Vetri and Morimoto–Together For Two Nights Only
Philadelphia is a town with a lot of collaboration dinners. A lot of event dinners and pairing dinners and tasting dinners and otherwise special nights populated by chefs moving outside their comfort zones to do things other than cooking the regular menu in their own restaurants.
This is, on balance, an excellent thing. The only real downside? The whole tap dance can sometimes seem played out. Like “Oh, another Korean taco night at that French restaurant with the award-winning New American chef? When is someone going to do something new.”
The answer is January 21st and 22nd. Because that’s the night Vetri and Morimoto are getting together for two Japanese-Italian collaboration dinners at their respective restaurants.
No, seriously. On the 21st, chefs Ben Dayag of Morimoto and Adam Leonti of Vetri will be doing a side-by-side, 14-course tasting menu in the Omakase room at Morimoto. The next night, they’ll do the same thing in Vetri’s private dining room. Tickets are $250, plus tax and tip and another $100 for sake and wine pairing–which, yes, is pricey. But the real catch? Dinner on night one will be served to just 14 guests. Night two, 18 get to sit down and eat.
And that’s it. A grand total of 32 people will get to taste this collaboration, so if you’re the kind of person who goes in for rare, once-upon-a-time kinds of experiences, this is the dinner for you. Check out the dual menus below:
Morimoto / Vetri
Japanese Pickles: nukazuke, fukujinzuke, misozuke / Stuzzichini: salumi, herb tart, castagnaccio, anchovies, raw vegeatbles and whipped balsamico, beignet and mortadella mousse
Uni: tofu and crème brûlée / West Coast Urchin with burrata and franciacorta sauce
Tai: suimono, kamaboko noodles / Mushroom Tortellini in capon brodo
Whitefish Sashimi: Kobujime / Crudite di mare: raw fish assortment with fine chopped raw vegeatbles marinated with oil and vinegar
Vegetable Salad: Shaved root vegetables, mushroom escabeche, seaweed / Citrus Salad with chicory
Octopus: aged ponzu, veal tongue, komatsuna / Whole Wheat paccheri with slow poached octopus and bone marrow
Kurobuta Pork: eggplant, miso, takuan / Carrot Glazed Pork Belly with natural sauerkraut
Saba Bousushi / Squash risotto with smoked mackerel
Dessert / Dessert
See what they’re doing there? One guy does uni, the other answers with West Coast sea urchin. One guy does sashimi, the other guy does a crudo. It’s a cool set-up and promises to be an awesome dinner for the 32 of you who actually get to go.
Morimoto [f8b8z]
Vetri [f8b8z]
