The Noodle Shop

One of my favorite restaurants in downtown Asheville is The Noodle Shop. I remember eating there with my sister and brother in law, out on the sidewalk cafe, when I was first considering relocating there. I have been there many times since. I even have a favorite waitress, Meredith, but Suzy and Riley and the rest of the staff are also outstanding

I had a great talk with Alan Kong, the owner. Alan is from the northeastern Chinese town of Harbin, but has been an American citizen for decades. His family started this restaurant in 1999, and he took complete ownership of it a couple years ago. Alan is always in the kitchen, except when he comes out to check on the customers and greet the regulars in friendly conversation. 

All the recipes are old family recipes straight from northern China. Their big thing is Pho. They have several varieties of Pho, several intensities of spiciness. Pho is a delicious type of Asian soup, it is a huge bowl, full of veggies and meat. It is hot and satisfying, healthy and low calorie. No matter what your diet, you can never go wrong with a hot bowl of Pho. They bring out extra spices for you to add to your soup if you want.  

I’ve also had their fantastic spring roll and eggplant stir fry. They have a lot of seafood and vegetarian dishes. The basil eggplant is stir fried with peppers, garlic, ginger, onion,  and served with your choice of a variety of noodles or rice. It was tender and smooth, with an perfect blend of garlic, ginger and oil. I tried to grow an eggplant once, but it would not produce any eggs. 

I have had several of their soups and plan to try them all. My favorite (and my sister and brother in law’s favorite, too) is the Dan Dan. The Dan Dan is filled with a variety of vegetables including spinach, squash, zucchini, sprouts, cabbage, and more. It has the delicious taste of cilantro in it. It is a tantalizing combination of flavors, and each bite is a little different. It comes to the table hot, steamy and comforting. It is far too good for just one Dan, so they gave it an extra Dan. Like everything at The Noodle Shop, the flavors are fresh, authentically Asian, and nothing like the Americanized “Chinese” restaurants you find in every common city.  

They do have western cutlery, although I think eating soup with chopsticks is a lot more fun. This one is the Seafood Pho. It had so many varieties of seafood in it, I was able to put on my own performance of The Little Mermaid. Regardless of which Pho you try, you won’t find Pho better anywhere else. I pity the Pho that tries. 

Their Spring Rolls are to die for. Okay, that is just an expression, I would not die for them. But they are really good, better than the common Chinese restaurant. They serve them cut in half, standing on the open side, with duck sauce on one side and a super spicy mustard on the other. 

They don’t have a website, but they are on Facebook. Better yet, come visit them in person!

My first visit to The Noodle Shop, October 2014:

Jerusalem Garden Cafe

Once a year, downtown Asheville offers the “Small Plate Crawl.” Dozens of participating restaurants offer mini versions of their most popular entrees, for mini prices.

I spent tonight’s Small Plate Crawl at the Jerusalem Garden Cafe.

The owner of the restaurant, Farouk Badr, was born in Jordan and grew up in Jerusalem. After immigrating here 35 years ago, he and his brother opened a pharmacy next door to the restaurant. Five years later, Mr. Badr and his wife bought the sandwich shop next to the pharmacy. His brother still owns the pharmacy. 

All the recipes in the restaurant are old family recipes straight from the middle east. 

Tonight I had the Fatayer Spinach Pie with house made turmeric dough, stuffed with spinach, feta, peppers, and onions. It was really an exceptional spinach pie, and I will go back just for that alone. I should go back on March 14, for Pi day, and see if they have a discount. Maybe if I calculate the area of the circular Pi tin they bake it in, it will impress them. I still remember my high school geometry teacher telling me “Pi are squared.”  That is when I knew she was an idiot, because I've had a lot of pie, and all pie are round. That’s why you use Pi to calculate the area of a circle! If it were square, it would be cake!  But it’s pi. But enough of that. 

I also enjoyed the grape leaves and falafel. These are two of my favorite Middle Eastern Dishes. Their preparation was classic and delicious.

Finally, I also ordered the Pistachio-encrusted lamb chop. The meat was braised in a pomegranate molasses, and one of the most surprising flavors I’ve come across in a long time. It was served on a Greek salad. The Greek salad was fresh and crisp and sprinkled with Feta Cheese. It was really superb, and I will have to return for this too, maybe the day after Pi day.

The atmosphere was fantastic. Very comfortable, colorful, and well lit. The wait staff was friendly and efficient.

 
                                                     

The weather was so nice, I ended up taking my meal outside. 

The view of the bustling city was entertainment in and of itself. 

I had to return on Friday for the belly dancing, and learned more about this great restaurant. 

There are three seating venues. Outdoors on the sidewalk, where I ate on Wednesday, inside in a cozy and warm interior…. or the back room, called the “Tent” which is very romantic and out of the way, which gives you a feeling that you are desert royalty. 

On Friday and Saturday, there is belly dancing, and it is quite  mesmerizing. The musician was playing an instrument called the “Oud,” which is a predecessor to the Lute and Guitar. I had the pleasure of meeting the Oud Player and the Belly Dancer. They were both very interesting, well educated and fun.

Chris Stack is the musician, and he is very active in the local music scene. He comes from an engineering background. You can visit his music and technology website at ChrisStack.

Charlotte Louise is the belly dancer. She teaches belly dancing at Zahiya Dance Studio on Saturdays. 

Visit them online, Jerusalemgardencafe  or in person!! If you visit them on weekends.. you get to experience a live band and belly dancing.