. "0"^^ . "2010-02-28T00:00:00"^^ . . . "0"^^ . "3.5 stars\nWe arrived a few minutes late for our reservations and were greeted warmly by Eliot Wexler, the owner. He assured us it was not a problem and we were seated in about 10 minutes at one of the banco tables against the wall. (The seat was uncomfortable as the table seemed a little too high for the seat.)\nOur server was friendly, but overwhelmed and therefore not super attentive. \nWe shared five courses, among them wagyu pastrami, which was amazing, but two of the courses were a little boring. \nGenerally we were impressed with the effort that seemed to go into creating each dish. It's hard to find this level of creativity in the Phoenix area. The ingredients were seasonal and very fresh, but for the price we were a little disappointed and a little hungry when we left. (There's a great burger place in the same strip mall that was singing a siren song.)\nWe'll try NOCA again, but order carefully and maybe have a late lunch that day!"^^ . "3"^^ . "0"^^ .