In yesterdays post, I chronicled the welcome and entrance experience at NOMA. I continue today with courses 1 - 11. Tomorrow, courses 12 - 19.
After making our beverage pairing selection, it was “go time,” as the kids say. Sadly, I didn’t take photos of each beverage, but in my final post I will share the menu we were given, which will show what we were served.
What you see below are photos of the dishes along with the menu descriptions from that menu provided by Noma.
I’ve added personal notes about some dishes - not all of them. I’m not a restaurant reviewer nor do I pretend to be. I don’t know everything about food (sometimes I feel like I don’t know anything at all); I’m thrilled to be learning new things and trying new ingredients all the time. As a restaurant owner and a passionate eater, however, I do have a few informed opinions.
But this was food I was paying to eat, and I’ve endeavored to be honest about whether it was actually delicious or not. (Because while it was all incredibly interesting, it was certainly not all delicious.)
At the end of the day, please do remember: I’m just another jackass with a newsletter.
The Meal
1st Course: Mushroom Sashimi
The first course and one of my favorites of the meal. It was the stem of what I recall was an oyster mushroom, served thinly sliced. It had been cooked and was served chilled. The service team (there were probably four people tending to us through the evening) didn’t get into the preparation of each course or how individual components were cooked. Frankly, I appreciated that. Otherwise the meal would have verged on science lesson.
It was served with a hazelnut and elderflower sauce for dipping. This sauce was so goddamn good I drank it from the saucer after I had exhausted the slices of mushroom. I mentioned how much I loved it to the service team, pitifully hoping they would hear my pleas and box some up for me to take home.
“Oh, no! You shouldn’t have!”
Sadly, no such parting gift was provided.
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