NOE RESTAURANT

251 S. Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 356-4100

We arrive at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel, which is located on one corner of Bunker Hill, an area lined with some of the symbolic skyscrapers of Downtown Los Angeles. Amongst the dazzling lights and gorgeous atmosphere, we leave the car with the valet and go to the third floor. My companions and I are headed for Noe Restaurant, an establishment serving first-class cuisine.
When the elevator opens, noisy voices reverberate around the hall. The bar at Noe Restaurant is crowded with patrons. To check in at the front of the restaurant we go through the bar, which has an open atmosphere and is just beginning to come to life. We take a step into the comfortable, elegant dining room and a shining Eiffel Tower depicted in vivid blue on the front wall attracts my eye. We are brought to a corner table surrounded by walls of glass. The immaculately white tablecloth is tasteful. A single sheet of glass divides the dining room from the spacious patio that is enveloped in the flashing lights of the neighboring skyscrapers. For a large city the venue provides a quiet, relaxing place. At the patio seating in front of me, a lone gentleman is puffing on a cigar in the midst of fully enjoying a brief moment in the evening.
Assistant Manager Jerome Couture loses no time in calling Chef de Partie Kiichi Matsuno over to the table. On this particular day, Executive Chef Glen Ishii is on a business trip to Las Vegas. Chef Matsuno carefully listens to our preferences before he introduces an Omakase five-course meal that matches well with sake. While eating the bread that is served, and while waiting excitedly for the sake tasting to start, “a gift from the chef” is brought to the table.

Dish 1: Roast Eggplant Petite with Tomato Vinaigrette (Gift from the Chef)
The two-inch, petite-sized food in the center of the big white plate is arranged in a French style. When you look at it carefully, you can see it has been arranged very exquisitely. The eggplant is wrapped with cheese and is roasted and topped with tomato vinaigrette. The top is arranged nonchalantly with a stick-shaped canapé. While it is done up in French style, the dish somewhat reminds me of kaiseki ryori. Just from this dish, I feel as if I understand the spirit of Noe cuisine, and I think, “I see.”
Best pairing: Ginjo “Akita Toji”
2nd pairing: Tokubetsu Honjozo “Tsukiyo”

Dish 2: 1st Course: Toro & Small Salmon Marinade
Toro and salmon are displayed gorgeously in a perfectly round salad bowl. The sauce is well balanced with lime, soy sauce, sesame, turnip, and chives. It is a very fresh marinade with a citrus flavor. This is a fashionable appetizer with thin slices of nori (dried seaweed).
Best pairing: Daiginjo “Fukukomachi”
2nd pairing: Ginjo “Akita Toji”

Dish 3: 2nd Course: Scallop with Morel Mushroom Sauce
A good amount of excellent morel mushrooms were used and my mouth was filled with the full-bodied mildness of the sauce. A lightly grilled cherry tomato is colorfully placed on the top. I smack my lips over the entertaining way the ingredients are put to use.
Best pairing: Junmai Daiginjo “Kimura”
2nd pairing: Ginjo “Akita Toji”

Dish 4: 3rd Course: Filet of Fluke with Cream of Lobster & Black Truffles
This unexpected pie dish was pleasing to me. It consists of lobster marinated with béchamel sauce over the fluke filet. It is covered very delicately by a thin piecrust. Lobster sauce and truffles are on the top. The sweetness of the lobster and the noble freshness of the truffles go well together. Although the ingredients are gorgeous, you can enjoy the taste in a casual manner – it is a very unique dish.
Best pairing: Junmai Daiginjo “Kimura”
2nd pairing: Junmai Genshu “Akita Issui”

Dish 5: 4th Course: Duck Breast with Seared Foie Gras, Sauteed Arugule & Ratatouille Stuffed Rigatoni Pasta with Grand Marnier Sauce
I could only sigh at the beautiful arrangement of this dish. The green sautéed Arugule, rigatoni pasta, duck breast, foie gras, and an orange are arranged in that order to form a pyramid in a somewhat deep soup bowl. The dish is then covered with Grand Marnier sauce. Thick foie gras is placed atop three large pieces of duck, and the shining Grand Marnier sauce is poured beautifully over the top. The foie gras is fresh and soft. Stuffed inside the large-tube pasta are cooked vegetables called ratatouille. With everything cooked to perfection, this is an impressive dish.
Best pairing: Ginjo “Akita Toji”
2nd pairing: Junmai Genshu “Akita Issui”

Dish 6: 5th Course: Colorado Lamb Loin with Fingerling Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus and Grain Mustard Sauce
The final dish is famous Colorado lamb. The lamb is medium rare and very tender. The juice of the meat adds a deeper taste to the grain mustard sauce. The thin-skinned fingerling potatoes are seasoned with butter and soy sauce - a nostalgic taste for Japanese. Crispy bacon is added. Even the taste of the potatoes by itself is enjoyable. Two thin stalks of asparagus are sautéed with olive oil and the simple ingredients can be enjoyed immensely.
Best pairing: Daiginjo: “Fukukomachi”
2nd pairing: Junmai Genshu “Akita Issui”

With its wonderful five-course meal, Noe makes it possible to enjoy oneself deeply to one’s heart’s content. At the surrounding tables guest in small groups of two or three people are all calmly enjoying their meals in a leisurely fashion. The cigar gentleman on the patio is brought a drink – probably coffee – in a siphon pot and is now gracefully pouring it into the cup. The server visits several times, and with someone to talk to, he can likely spend time here without ever becoming bored.
My friends and I could also spend a relaxed evening in which we were carried away by the gorgeous meal that matched well with the sake. Meanwhile, Jerome visited my table at proper intervals, server Jared Gee meticulously provided service, and I received easy-to-understand comments about each dish from food runner Nate Vaughan. About the time I somehow felt the flashing lights surrounding the skyscrapers had diminished, dessert was brought out. It is mousse known as “Banana Glace” that has the appearance of sorbet. Chocolate sponge cake is the mainstay, and chocolate syrup is squeezed out over the dish in lines that form an arabesque pattern. Raspberry sauce is added as a garnish to the side of the dish. The mellow chocolate softly covers the refreshing mousse and I am delighted that they have added this small amount of raspberry sauce. As for the cuisine overall, from the selection of the dishes to the cooking methods, Noe Restaurant never cuts corners and expresses its special art in dishes of the highest-quality. The service is also warm and friendly and at the same time it is professional. It is top-rate and nearly flawless.
At the end of the evening, Chef Matsuno again visited our table. He told us that in addition to the normal six-course and nine-course tasting menu, there is also a four-course menu that is served each season. When I inquire if it’s possible to have a customer-centered menu to suit the occasion in the manner of my own request – the prompt answer is “of course.” With his kind expression and confidence in his ability I could detect a sense that he is at ease with himself. No matter the occasion, if you would like to make it memorable, by all means inquire at the front of the restaurant. Thanks to the determined, creative group of chefs under Executive Chef Glen Ishii, no matter how important the occasion - in the world of Noe’s unique cuisine - you are likely to be mesmerized.



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