| rev:text
| - Ok, I know I'm rather late to try the deliciousness that is NOCA, that is, for an avowed foodie who lives, works, breathes in Phoenix. And the truth is, I've actually been avoiding trying NOCA! Even when it first opened, it jumped headfirst into foodie forums, and my general opinion is that "if it's too good to be true, it ain't true." Well, being pleasantly surprised is severely understated. NOCA is amazing, wonderful, sublime.
And, I didn't even get to choose my meal (entirely). That's right, I sampled the deliciousness that is NOCA's Sunday Simple Suppers. The idea for the SSS is well... simple. Guests get a 3-course meal, with choice of entree, for $35/pp. Calling ahead, I was informed that it would be the "fried chicken" night. Well, what the heck, I'm a big fan of Lolo's.
I arrived about 10 minutes before my dinner companion, around 5:45. Even then, there were a few tables filled with couples, both young and old. Mark, my wonderful waiter, deftly brought my drink order of their Riesling ($9 per glass). Being a cheapskate, I miss the days when I had no alcohol tab. Possessing tastebuds, I feel sorry for that past self. Presently my friend arrived, availed himself to the white wine option for the night, a pinot grigio at $5 per glass. And we set ourselves ready for the food.
The entree options were the fried chicken, served w/ Yukon mashed potatoes, green beans and a honey biscuit, or the market fish of the day (which I believe was salmon) served over asparagus risotto, or some vegetable option (who knows, who cares). We got... are you ready for this... the fried chicken. This went absolutely against my general policy of never ordering the same thing as my dinner companions, thereby letting me try at least *two* different things. But Mark definitely sold that fried chicken.
Bread was brought earlier on. Nothing truly special, sliced french bread with an olive oil dip. It was incredibly subtle, and at a portion that told me "well, this is bread. Eat, or don't eat. Whatever." A salad came first... and it was delicious... but that doesn't even matter, because the deliciousness of the salad was completely eclipsed by the rest of the meal.
The amuse between salad and entree came on a spoon, artfully prepared with a dollop of crystalized apple with a slice of grape. It tingled and made happiness in my mouth.
And then, our entrees. Two pieces of fried chicken, fencing each other, juxtaposed with golden mashed potatoes, pieces of baby green beans lovingly placed, and a biscuit drizzled with honey. My greatest love in life is potatoes, so, I took a breath, and took a bite of the mashed potatoes. It was all I could do not to whimper with satisfaction. The fried chicken to me looked overcooked... but then, I rarely eat *fried* chicken. I forked a small piece, and some of the breading flaked off... crackle crackle.... And this next part was absolutely magical. I took one bite of that chicken, and felt a smile just pervade my face. I couldn't help it! There was no way not to smile. I tried moving my facial muscles back to their normal rigid and strict order, but it didn't work. There was NOTHING I could do besides just smile. I looked over to my dinner companion while he took his first bite of the chicken. It was verified. I think I can scientifically prove that NOCA's fried chicken induces smiles. With a 95% confidence interval. There it was, joy on a plate, served in front of us.
The rest of the meal was sublime. Who the heck serves a blue raspberry cotton candy amuse???? NOCA, that's who. And waffle and ice cream sandwiches???
Look, NOCA, if you're reading this. I can't believe you're real. Thank you.
When the worst thing I can say about any of the foods is "delicious," then... I stay silent, smile, nod, and dream about going back again.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)