The Best Lunch Ever!

I decided to celebrate being done with the semester by treating myself to one of New York's best lunches.  There are a few top-notch places that charge $100+ for dinner, but are much more reasonable at lunch.

I went down to Chelsea and entered Morimoto.  Yes, it is owned by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto.

While there are other lunch options, I went specifically to get the Sea Bass Bento Box.

The box.

The box had a salad with fried onions, vegetable tempura with a blue cheese sauce, miso soup, grilled sea bass, three nigiri, and freshly made tuna rolls.

Each and every bite was delicious.  It's hard to see why there is such a difference in quality from other restaurants.  How hard can it be to flash fry vegetables in a tempura batter?  Maybe it's the quality of the raw ingredients or maybe other places pre-cook some items.  Regardless, even the salad was superior.  How can you make such a simple salad taste better than the average salad?

Perhaps the most surprising was the tuna rolls.  Spicy tuna rolls are a staple at any American sushi bar.  Normally, they pull out a container from a refrigerator with a pre-mixed concoction.  At Morimoto, you can tell the rolls were made just for me and with the absolute freshest fish possible.  In fact, I know this is the case because I watched them make each and every item with loving care.  The chefs treated this box as if it were artwork.

Even the miso soup was better than the norm.  I guess they made it fresh and other places use a concentrated version?  Not sure.

The meal wasn't cheap, but I can see why.  The green tea was excellent and tasted just like it did it Japan.  I was slightly miffed that I was charged $8 for a pot of green tea.  Normally beer is not cheaper than tea.  Still, it's hard to find true Japanese green tea, so it's acceptable.

Then comes dessert...

The mango mousse.

I'm not a huge sweets person.  This might convert me.  It was incredibly light and fluffy and provided the perfect light finish to a light meal.  (Are you figuring out that this was a *light* meal?)  Yet, it kept me full.  It was the perfect amount of food.

Great meal.  Amazing service.  There must have been a person standing behind me that was dedicated to making sure I had everything I needed.  Morimoto did a great job and I hope to be back when I actually have an income.  :)