Comments (0) Best Contemporary American Cuisine - 2009
NOCA
Some restaurants take years to refine their food and service, but NOCA came sprinting out of the gates and hasn't looked back. In February, it was named one of the best new restaurants in the country by the James Beard Foundation. Now barely over a year old, it's still got strong buzz, thanks to the efforts of restaurateur Eliot Wexler and executive chef Chris Curtiss. While Wexler dotes on first-timers and regular customers alike, Curtiss dreams up dishes with the freshest ingredients he can get his hands on, whether it's seafood from the same purveyor that the French Laundry uses, or organic produce straight from local farms. The menu changes frequently, but it always balances classic (duck confit, handmade pasta) and cutting-edge (sea urchin panna cotta). It's a melting pot of influences, to be sure, but upscale takes on American favorites like the pastrami sandwich (here, made with wagyu) keep NOCA firmly planted on U.S. soil. Once you dine here, don't be surprised if you pledge allegiance.
