Noble - But What About The Food And Wine?

[Pigging by Wilfrid: April 14, 2008]

It gives no particular pleasure to kick a place which appears to be somewhat down anyway.

But then again, I didn't find much pleasure in a recent dinner at what I'd been led to believe was a wine restaurant of some ambition.

The focus of interest seemed to be the establishment's ownership of an Enomatic system.  You can find out more about this technology right here;  essentially it involves the use of inert gas to maintain freshness (and flavor characteristics) in opened wine for a period of weeks.

This in turn, of course, should enable a restaurant or wine bar to open rare or expensive bottles and offer them by the glass.  There are several ways in which Noble Food and Wine fails to take advantage of its doubtless expensive gadget.

Maybe the sommelier had the night off - but since I visited at prime time, I am guessing there simply is no sommelier.  As for the wine knowledge of the staff on duty, the service spoke volumes.  Since there were no whites on the Enomatic list, a half bottle of respectable Gewürtztraminer (Paul Blanck) was ordered from the list.  It arrived with all the ceremony of an ice bucket, and just as well as the bottle was warm.  To my mild surprise, the server - without offering a taste - poured almost the entire bottle at once, placing about half an inch of wine in the ice bucket to begin cooling.

This did not augur well for a restaurant focussed on wine.

The Enomatic list, which consisted of seven wines, was both disappointing and showed a mark-up of around 300% (not unheard of in New York, but no cause for celebration either).  Presumably the list changes regularly.  Among the selections were a Chilean pinot noir from Leyda, a Fronsac (Ch. La Vielle Cure), a Bandol (Gros Nore), a Chianti Classico (Vigna il Poggiale).  None of the vintages were older than 2002.

From my research, these bottles seem to fall into the $20 to $42 range retail in New York.  The Noble glass prices, however, range from $14 into the twenties.  Is it harsh to suggest that the wine should be either interesting, well priced or dextrously served?  Three strikes, and one wonders why they have an Enomatic system at all?

The food offered some respite from disappointment - but not enough.  The menu is short and fairly simple.  I don't know if former Maremma chef Daniel Dorado, who opened Noble, still has any connection with the establishment; he wasn't cooking the night I dined there (I know because the chef was helping with service).

Lobster bisque was voluminous and piping hot.  Opinion was divided over whether it was quite salty or too salty.  I inclined toward the former, but still couldn't finish it.  There were chunks of lobster at the bottom, but they didn't make me wish I'd ordered the lobster entreé - market price. 

Scallops were plump, sweet and nicely seared.  I am a fan of sunchoke, so enjoyed the purée on which they were served.  The beurre noir vinaigrette was a little too fierce.

Main courses arrived on furiously hot plates for some reason - rather hot than cold, anyway.  The monkfish was generously portioned, and looked nice, but was undercooked in the center.  I like cabbage, even with fish, but more bacon flavor was needed in the bacon-herb broth.

The short rib dish looks a little muddy, but was probably the best of the dishes sampled - off the bone, in a rich reduction, accompanied by soft polenta.  Not an altogether bad meal, but hardly one to recommend with enthusiasm.  Main course prices range from the mid-twenties to around forty for the steak (I'd guess for the lobster too). 

The wine I tried from the  Enomatic list, the Bodegas y Viñedos Alion, 2002, a traditional Ribera, was certainly enjoyable - restrained fruit and tobacco.  $12 for a half  pour; you can find bottles in the fifties and sixties retail.  I am lucky enough to have good and older vintages from Ribera at home.  Perhaps more to the point, The Monday Room - about five minutes walk away - has a killer 1994 Pedrosa from Ribera.

The ambience is curious.  The dining room is in a windowless basement area, downstairs from the bar.  Chandeliers are cast a dull light.  The music was mainly Indian, I think.  My table wobbled.  It was a wobbly evening altogether.

So much so that I repaired to The Monday Room, just around the corner, for cheese and a superb tasting flight.  Fifty wines by the glass, excellent food and some of the best wine service in town.

Noble Food and Wine has no web-site as far as I can see.