There is really nothing quite like the taste of freshly made pasta. Like the experience of fresh cream, homemade pickles or local honey, the mild wheat taste and near-creamy texture comes as a bit of a surprise. After all, you thought you knew what pasta tasted like, right?
At Noon Midtown, sous chef Sean Telo makes his own pasta, and if you happen to time your visit just right, you may — as I did one evening — have the palate-blowing experience of a bowl of his fresh, hot-off-the pasta-press fettuccine tossed with ricotta, crunchy farm-fresh English peas and mushrooms. It’s heaped in a small white bowl and I don’t know that I’ve eaten anything quite as simple, or as good, in a long while.
Chef-owner Katie Birmingham opened Noon Midtown as a spot with a new, fresh take on lunch (note that she didn’t name her restaurant Evening, for example). Atlanta’s answer to the high-brow sammy shops of New York like Tom Colicchio’s ’Wichcraft, Noon has the sleek, European look of stacked cherry wood partitions and sheaves of wheat lining the back of the dining room’s banquette, plus tidy tables outdoors for warm weather dining.
Birmingham has been exposed to some prominent kitchens, working with Guenter Seeger before he opened Seeger’s and at Bacchanalia. It shows in her commitment to seasonal ingredients and austere style. Now she can offer dinner. So a fine menu of eggplant panino and meatloaf sandwiches (with Benton’s bacon and tomato jam) served with the restaurant’s incredibly truffled truffle fries, morphed from day into night.
Evening at Noon starts with cocktails. Bartender Reggie Weekes’ freshly muddled concoctions rank among some of the city’s best, whether its his mod take on a Pimm’s cup with sparkling wine and cucumber, or something he stirs up just because you’re sitting at the bar.
At a table, it’s hard to resist having only one order of the crispy shelled five-minute egg. Breaded and fried like fried chicken, it bursts open with the pierce of a fork, sending rich yolk through a plate of pea coulis and bites of Benton’s country ham. Beet salad is a composition of sweetly vinegared house-pickled beets arranged prettily with beet puree and beet chips, all wrapped in Gorgonzola, sheets of daikon and crunchy candied walnuts.
Potato and manchego cheese croquettes are Noon Midtown’s take on patatas bravas — crunchy orbs of cheesy, crisped bitefuls served with a side of mild romesco sauce for dipping.
The menu is kept blessedly simple, with fresh trout (did I say fresh again?) with a tender portion of pork belly, the best (besides that fettuccine) of a small selection of entrees. This kitchen keeps itself to a seasonal creed, so now goodies such as peas and strawberries show up as sideliners or flavorful dessert sorbets.
Dessert is as interesting as the rest of the offerings. For instance, a spoonful of affogato — Italy’s classic version of an espresso float made with ice cream chocked full of bits of airy glazed Sublime Doughnuts — gives new meaning to the idea of coffee and a doughnut.
It’s a table favorite, but my heart belongs to the light, refreshing (note: I said refreshing, not fresh) lemon semifreddo, perfectly tempered to begin melting the moment it arrives at the table.
If Birmingham fears her restaurant’s name will be confusing now that she serves more than lunch, I’ve got a suggestion: She can just call it Fresh.
Noon Midtown
Overall rating:
Food: contemporary farm-to-table dining
Service: fun and informative
Price range: $$
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover
Hours of operation: Open for lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays; lunch and dinner 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesdays- Saturdays; 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday brunch. The restaurant will be closed for Memorial Day weekend (Friday-Monday).
Best dishes: spring fettuccine, trout and pork belly, lemon semifreddo
Vegetarian selections: spring fettuccine, three-cheese panino, salads
Children: yes
Parking: adjacent lots are $5; on street; or two hours free in building's lot
Reservations: no
Wheelchair access: yes
Smoking: no
Noise level: low
Patio: yes
Takeout: yes
Address, telephone: 1080 Peachtree St. N.E., Suite 6, between 11th and 12th streets, 404-496-4891
Web site: www.noon midtown.com
Pricing code: $$$$$ means more than $75; $$$$ means $75 and less; $$$ means $50 and less; $$ means $25 and less; $ means $15 and less. The price code represents a typical full-course meal for one excluding drinks.
Key to AJC ratings
Outstanding
Sets the standard for fine dining in the region.
Excellent
One of the best in the Atlanta area.
Very good
Merits a drive if you're looking for this kind of dining.
Good
A worthy addition to its neighborhood, but food may be hit and miss.
Fair
Food is more miss than hit.
Restaurants that do not meet these criteria may be rated Poor.
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