Morimoto ****

The Iron Chef himself, Masaharu Morimoto, plunked his eponymous restaurant down in Philadelphia of all places -- not NYC, not LA, not any of those other places that get too much press for their culinary outlets. On a recent trip to visit the parents in Philadelphia, I sought out Morimoto's restaurant on a non-descript block of Chestnut Street (trust me, most of Chestnut Street is non-descript -- and that's being charitable).

I opted for the sushi bar seat, which allowed me to observe a small piece of the kitchen in addition to the sushi chefs. Morimoto probably doesn't cook much in his kitchen, but the results are stellar, nonetheless. I opted for the Omikasse menu, which essentially is a tasting menu at several price points, depending on how much you wish to splurge on the ingredients. I went for the middle of the road and was not disappointed. In all, I had seven course and none were anything but above average, with possibly the exception of the sushi course, which I think was a matter of placement in the batting line-up, not in execution. Here are my quick notes from the night:

1st course is a beautiful toro tuna tartare in a dashi sauce with caviar and some sourt of small pitted fruit on the side reminiscent of a strawberry in appearance. A sublime start to the meal.
2nd up is red snapper sashimi in oil and I think a soy sauce that is slightly spicy and warming. Tiny sprigs of cilantro added nice balance.
3rd course was a seared yellow-fin tuna sashimi in a sweet soy onion vinaigrette that was wonderful. The searing added flavor without messing up the flavor of this lovely fish.
Next came a strawberry lime jelly as a palate cleanser. Refreshing.
The 4th dish is the first of the hot dish. This first one is a rich halibut on three seaweed salad with a buerre blanc sauce and wrapped in yoba leaf, I believe. I could have sworn the fish was lobster, or failing that a perfectly executed monk-fish. I've never had such sweet, perfectly moist halibut before.
5th was a rack of lamb over spinach with ratatouille and a pesto. The ratatouille is not typical, rather it's got some sweetness that follows with spice in a southern style, like a fresh salsa. Delicious nonetheless. I wasn't sure the pesto had much place, but on second try it gives the rack of lamb a mint jelly flavor that is not unwelcome.
The 6th course is the somewhat out of place sushi. Five fish are laid before me, including a side belly of toro, skipjack, and Thai yellowtail. All are nice, but muted in flavor after the lamb and the halibut.
The dessert is a flourless chocolate cake with a white chocolate mousse and a brown rice crisp. There are two "smears" on the plate, one chocolate reduction, and the other adds a salty butterscotch texture. Too much salt, I think, but I have a sweet tooth. The cake is small, but satisfying.

Well done Morimoto. My only question -- who are all these people who ask me how my meal is? I get the floor manager, but then there's someone else, my main server, and at least two others. And none of them introduce themselves.

Morimoto also has beers under his own label that are brewed for him by Rogue Brewery in Newport Oregon. I tried the soba ale, because the other two seemed too rich (a porter and an ale that actually was described in a way I thought would be too bitter), which was very good, though I would never have guessed it was soba-based.

When in Philadelphia, visit Morimoto!