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| - My dining companions and I decided to blow out Muramoto Anniversary week in two days - Monday was lunch at Sushi and dinner at Restaurant, then Tuesday was dinner at 43 North. This was my first experience at the newest of the Muramoto empire and, like all things Shinji touches, it was (mostly) pure gold.
We made unnecessary reservations as, at 7 pm, there was only one other occupied table in the restaurant. During the course of our two and a quarter hour meal, only two additional tables were seated - a deuce and a single. Granted, it was a Tuesday night but there's something a bit sad about eating an outstanding meal in a nearly empty restaurant.
I had the Fish Tasting menu ($54 for 5 courses) and chose not to include the $18 wine pairings. My companions ordered a la carte but managed to get four courses in anyway so I only had to eat one course "alone".
The Fish Tasting included the now-famous lobster bisque, a beautiful piece of sock-eye salmon that is supposed to be an appetizer but could have easily been an entree, a rainbow trout dish that was immense, a stravecchio parmesan cheese course, and the raspberry-lemon cake dessert.
My companions had, between them, the lamb-tongue appetizer, another bisque, the sirloin strip steak, bouillabaisse, and the tamarind-passion fruit dessert.
Here are my high-level observations:
- The portions are very large for this style of cuisine - especially if you're tackling one of the tasting menus
- The food is a bit fussy - sort of Top Chef "let's see if we can combine these 10 disparate things and make something awesome"
- Regardless of the fussiness, the flavor combinations are bold, adventurous, and, more often than not, very successful.
Generally, I turn my nose up at a coulis on every plate or gastronomic acrobatics like a "tarragon marshmallow", but as much as I wanted to make fun of the pretentiousness of the place, the food was really wonderful - satisfying and challenging. With almost every dish, the sum of its parts far exceeded the individual bits.
The service was attentive - which it should have been given the "crowd" - if (again) a bit fussy. I'm not sure I needed a two minute explanation of each plate. Frankly, if my food needs a two minute explanation, maybe it's too complicated.
I've heard, over and over, that 43 North is exceedingly expensive. This rumor did not bear out for us. We spent significantly more at Restaurant Muramoto at this time last year than we did at 43 North. And, for a true fine-dining experience, the portions are large and (as mentioned) the food is very good.
Of my plates, my favorites were the lobster bisque (a touch of brandy added an unexpected flavor), the sock-eye salmon (perfectly cooked medium rare with a gorgeous sear and a bed of fresh peas, parsnip, and green onion that stole the show), and the lemon-vanilla cream on the dessert. Yes, I'm picking one element of the dessert but I can't help it. I would have eaten a bowl of the stuff.
While I doubt that 43 North will be in heavy rotation for me, it will - like Harvest - be one of my go-to places when I want a really, really good meal and a little fuss.
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