Norwich Bulletin Review of Noah's Restaurant

There are certain things you've either experience first hand or read about that make you want to return or pay a fist visit to a restart.

What comes to mind are the mind-boggling grilled pizzas at Al Forno in Providence, RI; the traffic stopping artistry of Charlie Trotter in Chicago, the delicacy and spirited preparation of organic vegetables raised just for Chez Pannisse in Berkeley, Calif; the BAM! of Emeril's cuisine in Las Vegas, New Orleans or Orlando, Fla.

Then again, I'd pay return visit after visit to Noah's Restaurant in Stonington Borough for no other reason than to have another glass of his housemade cream soda.

I'm not sure whether it's John Papp or Stanley Schwartz, co-owners of Noah's for the past 21 years, who is responsible for creating the syrup that, added to carbonated water, makes a cream soda, but my hat goes off to whoever is responsible. Now, if they'd just add a little more syrup, it would taste just like Dr.Brown's.

But just in case cream soda isn't what floats your boat, sidle on down to Noah's, before the summer crowds descend, and try the new bar menu. The food is flawlessly prepared and the prices are astonishingly, even dismayingly, low.

The novel menu was created for the newly created bar, a space that for years housed only a few dessert display cases and a few places to sit while waiting for a table in the adjacent dining room. It was brilliant maneuver to turn this into a tiny dining room with a few tables and a splendid, gleaming new bar that dispenses not only beer and wine but other alcoholic drinks as well.

I guess what dismayed me was the we were given a choice of being seated in the bar or the dining room. We chose the latter because the choice window table, one of two in the dining room, was available. And we were given a choice of ordering from the bar menu, the regular menu or a combination of both.

I certainly hope this particular option is invaluable once the busy season begins, because the prices are so low, and the portions so generous, the restaurant may find its revenue plummet.

Starters and salads are so intriguing that one wishes to order three or four of these and forget entrees.

The pate filled a custard cup-sized white souffle-type bowl. It was smooth as silk, studded with pistachio nuts and was accompanied by thin rounds of very good French style bread. The grilled spiced jumbo shrimp, priced at $1.75 each, resided on a mix of ultra-fresh baby greens.

The shrimp were perfectly cooked and spicier than Michael was led to believe. Too bad for Michael-the rest of us thought they were great. We also ordered, for the table, a portion of edamame beans, soy beans, actually, that are salted and steamed. These were served hot and we popped them from their pods and into our mouths. Nobody likes them quite as much as I do, I'm afraid.

We love the fact that iceberg lettuce seems to be making a big, big comeback. This is the third time in three weeks we've ordered a wedge of iceberg lettuce with a wash of superb dressings. I loved the Thousand Islands dressing, made on the premises.

Noah's was out of the housemade blue cheese but accommodated us by chunking some blue cheese atop the excellent balsamic vinaigrette. We also liked the mixed baby greens with the same vinaigrette, but that iceberg wedge is too cool.

"Entrees" can be real main dishes or yummy-sounding sandwiches. An ordinary ham and cheese sandwich can be turned into a croque monsieur, battered and deep fried, for just $1 added to the original $4.95 price tag. You can also get half a sandwich at a reduced price. Each sandwich comes with a choice of one side dish from a list that includes black beans and rice, hashed browns, potato salad or cole slaw.

We all opted for real entrees, though. At the listed prices, we assumed the portions would be tapas-sized, but we were very wrong. The gorgeous slab of meatloaf, which looked as if had been hand-formed, was topped with fresh mushrooms and a lovely, light sauce made from pan juices. The potatoes were red Bliss, quartered and perfectly cooked.

My husband ordered two of "Noah's Best Wursts," plump fragarant sausages perched atop a mound of fresh sauerkraut. His potato salad was warm, vinegary and redolent of bacon.

Joan's scallops, so wonderful these days in our little part of the world, were lightly grilled and served atop the same mix of baby greens that had appeared in our salad. The light wash of orange ginger soy sauce was a perfect choice.

Our final entree, thinly sliced London broil in a hearty mushroom sauce over two slices of densed bread, was purely wonderful.

The bar menu lists a basket of bread as an optional appetizer at $1.35, but ours was served without asking and did not appear on the bill. The two breads, one a tawny multigrain with nuts, the other an excellent French bread, were terrific.

We were heading off to the movies in Mystic and couldn't stay for dessert, but they are all housemade and have always been superb. I'm sure they still are and I expect we'll be back for a return visit soon, at which time I'll make time for dessert.

And there will be plenty of time for another cream soda or two or three.