Nobu? Yes, please.

Though we cooked most nights we were in Snowmass, we did venture into neighboring Aspen for a couple fabulous dinners. One night we went to Matsuhisa, Chef Nobu's Aspen restaurant. The Japanese-Peruvian/Argentine cuisine was an amazing fusion of flavors, colors, and textures, ranging from seafood crudo to delicately fried tempura and a rich molten chocolate cake. Everything was delicious, and we closed out the restaurant as usual. Ever adventurous, Uncle J ordered uni shooters for everyone (something I would never have touched with a ten foot pole before), which is really super-fresh, raw sea urchin with a raw quail egg, ponzu, and other ingredients I couldn't identify but -- weirdly enough -- enjoyed. (Trying unusual and somewhat intimidating things has become a regular event with Uncle and Auntie J, from skiing double-black diamonds to trying uni shooters.)

In keeping with the "just go with it" theme, we constructed our own Omakase, which translates to "I'll leave it to you" -- it's traditionally a tasting menu designed by the chef including a variety of unannounced vegetable, raw seafood, cooked seafood, and cooked meat courses that show up at the chef's whim. We took each traditional course and filled it with one of our own choices or the waiter's recommendations. Besides the amazing freshness of all of the seafood, one of my favorite aspects of the dinner was the presentation: everything was thoughtful, creative, and so delicate-looking. In the front of the restaurant, Nobu's cookbooks are on display; one showcased a platter of what were actually vegetables made to look like sushi, sashimi, and nigiri (looks pretty real, eh?).

As usual, low-light cell phone photos were all I could manage in the restaurant, so they don't even come close to doing justice to the spectacular dishes presented to us. Regretfully I was also too busy eating to get photos of all of our dishes, so here's just a sampling. I guess you'll just have to go and try it yourself.


Pictured above: A sumptuous sushi platter including toro (fatty tuna belly).

Baby spinach salad with shrimp, shredded bonito, and yuzu-white truffle vinaigrette (the smoky bonito and the zing from the yuzu perfectly balanced the truffle).

Broiled black cod with miso and a delightful, spicy ginger straw.

Molten chocolate cake with ice cream and fresh berries, served in a bento box for dessert.

Mochi: peanut butter and chocolate, one I can't remember (honeydew?), and passionfruit.