Normally I’d wait until next week’s last week in food, but this place is two delicious to wait.
I noticed it tucked behind Satellite Ballroom facing the parking lot last saturday night when we went to St. Maarten’s. It’s name is actually Noodle bar, and I learned that it has been open for exactly one week. There’s a small menu with four appetizers, four noodle bowls, and three rice bowls. Actually, I’ll just type out the whole menu:
- Thai Spring Roll served with Spicy Peanut Sauce: $3.25
- Northern California Roll Sushi Roll of Avocado and Cucumber: Whole Roll: $5.50, Half Roll: $3.25
- Asian Veggie Salad with Plum Soy Dressing: $5.50
- Soup of the Day: $3.75
- Noodles
- Vegetable Pad Thai (spicy): $6
- Noodle Bowl of Soba Noodles, Ginger Mushroom Broth, Shiitake Mushrooms, Bok-Choy, Bean Sprouts, and Scallions: $5.50
- Curried Ginger and Tofu (spicy): $6
- Sesame Noodles served cold with Cucumber, Red & Green Peppers, and Scallions: $5
- Rice
- Vegetable Stir Fry with Baby Corn, Water Chestnuts, Red and Green Peppers, Snap Peas, and Scallions served over Rice: $6
- Teriyaki Chicken over Rice with Sesame Seaweed Salad: $6.50
- Vegetable Fried Rice with Peas, Onions, Carrots, and Scallions: $4.50
- Add Chicken, Shrimp, or Toku for $2.50 to any Entree
Three of us went there for lunch, and we ended up getting the first three noodle dishes. I had the Curried Ginger and Tofu which was awesome. They also had chirachi sauce to heat it up a bit. This dish tasted very Indian. Lots of curry and ginger (as the name suggests). Mixed in with the noodles were red peppers, scallions, bean sprouts, and some very flavorful tomatoes. All the veggies were fresh and retained their firmness and texture in the dish unlike many curries you get in restaurants. There was also a LOT of tofu in the dish, which was also prepared extra firm. I had a chance to sample my friends’ dishes also. The sauce in the Pad Thai was very rich, and my only complaint would be that there was too much of it for the amount of noodles. The broth of the Soba Noodles were nice and spicy and were matched perfectly by the fresh vegetables.
Based on this first visit, I’d say this place is one of the best values on the Corner. I’ll be headed back once or twice more this week.
Update: Re-reading this post, it makes me sound like I am shilling for them. That’s definitely not the case. I’m just very very excited.
