.....Barracuda!!!!

So Morimoto was crazy. The entrance to the restaurant looks like this:

Inside, it's like a giant old warehouse or something - kind of like a very modern and clean Iron Chef set, except you see at least a dozen sushi chefs working at the bar when you go in.

We had this waiter "host" us all night throughout our 10 or so different courses. He gave Poker Chick some sake, which she liked so much she actually wanted more sake instead of dessert. If you know Poker Chick and her love of all things dessert, that must have been some damn good sake.

He also had to explain the menu, particularly some of the weirder items like "blowfish: prepared three ways" (minus the killer poison), etc. And though she steered clear of that one, after a lengthy conversation as to whether or not they have fins and scales or not, she had a go at some Barracuda sashimi, fully expecting to wince and think it was weird. Shockingly, it was good.

Actually, everything was amazing. This was the first appetizer:
In case you missed it, that's tuna tartare with seven different toppings you "roll" it into. Tasty and fun! We would have taken more pictures, but we didn't want to be labeled as "hey!" "look at those cheesy tourists over there! never been to a celebrity/chef restaurant before!" Nuh-uh, we don't think so. Poker Chick likes to play it cool.

To top off a royally bizarre eating experience, Poker Chick was driven home by this guy, who proceeded to tell her the day she was born, followed by a joke, in Hebrew.

The oddest part of the day? We got a reservation the same day at this place. And another New York tradition bites the recession dust.

And Today's Secret Ingredient Is.........

A while ago, we wrote about how Poker Chick would make a crappy judge on Iron Chef. Well, tonight's as close as it gets. She's taking the husband to dinner at Morimoto's NYC restaurant.

Let's see if this guy can really cook or what. More tomorrow.

Rare Moments of Domestic Inspiration

For anyone who knows Poker Chick in real life, these pictures are necessary or else we know you won't believe it. What everyone will believe, no doubt, is that the pictures have been taken eons ago and just recently uploaded. Also, she clearly has a bit more learning to do on how to design a blog post with images.

Eggless "Challah". At least it tasted good.

Pink egg and nut-free cupcakes ( a little sad, yes, but 100% homemade)

Lemon Blueberry Cake. Mistaken for store-bought.

Closet. And before you judge, know that Poker Chick keeps summer and winter items all together. So it's not as many clothes as it looks like.

The pics above are the results of events so rare they are noteworthy. Who knew? Somewhere in there is a teency domestic gene after all. It just takes giant feats of strength to smoke it out. Thanks for letting a girl share. No one else will appreciate this.

The Joy of Giving is Enough

It was great to hear the mini's squeal "YAY!" when she opened her new dolly last night. Of course, that was immediately followed by "hey! Do her clothes come off?" as she rips off the pants, and later, a whole leg.

Kids.

What You're Not Watching

Tonight kicks off the annual 24-hours of "A Christmas Story" on TBS, a Poker Chick family tradition. If you haven't seen it, you must. It is hilarious, even for members of the tribe. When you're done with that, you can check out "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", a movie that never stops being funny. It's on some cable channel tonight.

This is the "ad"-y party where we say something legal like "check your local station for listings".

Happy Christmas.