My boyfriend wanted to go to Nolen's tonight because one of his friends was part of the live music duo. I hadn't ever heard of this place, so I didn't walk in with expectations of any kind...
Right off the bat, I was struck by the upscale, yet laid-back feel of the place. Fairly small and intimate, but a good crowd for a weeknight. My boyfriend immediately noted that the Red Sox game was on in the bar (instant points in his book, lol). We asked to be seated at a two-top in the bar area in order to be closer to the music. I will say that the volume was pretty high, but I can't complain as we were there in support of a friend's said music.
The menu had a nice selection of "new southern" items. So trendy these days... We ordered the bacon and gruyere gnocchi and drinks to start. Drinks were good, and the app was fair. Reasonably tasty, but not something that blew my socks off. It was a different story when our meal came out. My crab cakes were perfectly light and full of good sized chunks of fresh crab, seasoned just right. I was especially impressed with the herbed creme fraiche and avocado puree that accompanied the dish. My boyfriend ordered the bacon - wrapped meatloaf which was served atop whipped mashed potatoes and smothered in black truffle gravy. I am not kidding when I say that the truffle gravy was so good that I had to set my fork down and just take a moment to let the flavor wash over me. I'm a sucker for anything truffled, but this was exceptionally delicious. The presentation was top notch with both dishes and the flavor was just as good as it all looked.
We had a really fun time here and will definitely be back again!