Matt & I choose Noche for our joint-birthday dinner, not b/c we heard great things about the food or b/c I’ve been dying to try it… no, we choose Noche b/c of the 1,000 OpenTable point value it provided. We’re up to 6,800 points which means we’re 3,200 away from a $100 gift card to any OpenTable participating restaurant of our choice. On Appleton Street in the South End, Noche is a hot spot for late night diners (the kitchen is open til 1:30am) looking for a lounge/restaurant atmosphere.
Bread: Instead of bread the waitress brought over a tall basket of dried plantains with an aioli dipping sauce. It’s always refreshing to see something new and different to start off the meal. The aioli was a delicious compliment to the thin & crispy banana imposter.
plantains 'bread' basket
Menu: My menu book was missing 1 of the 2 pages it contained – those types of things should be checked. And I guess I need to stop over analyzing online menus b/c sometimes they don’t match the in-house menus… frustrating! The salad and pasta I was originally interested in weren’t offered, so I improvised.
beefsteak tomatoes
Presentation/Taste:
Roasted Beefsteak Tomato, with creamed spinach, chipotle cheddar gratin – I knew we wouldn’t be getting dessert so I had to get an app (I can’t blog about just one course 😉 ). I love (fresh) tomatoes dearly and this sounded like an interesting dish. It wasn’t bad, and I can’t quite put my finger on what I didn’t like about it – I think the creamed spinach on top of the cheese but a bit much for me/my stomach.
Veal Cheek Bolognese, with pancetta & goat cheese – I’ve never been disappointed by a bolognese until today. I think I rushed into this decision; this dish wasn’t on the online menu so once I saw ‘bolognese’ I got overly excited and just went for it. I should have stopped to think about the ‘veal cheek’ that was involved, b/c I did not care for the soggy, chewy meat. I ate every bit of the pappardelle pasta, but apparently veal cheek is not for me.
veal cheek bolognese
Bathroom: It was clean, had a nice wicker basket, and the full length mirror was a major plus. My goal is to find a restroom that provides hand lotion; it’s getting colder & dryer out and my hands need to be moisturized!
bathroom
Wait Staff: Our waitress was nice & friendly; turned out she was a wine pourer at the Wine Riot that Matt & I attended on Saturday night. My water glass was never empty and our food was delivered quickly.
Overall: Meh. Food was just ok and it felt weird being the only people in the place (unless you count the few at the bar). But I can’t completely use that against them as it was 6pm on a Monday night. The décor and comfy seating was a plus; I can see how this would be a draw for late night drinks or bar bites.
The Perfect Bite: Plantains & aioli sauce. Can’t say much about the 2 courses I had but Matt did love his stuffed chicken.
You’ve been saying forever you’re gonna stop looking at the online menus. It’s just not gonna happen, face it! Sorry to hear dinner was a bust. I’m sure Friday will be a treat at least!