I
would eat cat food if they dressed it with a sauce and served it at
The Noble.
In this small
space with six tables and eight seats at the bar, we found food
nirvana. We also found it busy on a Friday night. As we waited in
chairs behind the espresso machine — the waiting room — we noted a
bookcase with some old books. The whole place looks like someone’s
grandma emptied her attic and sold the treasures on the street.
Our server
presented two menus, a slate menu that listed the daily specials and a
handwritten paper menu. On the latter, the chef offers Creamy Tomato
Soup, Veggie Chili and four appetizers, such as Grilled Seasonal
Veggies and Wild Mushroom Paté. Then two salads (Apple and Blue
Cheese and Roasted Beet with Shaved Fennel) and two entrees (Rosemary
Chicken Flatbread and Balsamic Portobello Flatbread) round out the
paper menu. At the bottom the featured casual fare is listed.
That’s where
the slate menu, the one that changes daily, comes in. For an appetizer
we had to choose between roasted garlic and the charcuterie plate. We
picked the plate. It could have been the meal, so rich with flavor and
such a generous portion that two diners barely finished every morsel.
On the paté plate, the variety of flavors played against each other
in a wild potpourri of color and texture. There were three patés, a
tiny cinnamon apple that exploded with flavor, marinated carrots,
green beans, some grainy mustard and bread to pull it together.
We wondered if
our entrees would be anticlimactic. Thankfully, they were equally
delicious. My friend’s Mahi Mahi Tacos with spicy slaw and cilantro
rice were worthy of San Diego’s best, and my Grilled Salmon over
Creamy Polenta with Mushroom Infused Lentils and Goat Cheese far
exceeded expectations.
On
Mondays at 11 a.m., The Noble opens for brunch. I stopped in at 3 p.m.
and found a party I wanted to join. I would have ordered Baked Eggs
over Ham and Greens, smothered with Herb-Cream Sauce. Or I might have
tried the Sweet and Savory Grilled Pear with the Cream Cheese Butter
Cake and Red Wine Reduction.
The Noble is
closed on Sunday, open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday; they don’t take
reservations.
»The Noble
704 S. 2nd St.
(414) 243-4997
www.thenoble.com
