It was sad -- no, pathetic -- that I hadn't been to NOPA. The restaurant put North-of-the-Panhandle on many people's maps, gastronomic and otherwise, and has been garnering their raves for some time. I finally got there when Francesca took me for our traditional birthday celebration dinner. (Yes, my birthday was a month ago, but we're both busy bees.)
I loved the place from the moment we walked in. High, high ceilings. Tons of light. Lots of wood. A big communal table, and several others filled with happy diners. Always a good sign. The bar area filled up quickly and everyone seemed to be having fun over there, too.
Photo from NOPA's web site
We were amuse-d by apples with almond butter...
...and then moved on to Sweet Corn Soup and Warm Goat Cheese, Crostini and Marinated Cherry and Sungold Tomatoes. The produce was bright and fresh, the goat cheese was decadent, and the crostini possessed the perfect thickness and buttery crunch. They weren't modest, though -- hogging the spotlight in this photo.
I had my heart set on NOPA's Grass-Fed Hamburger for my main course, and the waiter earned big points by suggesting I add Cheddar and their house bacon to it. He egged me on with "It's your birthday, right?" Little did he know I hardly need that excuse to go hog wild. The resulting burger was beautifully cooked and came on a puffy roll with pickled onions and fries. The fries were cut a bit too thick for my taste, but the Genovese basil aioli that accompanied them made everything right. Francesca had the succulent Rotisserie Herbed Chicken, Yellow Beans and Early Girl Tomatoes.
For dessert, we had the Stone Fruit Cobbler with "Smoke and Whisky" Ice Cream. A nice mix of the traditional, known favorite and the unexpected -- and the ice cream really did taste like smoke and whisky. I know it sounds bizarre, but it was definitely worth trying.
It was my birthday, after all -- and if more and more birthdays have taught me anything, it's that life is short so don't skimp on new adventures.
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