Noodlecat

Here’s our problem with Noodlecat. We are among the luckiest metropolitan areas in America because we have an active and vibrant Asian community with a wide variety of dining options scattered around town.

Here’s our joy regarding Noodlecat. The food is great.

Here’s the challenge to Cleveland diners. Do you visit the inexhaustible collection of Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai and “other” restaurants specializing or featuring Asian “fast food” (soup) or as we Americans prefer, do we go to a sterile environment and get the cleansed version provided by friendly white people? (Insert Noodlecat.)

Assume the world is perfect and all chefs are created equal in the eyes of the benevolent food god. Noodlecat serves up some damn good food.

We started with the broiled rice balls. Sticky, flavorful and wonderful, we couldn’t wait for the soup. Michele ordered the Pork Miso Ramen, a flavorful broth with excellent Ramen noodles and succulent pork pieces. She was concerned about the salt content, but after the first slurp, the concern disappeared. Jeff ordered the special sesame pork over udon noodle in a spicy curry cream sauce. No need to add Sriracha sauce. The sliced peppers did the trick and the cream kept the curry in check. The pork was perfect and the udon noodles were fabulous. If he could have licked the bowl, he would have. Desert was sugar coated peaches and it was the needed antidote to pork and curry.

Our issue with Noodlecat has nothing to do with the food. Each bite was perfect. Our problem is with cost. At No.1 Pho, the soup is $6, Export 33 beer is $4. When we enter the white version, soups reach into the teens and Vietnamese beer an incredible $6!! A pot of tea was $6! This is unconscionable.

If you are uncomfortable trying some of Cleveland’s Asian treasures or if you are unfamiliar with the variables of Asian soup, Noodlecat is your ticket to an experience you will not soon forget. If you (like us) have been eating at an assortment of Asian eateries over the years, your immediate reaction is that this is a far too expensive place to frequent.

You decide. Are you trendy or do you simply want great food?

http://noodlecat.com/234 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44114 216-589-0007