MY MORIMOTO NAPA BIRTHDAY

in the coming weeks leading up to my birthday, i started thinking about where i wanted to celebrate. the past two years have been milestones and were welcomed with epic celebrations with friends and family (25th was my quarter-life crisis party & 26th was my lucky, golden birthday). this year felt like it should be mellow and intimate, especially since my birthday fell on a monday. so, i thought a culinary experience was the way to go.

i have heard some good things about the morimoto restaurants and have enjoyed his geniusness on iron chef (japan & america), so i thought i'd spend the evening experiencing food according to chef morimoto! i got a tip from a friend that one of us should order the omakase (tasting menu) and the other order other things off the menu so we can try many different things. i can tell you that compared to my experience at cyrus (a two michelin star restaurant), the morimoto experience is much more casual and not as rehearsed, but that doesn't mean it wasn't truly amazing. the imagination he has in presentation is revolutionary and i'm happy that i got to spend my day with chef (and the dear husband)!

first course: toro tartare - i love tuna tartare and actually make a delicious one, but morimoto has taken his to another level. on a wooden slab, there is the fatty tuna with delicious condiments (wasabi, nori paste, morimoto guacamole, crispies) and soy sauce, of course. there is a little paddle to scoop the tuna and its accompaniments.

rock shrimp tempura: we ordered a delicious side-by-side of spicy kochujan and wasabi aioli tempura shrimp. these fried morsels were lightly tossed in the sauces and were served with homemade ranch.

second course: kampachi carpaccio - these gems are amazing! when i hear carpaccio, i think beef, but of course, the italian term can refer to any thinly sliced raw meat. the kampachi was silky smooth and the sauce was perfection. the roasted garlic on top pulled the whole thing together nicely.

third course: bagna cauda - this little assortment was a little strange in concept to me. i know that this is a familar fondue-style of eating and dipping raw veggies in oil, garlic, & anchovies, but i'm not a fan of using oil to flavor things unless it's being cooked in it. the veggies were fresh, but the tempura chicken was a pleasant surprise. but, not my favorite course.

fourth course: foie gras chawan mushi - i really enjoyed this course! the foie gras was silky and amazing, especially with a little wasabi. the duck breast were tasty little morsels that were an added bonus.

green-tini: a concoction of green tea, sake, lychee syrup, & lemon. i love the idea of having green tea powder mixed in a cocktail, especially when there's sake involved.

intermezzo: a nice watermelon wasabi sorbet palate cleanser. even though we ordered only one omakase, they were sweet enough to give us each one. the added crunch and flavor from the pickled watermelon rind and wasabi leaf made this a fun little treat.

fifth course: sushi - the tasting wouldn't be complete without sushi! from left to right: mizudako (live octopus) had a nice crunch, sake (salmon) was super fresh and tender, shimajji (striped jack) was topped with a compressed grapefruit which added a nice tartness, chu-toro (medium fatty tuna) was superbly melt-in-your-mouth, and hamachi (yellowtail) was amazing, as always.
we also added some spicy tuna rolls, which were your classic roll, but maybe needed some extra spice.

sixth course: surf and turf and turf - this was a great play on the classic. the surf was a tempura filled with chu-toro wellington, unagi, and foie gras. this was a great blend of ingredients that could easily have their own starring role, but worked together nicely. turf #1 was a nice bite of washugya beef with a bit of sea salt. the cut was tender and full of flavor. turf #2 was tempura veal cheek, which was amazing and flaky. there were also compressed apple and pear which added sweetness to the whole course.

surf & turf: we had to get this dish specifically for the hamachi ceviche and it did not let down! the washugya beef was similar to the one from the omakase, but it was hamachi alone that made this dish worthwhile. it came with a pipette of hot oil, in case we needed it, and the best little balled avocado you've ever seen. this was fabulous.

seventh course: five spice churro - what a fun dessert! the churros were soft and fresh and seasoned with the five-spice. the soy peach ice cream had a crunchy sugar tuile. it was a perfect light dessert course to round off an incredible tasting.

birthday cupcake: to celebrate my time at morimoto, they had a candle on a vanilla cupcake with coconut & yuzu frosting. definitely the icing on the cake to a fantastic birthday meal.

mini chocolates: of course, i can't leave out the littlest thing. the caramel and green tea puff chocolates were perfect endings to day of innovative dishes.