The Other Critics

Bauer Raves About the ‘Serious and Sometimes Whimsical’ Morimoto Napa

Photo: Peter Hopper Stone

Mr. Bauer admits his skepticism about crazed culinary collagist Masaharu Morimoto making a New York-sized splash in tiny downtown Napa with Morimoto Napa, but he’s quickly won over in this past Sunday’s Chron review. “[Chef Morimoto]’s amassed some of the most talented people in the valley, people who know the locals and can make them feel at home,” Bauer writes, and of the food he goes on to say the dishes are “serious and sometimes whimsical” and that he always “left satisfied.” He appreciates that Morimoto himself is still a fixture in the kitchen, and calls out his stunning sushi platter, the bagna cauda, the toro tartare, and his favorite, the foie gras chawan mushi. All told: three stars. [Chron, Earlier Slideshow]

Bauer Raves About the ‘Serious and Sometimes Whimsical’ Morimoto