Noodle-ism

Noodle-ism

Saturday, noon-midnight; Sunday, noon-9pmwww.noodle-ism.com

“Do you have the noodle wisdom?” inquires the menu at Noodle-ism. If not, this is the place to help you find it. Take your pick at this international house of noodles — Japanese, Thai, Malaysian, Chinese, Italian, or some combination thereof. And nothing on the menu is more than $9.95.

My particular favorite is a delicate three-cabbage ravioli with mushrooms in a silky lime-cream sauce. The various hearty Asian noodle soups are also quite satisfying, as are the Singapore rice noodles, pad Thai, and cold sesame chicken noodle salad, all rapidly served from the gleaming open kitchen. If you aren’t in a noodle mood, there are some interesting alternatives, like fried rice, shrimp and tofu cake, and even a Kobe-style beef burger.

Noodle-ism is also a tea and coffee house, serving the full range of specialty coffee drinks, Asian-style teas, fruit-flavored bubble teas, wine, and beer. There are some enticing desserts like crème brûlée and cheesecake, and I heartily recommend the mochi ice cream — delectable little mounds of ice cream encased by mochi, a thin layer of sweetened rice dough. A bargain at $1.35, these come in chocolate, strawberry, and mango, but I swoon over the coffee and green tea flavors.

The whimsically eccentric décor is quite charming, an amalgam of very casual hip and insouciant elegance, beginning with the extremely tall ceilings brushed by forests of fat bamboo and graced by floating canopies of suspended red paper parasols. I’m just not sure how to describe the shimmying, dancing shelf in the middle of the room; you just have to see for yourself. Each time I visit, I notice another nice touch, such as the classy loose tea service for one (dragonwell or jasmine) accompanied by a tiny hourglass, or the plastic bibs thoughtfully provided to soup slurpers. The place is open late on weekends and free delivery is available Downtown.

This article appears in January 10 • 2003.