Spring Asparagus at Nopa

Amy kindly gave us a 6:15 pm reservation for four at Nopa on Saturday night. We invited Joey and Brad to join us, and it was a great meal.

I've probably eaten at Nopa eight times since we first discovered the restaurant about two years ago (not long after they first opened), and I have never been disappointed. The cooking is superb, the food is always delicious, fresh and seasonal, and the service is casual, but very good.

We shared a plate of little fried smelts, served with shaved fennel and lemon-dill aioli, and I ordered the asparagus soup with a touch of cream, olive oil and chervil (parsley) for a second starter (the picture below looks more like creme brulee than soup, but the color of the soup was actually bright green, not yellow). For the main course, Joey, Brad and I each ordered a pan-fried halibut dish, which was served with a meyer lemon olive tapanade, olive oil, asparagus and some arugula. Lou ordered braised duck leg and breast with creamy farro, carrots, spinach and mushrooms.

All three of my dishes were excellent. Lou and I almost always order the little fish at Nopa. We've eaten some wonderful sardines and anchovies before, and the smelts were equally good, though more heavily battered that some of other fish preparations we've tried. The soup was thick, rich and hearty, and the fish was heavenly. The olives and asparagus grounded the tender fish, and each bite was a lemony delight. We did not order dessert because we took off to catch a movie, but Joey and Brad stayed on and ate a pecan tart with salted caramel ice cream and a Mexican coffee ice cream sandwich. Not surprisingly, we missed out. They reported that both desserts were delicious.

For wine, I ordered a sparkling gamay--Gamay "FRV100" Beaujolais NV Rerres Dorees--a very fruity sparking red. For dinner we tried a bottle of 2006 Movia "Gredic" Tokai Friulano, Goriska Brda from Hungary. We were hoping it would be somewhat dry, but it turned out to be fairly fruity and sweet. It was not that different from the Tokai dessert wines, which I am more familiar with than the table wines. It was not the best pairing for the halibut.