Oh Noca. Let me count the ways I love thee.
When it was Spring AZ Restaurant Week I had no hesitation about which place to make a reservation at. I had a girlfriend host a bachelorette party at this very restaurant a couple of years ago (coincidentally, also during Restaurant Week!) and remember being BLOWN away. I've raved to my husband since about it.
We snagged reservations for one of the few nights we could make it and came down with an appetite and high expectations. And Noca certainly met, if not surpassed them. I'll break the food down by course.
They started us off with an amuse bouche of deep fried risotto balls. It was fragrant with saffron and piping hot- so hot they warn you it's hot when it gets served to you. The only crime committed here is that I don't get a giant plateful of these crispy balls to nom to my heart's content. :P I also got the Nocarita, and am confessing to a growing love of smoky salt. There's nothing like taking a refreshing sip of cocktail and then a lick of smoky, salty flavor. So lovely.
For our first course I got the heirloom tomato salad, whilst my husband got the meatball panino. Both were good, though perhaps a bit unmemorable. I do remember being impressed by my salad, more so than his meatball panino. I got the kurobuta pork loin for my entree, and my husband got the hangar steak for his. Both were exquisite- perfectly done. My pork loin was tender and the prioscuitto wrapped about it was awesome. I did like the spicy tomato jam, but remember that it was so overpowering in taste that I didn't eat my mashed potatoes with it. Simply because those potatoes were so damned good I wanted to savor them in all their creamy, silky, buttery glory. His steak was tender and juicy and perfectly beefy. The more I grow to enjoy steak the more I realize that a great steak really just stands on its own. No need for fancy sauces. Just salt and pepper and that lovely, juicy, tender beefiness. That's all you need. The roasted mushrooms made my inner hobbit want to burst out into song and dance. And again, dem mashed potatoes. Man.
Now I'll have to say the desserts didn't read so impressively. I mean. Donuts and the Noca version of ho-ho's? Uh. Okay. But I chose the ho-ho, because I love chocolate, and my husband got the donuts, just so we could try both. And wow. Talk about simplicity executed perfectly. The donuts were fresh out of the fryer, crispy but not greasy, and perfectly fluffy on the inside. The dipping sauces were great. And my plain ol' ho-ho? Was this just dense, just soft enough chocolate cake enrobed with chocolate. it should be too rich but it wasn't. It should have been a bit too dry, like the hostess cakes. But it also wasn't. It was good enough that we started rhapsodizing about it with the couple dining next to us.
Yeah. It was just that good. Needless to say, we'll be back for sure.
Oh Noca, let me cout the ways I do love thee....