north

     Just off of Broadway, nestled comfortably in a residential street, there is a tiny restaurant with a small neon blue sign in the window which reads "north." It doesn't look like much from the outside, and you're likely to drive right past without even noticing that it's there, but take a step inside, and you can be sure that you won't ever forget about this unique little restaurant. There are only a few tables and a small bar, which can make getting a seat on a busy night difficult, but the limited seating means that the staff will never be completely swamped with a sudden influx of customers, ensuring that the quality of both service and food will remain consistent. A fair trade-off if you ask me.  At 7:30 on a Saturday, we walked into a completely full north, but luckily for us, there was a table that was paying and getting ready to leave. The décor here resembles the inside of an old wooden ship and was very quaint and comfortable.
     When we sat down, we were handed small slips of paper with that day's menu. At north, the menu is constantly changing based partially on what's in season, and partially on what the extremely inventive kitchen staff wants to create. No doubt, the most difficult part of our visit to north was refraining from ordering one of everything. After placing our first order, for Tiny Ham Biscuits, Hot Flavor Sesame Noodles, and Rabbit & Carrot, our waitress- who was very attentive and extremely nice throughout the entire meal- assured us that we could always order more if we were still hungry.





     First to arrive were the Tiny Ham Biscuits, which were sandwiches made with fresh, warm biscuits, country ham, and beer mustard. Surprisingly, they managed to pack an entire symphony of flavors into such a simple dish. the biscuits were crunchy on the top, and buttery and moist on the inside. The ham was sweet and salty, and the beer mustard was acidic and tangy. It took all of three minutes to devour our tasty little biscuits, and just as we were contemplating ordering a second helping, the sesame noodles arrived at our table.

     This dish was delightful. The rice noodles were thin and slightly chewy, which was complimented well by the crunch from the sour pickled kale and fried tofu. The chili oil added a lot of spice to the dish which was a surprisingly nice way of bringing the separate flavors from all of the ingredients together into one cohesive dish.

     Next to come was the rabbit and carrot. I loved the presentation of this dish, mostly because of the vibrant colors added by the paper-thin slices of watermelon radish and the elegant looking rack of rabbit-ribs. The rabbit was very tender, and seasoned well, and the carrots were thin and stringy with an excellent acidic-yet-sweet glaze. I never would have thought to pair rabbit with ranch, but the combination worked surprisingly well. The watermelon radishes- an ingredient that is completely under-utilized on most menus- added a refreshing crunch to the dish.
     After we finished the rabbit and carrot, we were starting to get pretty full, but after seeing how creative and unique the food at north is, we knew that we had to try more, and we decided to take up our waitresses previous offer to order more food. For our second order, we got the Burmese Style Chickpea And Pomelo Salad, and the thrice Fried Rice.

     First to come was the chickpea and pomelo salad. The chickpeas were fried, making them cruncy and salty. Another under-utilized ingredient which has found a home on the menu at north is pomelo. Pomelo is similar to a grapefruit, with a slight sweetness added to the bitter flavor. My favorite part of this salad was the dressing, which tasted almost like a citrusy peanut-sauce, making the salad slightly reminiscent of a deconstructed nim-chow.

     Just as we were starting to get full, the thrice fried rice arrived. These tasty little morsels were deep fried chunks of fried rice, with a spicy mayo sauce, cilantro and juliennes, pickled carrots. The rice had a hard, crunchy exterior, with a smooth, velvety interior. The house-made pickles added a delicious sour touch to the dish, and despite our already quenched appetites, we managed to finish every bite.
     After a huge meal, our check came to only $50 which brought our already impressive meal to a perfect end. If you're looking for a delightfully creative meal made with local, fresh ingredients, look no further. north (Yes, it's supposed to be lowercase) delivered one of the best restaurant experiences I've had in a while. I would highly recommend this restaurant to any foodies looking for a truly unique experience.