1.5 hours later…

 Limited Seating, but cool decor!

Fried Chicken Steamed Buns. Japanese Mayo. Sweet Chili Sauce. Seasonal Pickles. Herbs.

Special: Chicken Wings in a Vietnamese Fish Sauce Glaze. 

Kimchi Ramen. Kimchi Infusion. Pulled Pork. Greens. Sous vide egg. Kimchi. Pickled Ginger.

For appetizers we had the Fried Chicken Banh Baos and Special Vietnamese Chicken Wings. The sides were great and made great bar food, but the ramen definitely was the highlight of it all…

I really enjoyed the depth and richness of the broth. There was more to this soup than a bowl of broth and noodles. I could taste the time and effort that was put in to create these multi-dimensional flavors. There were hints of ginger that I would occasionally taste with every other bite. Very refreshing. A unique feature was the sous vide egg. The egg is cracked perfectly poached into your bowl. If you request an extra egg, you can actually crack it into your bowl yourself. Instead of a normal hard-boiled egg, you get a soft-poached burst of yolky goodness into your ramen bowl!

Was it worth the wait? I’d say so! The wait can be definitely long, but I’ve had friends who have been seated immediately. I hear Tuesday through Thursdays are the slower days in case you don’t have 2 hours to wait.

Rating: 4.5/5 spoons

View from my seat..

Table with a view! 

Casual dining at its best!

Enough pictures of the restaurant..let’s get to the food! When “the chef” and I looked at the menu, many of the appetizers stood out to us much more than the actual entrees so we created our very own tasting menu…

Complimentary Ciabatta bread and Cornbread. 

Miss Hay’s Stuffed Chicken Wings. Homemade Hoisin Dipping Sauce. 

LOVED this dish…I’m typically not a fan of “fusion” types of food, but here, American + Asian = DIVINE! The authentic Vietnamese egg roll stuffing inside a juicy deep fried chicken wing was interesting and leaves you wanting more…

Duck Confit and Fried Egg Pizza. Parmesan Cheese. Truffle Oil. Baby Arugula.

Although it appears large, it’s light and savory…

Aged Allen Benton’s Country Ham Salad. Moonshine Spiked Watermelon. Arugula. Feta Cheese. Citrus-Herb Vinaigrette. 

Gumbo of the Day: Cochon and Andouille Gumbo.

New Orleans Style Crab Cake. Spicy Corn Relish. Crystal-Butter Sauce. 

Good but not my favorite. The corn relish balanced the heavily seasoned crab cake and gave it a refreshing kick with the Crystal-Butter sauce. 

Crispy Smoked Duck and Mushroom Boudin Balls. Tomato-Bacon Jam. Creole Mustard. 

NOLA Banana Pudding Layer Cake. Graham Cracker Crust. Vanilla Wafers. Fudge Sauce. 

One thing I’ve learned is when you’re craving a good ol’ homemade banana pudding, you won’t get it at these upper echelon restaurants…but what you will get is an overly decadent yet still so delicious version. Not too far from the original homemade kind…fresh slices of banana, light pudding cream, graham cracker crust…loved it! 

Great experience at NOLA in Nola! Great service. Cool and casual vibe. Great place for a laid back night but very good food. Props to Mr. Emeril Lagasse!