Restaurant review - #1 - Nobu

Last year Jill received a very generous gift certificate to Nobu.  I would say that for her it was comparable to Charlie finding the golden ticket in his Wonka bar.  She was very, very excited and to be honest so was I.  The name Nobu is held up as the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine and we were so geared up to climb that mountain.  Sadly, it was more of a dusty hill.   

My sincerest hope was that I would be writing about our experience with culinary ecstasy but what we had was just really good, utility Japanese food.  Had we been at any other Japanese restaurant I think we would have both left pretty happy.  However, when you go to a restaurant that is lauded as the top in it's field and you drop a good amount of money, even with a gift certificate, the bar is understandable raised.

The most positive part of the Nobu experience was our waitress who was very down to earth and genuinely friendly.  I can't say the same for most of her peers who came off aloof and a little condescending.  

We started with a Bamboo container filled with Hokusetsu Daiginjo sake, served iced cold. Very refreshing and crisp on the palate.  After our initial excitement at being able to recreate a scene from Gilligan's Island every time we filled up our little bamboo cups, the rustic carafe lost it's allure and just became a pain to pour.   

As both Jill and I are familiar with Japanese cuisine and enjoy new experiences we decided on the Omakase, which is chef's choice.  We've done this before, most notably at Sushi of Gari 46, and enjoyed every adventurous bite we ate.

It seems at Nobu the chef is very conservative and just picks the restaurants most popular dishes for people.  Maybe he sized us up and thought we were too New Jersey to go for a true Omakase experience.  Maybe he had a bad day and was just in a lull of creativity.  Whatever the case it was generally dull, with a few glimpses of brilliance.

The first dish out of the gate was outstanding by any standard...Bigeye & Bluefin Toro Tartar. The small mound of caviar on top of the little molded, sushi was exquisite.  It looked as good as it tasted and it tasted like Heaven.  Jill and I shared a look similar to people about to share the most exciting point in a roller coaster ride.   Unfortunately the thrill our bodies were braced for never came.  Instead they served us Fresh Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno.  The fish was sliced very thin and was super fresh but the sauce combined with a cilantro leaf on each piece quickly took this dish to the furniture polish zone.  You didn't taste the fish at all, and even the zing from the jalapeno was lost.  The first cracks in the Nobu facade were starting to appear.  The final cold dish that we were served was the Kumamoto Oysters with Maui Onion Salsa.  The oysters themselves were perfect but the sauce...eh...nothing to write home amount.  I would have served the oysters plain with just a few fresh lemon slices.  At this point we were a little let down but hope springs eternal.  On to the hot dishes.

The first dish out was a micro greens (the name annoyed me but it might have been the music) with a few slices of fish.  Again, good but utterly forgettable.  Before we had come Jill's friends had recommended the Shrimp Tempura, which was supposedly served with a killer sauce.  They bumped us up to Lobster Tempura and said it was even better than the shrimp.  What can I say?  Tempura should be light and crunchy, this was soggy and drowned in sauce.  I have no idea if that's the way it was supposed to be served, if the chef had an accident with his sauce vessel or if the dish sat under warmer lights because we weren't eating fast enough.  I don't know the answer nor do I care.  It was the turning point for us and we knew it with the first bite.  Our eyes shared the same look we shared when we were looking at houses and realtors would take us into some overpriced cottage.  Hmmm...something's not right.  There was a little redemption with the next dish, Black Cod with Miso.  Yes, I think they might have saved the night with this one.  The meat was seasoned beautifully and cooked to tender perfection.  Every bite of this dish was like waltzing on a dock in a small Caribbean fishing village as steel drums play Mozart and the woman you love has her gaze fixed on your eyes...past your eyes...into your soul.  Yes, it was that good.  But instead of building on that crescendo they tossed us down on to the rocks with the main sushi course. 

5 pieces of very fresh, but very boring sushi.  I'm talking one long, rectangular plate containing five rice dollops each with a piece of fish on top.  That's it.  Oh no, a little wasabi and a little ginger on the end.  The ginger had the same wilted look that the stuff they sell in Stop-n-Shop with California rolls has.  I looked at it with horror then I looked at Jill and my heart broke for her.  She had the same look that little Ricky Schroder had, in “The Champ”, when he realized his father was kind of a loser.  This was not the meal she had envisioned or, dare I say, fantasized about.  We weren’t expecting a lot of sushi, mind you, but we thought there would be some unique presentation...maybe some daring selections...something...anything...I mean....this is Nobu!  When the waitress took our plates we looked at each other in disbelief.  Surely, she’d be back with at least one more piece that would knock our socks off.  Nope.  Nada.  

They quickly brought out this tapioca, coconut, lemon in a shot glass thing that neither Jill nor I really liked.  The flavors clashed and the big giant tapioca were like chewing some type of rare spider egg that had been imported from the Amazon river region.

Was there any chance the dessert would save the lackluster meal....maybe???  No such luck.  I swear that I had the same Bento Box dessert (a warm chocolate souffle) at a Chili’s in Oshkosh one time.  It was so run of the mill.  Not sure if someone made it onsite or if they just bought a gross on sale at Restaurant Depot.  It was the punctuation to the entire meal.  Lame....lame....lame.  I’m not kidding, these are the same desserts that are on the menu at most Houlihan’s, save for the fact that they cost three times as much here and come in a little Japanese Bento box.  

Did we build this restaurant up in our minds?  Yes.  Is that fair?  Also yes, considering their reputation and their prices.  If you want to experience a truly magical Japanese meal I would highly recommend Sushi of Gari 46.  There was not one area where they do not completely eclipse Nobu.  Also, before I forget, the background music at Nobu was some kind of obnoxious Rave-fest.  I felt like the bass drum was literally next to my head pounding in the over simplistic quarter note rhythm.  Not conducive to a relaxing meal at all, but the perfect complement to the “resting on our laurels” fare that Nobu was serving.