Out and About: Morimoto Napa

My husband and I recently were accused of being DINKS. Well, of course we are! I, being more familiar with the acronym, knew that yes, we fit the criteria for a Dual Income No Kids household. It just took a little 'splainin until Ran realized we weren't being insulted. In fact, our friends referred to us as such with a little bit of envy - we were free to go and do as we pleased - no sitters to arrange, no curfews to which to adhere, no real restraints on our discretionary funds. While I'm not going to debate the merits of DINKs vs. non-DINKs, all of that is true, and Ran and I take full advantage of our DINKy situation.

Couple our DINK status with the fact that we live and work in the Wine Country, and man - do we have a pretty sweet deal. After an especially tough week on so many levels, an opportunity presented itself for us to enjoy a night on the town, and boy did we pounce. In our world, a night on the town translated to a dinner at Morimoto restaurant here in Napa: Iron Chef, here we come.

Now, we'd both enjoyed many an evening at the Morimoto bar, enjoying appetizers and amazing cocktails (that's my Lemongrass Mojito pictured - yum). But in the year+ or so that it's been open, we'd never actually sat for dinner. The time had come.

So let me set the table for you: First of all, we were bound to have a good time, no matter what. Our mode that night was to celebrate life and to savor being in the moment. Spending time together was going to be our reward that evening regardless; we could have been at the KFC. Our spirits aside, however, we were looking forward to checking out the acclaimed restaurant and seeing for ourselves if it lived up to all the hype. The short answer: yes and no.

We DID have a lovely time. Despite practically yelling at each other across our table in the noisy, noisy restaurant, we laughed, talked and cajoled each other all evening long. (Note to self and others that book in the warm months: request an outside table.) The food was mostly very good, and sometimes exceptional. The service, however, was sadly not up to par.

I ordered the Chef's Omakase Tasting Menu (the best deal by far at $120 per person for seven courses that beautifully cover the Morimoto gamut). To round out our experience, we chose another five courses for Randall so that we'd be assured of truly sampling a little bit of every corner of the vast menu.

As to be expected, where Morimoto excelled was with the fish dishes. Our tempura shrimp appetizer (Asian buffalo wing style), the legendary toro tartare appetizer (I can't ever go there without ordering it), the sushi, and one particular oil-poached fish dish were exceptional. The fish dish from my tasting menu, three precious bites, was my favorite taste of the evening (I wish I knew what it was!). It was so delicate, so perfectly cooked, so nicely paired with fresh cilantro that made the whole bite pop with freshness - I could have had more. Way more.

Where the food fell short was in the entrees. Ran ordered the whole roasted lobster, and nowhere on the menu did it specify that it was seasoned with Chinese five spice. On the advice of our waiter, we ordered the duck confit fried rice to accompany it, and it too was seasoned with Chinese five spice. Now, I hold nothing against the Chinese five spice, but Ran isn't the biggest fan, and here he was with his main dish and his starchy side, both overpowered by the strong flavor. And they were both oversalted as well. As for my main dish, I got a couple bites of toro/mushroom Wellington (meh); wagyu beef (good, but literally two bites); and a duck cheek (?) something or other than was so bland I wish that there had been salt at the table. So, we had had bite after bite - mostly fantastic - leading up to the big finish, and the big finish was a big disappointment.

As for the service, I'm sorry: If you are paying the kind of prices that Morimoto demands, I expect nothing short of excellence. But there were some very basic service missteps. To my point, I had to ask for silverware no fewer than four times. For example, we ordered the ramen. Our server exclaimed that we absolutely MUST use a fork in order to get every last noodle. But he didn't bring a fork. Example #2: I had a lovely watermelon sorbet as an intermezzo course, but was left with only chopsticks with which to try and eat it. Huh. There were little episodes like this throughout the night where the service just simply missed its mark.

But again: fantastic night. Final assessment: Go. Absolutely go. But stick to starters, sushi and cocktails. In fact - just go to the bar! You get mostly the same experience, can order the entire menu right there, and it's super fun. You'll drop some coin, but hey - when you go where the beautiful people go, that's what you'd expect, right?

Anyhow - enjoy the photos from our evening, because yes, I lugged my big camera along and played blogger every step of the way. Grin.

Toro tartare - a must!

Tempura popcorn shrimp

My favorite dish of the night - some sort of oil-poached fish.

Bagna Cauda

Chicken ramen noodle soup

Egg custard with a foie gras gelee and a slice of duck breast - this was AMAZING. I could have licked the dish clean. Maybe I did.

Out of focus watermelon sorbet

Sushi!

Tasting menu entree

Oven-roasted lobster

Duck confit fried rice

Peach sorbet with jalepeno churros (sorry - bad photo!)

Tofu cheesecake

Coffee - Ran especially liked the china

Mignardise

Spanish Roulette Anyone? It's Padrone Season!

You know what's really great about late summer? Besides warm weather, long days and any excuse for a backyard barbecue? Padrone peppers. Or if your Spanish, pimientos de Padrón. When these little nuggets of deliciousness start showing up at the farmer's market, I grab them up like there's no tomorrow. Because literally, tomorrow they won't be there. They're always gone way too soon.

The deal with Padrones, or their cousins, the Shishito peppers (both from the capsicum annuum family; one popular in Spanish cuisine, the other in Japanese), is that they are so freaking simple to prepare and if you're like me, you literally can't stop eating them. Healthy, quick, delicious - what's not to like? Both peppers are very mild in flavor, but the Padrones have a hidden kick. As the title of this post suggests, eating them is called playing "Spanish Roulette," since about one in ten of the peppers has some heat to it (this according to my farmer dude). When that kick of heat shows up though, I love it! It's not even as hot as a jalapeno, so it's not like it will sear the taste buds off your tongue. Nope - just a welcome flame of warmth to liven things up a bit. If you're not a gambler, however, stick to the Shishitos - no heat there at all.

(The Padrones are short and squat - pictured above. The Shishitos are long and skinny - pictured below.)


Preparing them is a piece of cake: Place the peppers and a drizzle of good olive oil in a nice big frying pan, and simply saute them on high heat them until they're blistered. Sprinkle with a generous dose of kosher salt, and snacking heaven awaits.

Tacos + Tequila

So there I was, wandering lost in the hard alcohol section of the adult beverage market, and I find myself in front of the Tequila selection. I stare. I know nothing. I wonder to myself what the heck all of the various terms on the labels mean: reposado, gold, silver, anejo. It's a mystery. I move along. Someday I'll learn, I tell myself. Someday.

Well wouldn't you know it. That someday has come.

Literally, within a day of my market musings, an inviting invite arrived in my email inbox, subject line: Tacos + Tequila. I knew before I even clicked it open that I would accept said invite.

Turns out that the invitation was from Tout Suite Social Club, a fresh take on social networking/lifestyle branding/technology and just plain fun interactivity based here in Napa Valley. I'd been hearing the buzz about Tout Suite for a bit, and had been hoping to check them out in person before I fell sorely behind the times. Finally, Tacos + Tequila gave me a real excuse to go and meet some new people, indulge my inner social networking geek, grub on some good food, and inform myself on all things tequila. Sign me up!

I won't go on and on about Tout Suite, but I will say this: check them out. Become a member. Enjoy all of the content that they are creating for folks just like you. It's a really cool platform to introduce you to todays influential tastemakers. In a nutshell, they host casual, irreverent, funny events at their St. Helena studio (Meet Your Maker, Tasting in the Dark, Tout Socials and others); get a variety of guests to come meet, mingle and nosh; and stream it all online for your viewing pleasure (and archive everything for future viewing in case you can't catch it live). It's like an interactive dinner party with some educational (and, let's admit it - marketing) elements. But I love it, and think even if you're not in the room for the party, the episodes are entertaining enough that you'll want to investigate.

My marketing geekiness aside, I really truly was there for the Tacos + Tequila. A girl's gotta eat, right? The evening did not disappoint.

Tout Suite's in-house chef, Paul Wiggins, dished up huge platters of taco makins, including grilled albacore, repollo picoso (a spicy cabbage slaw with tomato, lime and oregano), an Argentine chimichurri, and a sweet bay scallop ceviche that was my favorite (made with agave nectar, zucchini, jalapeno, avocado, red onion, tomato, cilantro and loads of citrus... delish).

The food was meant to be paired with the Los Osuna 100% blue agave spirits, brought by Jesus Padilla whose family has been making the libation in Mexico since 1876. I learned that this particular brand can't technically be called a Tequila, since like a true Champagne or Port, the name Tequila is reserved for those spirits actually made within a specific region. See? Learned one thing new right there, before I even took a sip.

Jesus walked us through a tasting, teaching us that like wine, Tequila has legs. Also like wine, there are nuances and flavors on the nose and on the palette. And all of those descriptors? They mostly indicate aging and the time that the Tequila has spent in whiskey barrels. The longer the aging, the deeper the color, and I suppose, the more complex the flavors. And those Tequilas marked Gold? Turns out Gold is code word for "filler." No wonder those college margarita-slash-shots-on-a-dare days hurt. Bottom line: spend the money for the good stuff.



Since it was a Tout Social, there were many new people to meet, many new Twitter accounts to follow, many new blogs to explore. In short: my people! I had a great time, learned lots, and hopefully made some new friends. Mission accomplished Tout Suite!

A Photo Ode to Summer

Summer, oh Summer. I guess it's officially over, no? With school back in session, Labor Day right around the corner, and Halloween displays already going up in the supermarkets, I suppose I can wax nostalgic about my so-called Summer. Cool temperatures may have mocked me, but despite working entirely too hard at my day job (as my lack of blogging will attest), I managed to play hard too. So here's my look back at some carefree days of Summer, of course spent in true Fare to Remember fashion: in the company of wonderful friends and family, and with good eats at every turn. So, in no particular order, I present my Summer of 2011...

Beaches... boogie boarding...
Camping, with pancakes for breakfast made on the griddle over the fire....
Surrounded by the kids that I love (that big kid in the middle there especially)...
Quiet moments... solitaire... books...

Cocktails...
Grilling... ribs!
Boating... wakeboarding... waterskiing...
Cocktails...
Dogs...
Wet dogs...
Exhausted dogs...
Beer can chicken...
Fresh heirloom tomatoes...
...made into fresh caprese salad...
A little cabin in the woods...
...with this view of Lake Tahoe...
...and this cozy fire when the sun goes down...
...and fun details giving away its 1932 roots like these vintage spice boxes...
...and these badges of honor from its most recent ursine visitor......where mornings start with coffee on the deck...
... and end with what else? Cocktails! (Or as in this pic, wine!)
Ice cream...
Sand castles...
Games of tug-o-war...
Fireside singalongs...
And s'mores!
Sayonara Summer - see you next year! (Full disclosure: Fall is actually my favorite season, so I'm not too sad...)

Going Mobile: Gas Station Gourmet

If you ever find yourself on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, say, after a couple of days of rock climbing in Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows, there really is only one place to head for grub: the Mobile gas station in Lee Vining. I'm sure there are other places, but whenever I find myself in this neck of the woods, I never make it anywhere else. Neither does anyone else, apparently. The line is always out the door at the famous "Whoa Nelllie Deli" tucked inside the gas station's convenience store.

Tucked behind the racks of t-shirts and postcards, next to the beer coolers and the stacks of firewood for sale, the deli churns out amazing fare that not only satisfies ravenous outdoor adventurers, but gourmands alike. Their food goes beyond the expected burgers and sandwiches (all of which look incredible), but the menu includes the likes of veal osso bucco, elk chops, slow-roasted pork ribs with huckleberry barbecue sauce (enjoyed by my climbing partner Matt, top), fish tacos (enjoyed by yours truly, below) and more.

There's not much more to say, really - except "go there now." They've got live music several nights a week in the summer on their packed outdoor seating area, ever-changing menu specials, and gas for your car and a dumping station for your RV. Seriously genius.




Some views of the climbing...
(I'm not a very good climber, and usually I'm scared out of my wits on exposed multi-pitch routes, but there's just something about it that keeps me coming back. Mostly it's thanks to Matt, my longtime friend and climbing partner who keeps me safe and knows and respects my limits. But then there are also the views... ahhh.)