the bold look of kohler

it wasn't long after the agnes lofts went up that boom noodle moved in below. this sleek and simple japachic restaurant turned me off at first. i'm completely guilty of judging by its cover. i assumed it was more style than substance until i read a short review in, of all places, nwsource. the review was complementary and mentioned some japanese dishes with simple, clean ingredients, so i decided that i would eventually take boom noodle for a spin. every time i had driven or walked by, boom noodle was swamped, so happy hour or a weekend lunch were the only visits i considered.


here i just folded up a couple of chopstick rests from the paper wrappers for my happy hour companion and i. it's a little trick that a waiter once taught me at my favorite childhood japanese restaurant, mikado in southcenter (now replaced by a sports bar).


the happy hour menu is a little bizarre, only because they require that each diner have at least one alcoholic beverage to get HH pricing on food. ash went for the chiso mojito (using chiso instead of mint), and i ordered the cucumber mint fizz (sho chu, cucumber, mint, and soda). the drinks were light and refreshingly green. i enjoyed mine, and thought it was perfect for a summer afternoon with the boom's garage door wall open.


the first dish we decided on was the edamame puree. it look a little bit like bright green baby poop, but was delicious. there was a light yuzu flavor to it, and the freshly fried, blue potato chips were a plus. it was also served with eggplant and pickled cucumber. mmm. after we finished everything, we actually ordered another one. ash LOVED this dish.


next came the salmon tataki (seared slices of salmon topped with green onion, bonito flakes, seaweed, sesami seeds, and ayuzu dressing). the fish was tender and enjoyable, though i'm not entirely sure i would ever order this dish again. the tofu was served with shitaake mushrooms, sesamie dressing, green onions, and seaweed flakes. i liked this as well, but it was so simple and ordinary to me that i don't think i would re-order. in fact, the sesamie dressing was pretty forgettable. i only remembered that it was sesamie after rereading the menu.


last came the omakase plate of pickles. omakase basically means "chef's choice," and in general is a chance for the chef to show off his/her skills. the pickles were tasty. there were pearl onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, daikon, and carrots. they were all pretty okay...nothing remarkable, not really even all pickled that thoroughly, but they were simple and clean. in my book, that is much better than over-wrought and poorly-executed. my favorite part of this dish was actually the small, tater tot-sized clumps of 10-grain rice. the rice was perfectly sticky, room temperature, and toothsome. i have no idea what the ten grains were, but i'll guess that some of them were japanese short-grain rice, wild rice, wheat berries, quinoa, israeli couscous, and a handful of other tasty goodies.


we went to the bathroom after we ate, and i was impressed by the beautiful kohler faucets. i really shouldn't have been, since the agnes lofts above, boom noodle, cafe stellina, and la spiga are all connected and equally dripping in sophisticated chic.

i enjoyed my happy hour excursion to boom noodle and would recommend it to any one around 12th and pike during HH. it wasn't the cheapest fare, but it was good and a nice, clean divergence from my usual haunt across the street. i imagine returning more often as the weather continues to heat up. also, the dinner menu has some interesting options that i would like to explore...especially the pescatarian sobas.

boom noodle
1121 east pike street
seattle, wa 98122
206.701.9130


NB: we arrived at about 5:30, and the bar was sparsely occupied, and the dining area had only two 4-seaters. we had no problem at all walking in, but i know it's super busy at night, so beware!