew was that tonight I wanted beef, so I ordered the surf and turf so that I could still take advantage of having Morimoto's fish.  The dish was divine, but strangely I preferred the veggies beneath the steak.

surf and turf (snake river farms wagyu, hamachi, black garlic, nuoc cham)

Since we're big lovers of Korean food we had to try Morimoto's kimchees, again not realizing that we had already done so on our previous trip.  Well, at least it was a pleasant mistake.  There were three different kinds of kimchee: cucumber, which was not as hot as it always seems to be in Korean restaurants; radish; cabbage, but not the traditional kind.  Admittedly I was disappointed that they didn't offer the traditional cabbage kimchee, but I wasn't exactly in a Korean restaurant so I'm not sure what I was expecting.

morimoto kimchees

And below is the heavenly dish I got to enjoy on our last visit.  Its like a Japanese cioppino, but so much better.  Be prepared though, as the shrimp comes with heads included.  I have to admit I was envious of my husband's meal, and yet saddened that Morimoto doesn't have a restaurant in Los Angeles as this is the dish that I would want when its cold and I'm not feeling well.  I think this might be the Japanese equivalent of Jewish penicillin.

seafood toban yaki (lobster, king crab, mussels, clams, sea scallop, red miso sake broth)

For dessert we finally varied from our previous experience and ordered the yuzu souffle because we both love yuzu.  If I recall correctly I think our server even told us that it was gluten free, so take a note all of you out there who suffer through a gluten-free diet as you won't be suffering on this night.  And because it isn't made with flour it cooks rather quickly, so if you're tired and don't want to wait the traditional twenty or so minutes for a souffle then you are in luck.  The only flaw with the dish is that its simply too small.  I wanted more even though I was stuffed to the gills.

yuzu souffle (boysenberry ice cream, lemon sugar tuille)

Any time you are in a city where there is a Morimoto restaurant I have one instruction for you: Go.