A-fucking-mazing . . .
In the spirit of Kristin's sporadic food critiques, I will relay one of the most amazing meals I have had in an incredibly long period of time. The restaurant, called Muramoto, is in the heart of the capital square of Madison. I broke my health kick of almost a month, but it was worth it. I sadly don't have the culinary vocabulary or the cultured tongue to be analytical in my responses to these dishes, but I can at least make you jealous:
I ended up ordering the 4-course blind chefs tasting ($30), which consisted of the following:
Course 1) Seared bluefin w/ olive oil, panbo, pecans, raisins, and chicory microgreens
Reaction: Quite good. It was rather small & thin, which made it difficult to pick up with chopsticks. The fish was tender and very flavorful, but the pecan/raisin mixture kept falling off of it, so I didn't get to enjoy the flavors mixed as they were intended to be.
Course 2) Kobe beef (!) w/ sunchoke puree in an asian butter-barbecue reduction, with watercress
Reaction: Easily the most amazing part of the night. The meat was so unbelievably tender, and the sauce was fantastically rich without overpowering the flavor of the beef. I wasn't aware kobe beef could be so expensive . . . and they gave us a huge portion too, so that was pretty rad. Awesome. Just awesome.
Course 3) Whole deep-fried soft-shell crab over corn relish, with green garlic, bacon, and a lemon/bacon/some kind of spice dressing
Reaction: Also really good. Bacon wasn't too heavy, complimented the crab pretty well. Enjoyed the corn relish, but it kind of paled in comparison to everything else that night.
Course 4) Chocolate custard bar & honey ginger ice cream, covered in a chocolate kahlua and cherry sauce
Reaction: Oh. My. God. That's pretty much all I have to say.
I ended up ordering the 4-course blind chefs tasting ($30), which consisted of the following:
Course 1) Seared bluefin w/ olive oil, panbo, pecans, raisins, and chicory microgreens
Reaction: Quite good. It was rather small & thin, which made it difficult to pick up with chopsticks. The fish was tender and very flavorful, but the pecan/raisin mixture kept falling off of it, so I didn't get to enjoy the flavors mixed as they were intended to be.
Course 2) Kobe beef (!) w/ sunchoke puree in an asian butter-barbecue reduction, with watercress
Reaction: Easily the most amazing part of the night. The meat was so unbelievably tender, and the sauce was fantastically rich without overpowering the flavor of the beef. I wasn't aware kobe beef could be so expensive . . . and they gave us a huge portion too, so that was pretty rad. Awesome. Just awesome.
Course 3) Whole deep-fried soft-shell crab over corn relish, with green garlic, bacon, and a lemon/bacon/some kind of spice dressing
Reaction: Also really good. Bacon wasn't too heavy, complimented the crab pretty well. Enjoyed the corn relish, but it kind of paled in comparison to everything else that night.
Course 4) Chocolate custard bar & honey ginger ice cream, covered in a chocolate kahlua and cherry sauce
Reaction: Oh. My. God. That's pretty much all I have to say.