See the full review at --- ericmlevy dot com\r
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The miso soup at most Japanese restaurants tastes and looks like it comes from the same wholesale distributor. Little cubes of rehydrated tofu and pieces of scallion float in a too-salty broth. It?s an acceptable precursor to a meal, but it?s standard, and as I found out today, sub-par. Morimoto taught me that miso soup is actually much better than that.\r
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I ordered food that I?d get at any other sushi place to offer a comparison between average and Morimoto. The ?Yellowtail and Scallion Roll? and ?Boston Mackerel Sushi? came out first. I was off to a good start. The yellowtail was finely minced and there was just the right amount of scallion to boost the flavor. It melted in my mouth. The mackerel was fresh and oceanic with a good texture. It wasn?t too big a bite, which is important in comparison of the giant sized fish slabs on snowballs of rice served at lesser sushi joints. The white pickled ginger tasted fresher and seemed like a natural product compared to the normal pink stuff. Everything looked beautiful on the dark wooden platter.\r
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My miso soup arrived next, in an oversized white bowl, with a heavy shallow metal spoon. The broth was salted, sure, but this is a far cry from the packets you get at Trader Joe?s. This soup has a full, balanced flavor, accented with hits of thinly sliced scallion. But what really makes this dish are the big chunks of fresh silken tofu floating in the soup. I?ve never had tofu like this before. It?s totally different from the blocks of tofu from the store. Wikipedia explains, ?its texture can be described as similar to that of very fine custard.? From now on the reconstituted tofu blocks won?t cut it? bring on the fresh silken stuff.
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