New York Roundup IV: Iron Chef Morimoto Serves Miso Bone Marrow, Foie Gras Rice Bowl and Ootoya Has Decent Tonkatsu

As a huge fan of the original Iron Chef in all its over-zealous dubbed play-by-play glory, I couldn't pass up trying Iron Chef Morimoto's eatery in New York. If he did a fraction of the funky things he did with food on that show at his restaurant, I knew it'd be worth the trip. Naturally, I chose dishes that had the perfect combination of decadence and creativity. Exhibit A: bone marrow smeared first with a layer of miso, chimichurri sauce and topped with crystal balls of salmon roe. I think this shot just won the food porn contest.

I giddily spread the bone marrow-miso-chimichurri-salmon roe concoction on these perfectly toasted slices of sour dough bread. The first bite was fantastic -- the miso salted the jelly-like bone marrow nicely and the chimichurri gave it a garlicky element. The salmon roe added the popping texture and another layer of saltiness once the roe popped. Then it got heavy. Really heavy. Still, I couldn't help myself and finished the whole thing. I think a glass of red wine may have helped to temper the heaviness but I wasn't in the mood for a drink.

My main was a take on Korean stone pot (ala. dolsot) bibimbap. It was a piping hot rice bowl with seared foie gras (because I came from deprived Cali), eel and avocado mixed together table side with a salty and sweet eel sauce. I was miffed because the server proceeded to mix it before I could take a picture of the beautiful presentation but you'll just have to imagine how gorgeous it looked because he was eager to mix the rice for me. The result? Better in concept than in execution. I don't care how great quality the rice and ingredients were. The foie gras, eel and avocado combination needed a balance of a refreshing or crunchy touch. They were all mushy and heavy things. Mushy and heavy things that I love, but not as well thought out. He did add some dried seaweed strips and fresh shiso leaves but I don't like shiso leaves. And the seaweed was not enough to balance out those flavors and textures. 

The decor was cool (above is the glass bottles wall) and the restroom was a trip. Would I return? Probably not. It didn't pull me in enough to make me want to return, especially for the Iron Chef premium price.

When I'm tired, I tend to crave comfort food and knowing I'd have catered food over the weekend, I headed straight for a solid tonkatsu at Ootoya. Some of you may be familiar with my rant about a lack of decent tonkatsu in LA and why I continue to long for the 17-layered tonkatsu served in Saboten, a Japanese chain in Seoul. Another Japanese chain, Kimukatsu in LA didn't do the trick either. Not even close. Ootoya's version wasn't bad at all. I'd put it higher than Kimukatsu but ultimately lower than Saboten (Wako isn't even in the game, btw).

I appreciated the full spread it came out with including an excellent chawanmushi (the creamiest savory egg custard) and tiny portions of pickled veggies like cucumber and cabbage. The tonkatsu sauce seemed a bit too thick for my taste but the dipping sauce selection was a lot better than Kimukatsu that didn't even have the spicy mustard to dissolve in the thick sauce. Gasp! It completely hit the spot. I'd return if I ever had another craving. The only thing was that true old school tonkatsu joints do only katsus and this place offered many other things on the menu -- I get that they cater to a different audience but I felt like it diluted the katsu specialty. In any case, thumbs up.