As Betty said, we decided to give NoPa a try on Friday evening. My first thought/fear when we got there was that its location would encourage it to lower its standards to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Unfortunately, upon seeing that one of its only eight taps dedicated to Bud Light, my fear was confirmed. However, to try and somehow elevate the thought of drinking Bud Light with brasserie faire, they charge the exact same amount for it as you would pay for every other beer on the menu, including some decent imports (except one, the domestic Goose Island Matilda XXX, which they charge $14 for and were out of, undoubtedly because there is always a certain segment that will buy the most expensive beer because it is the most expensive).
With that said, I decided to momentarily block the beers from my mind and go with one of NoPa's signature cocktails, the "800 F & Tonic," with house-made tonic.
Now, making your own tonic is mildly impressive, so I was hoping for something tasty. Unfortunately, in this case, "house-made" means "flat."
At this point, it may sound like I had a horrible time at NoPa. That is not true. I loved the rosemary rolls and butter that were brought out fairly quickly. I also really liked the fried chicked and duck confit. The smoked salmon croquettes indeed tasted more like dill mashed potato croquettes, but I like that. I just wouldn't pay for them expecting an actual salmon flavor.
I had a real hard time with the octopus. See, I LOVE olives of any kind. I can eat them day and night. To my surprise, that doesn't mean I necessarily like an olive reduction. This poor octopus, though well cooked, was swimming in an inky, briny sea of too much of a good thing. I found myself wanting to ask the bartender to rinse them all off and bring them back to me so I could actually taste the octopus and delay the ruining of my pallette with all the salt that was missing from the fried chicken...and then some.
Dessert was awesome. I will have to disagree with Betty on her issues with the two ice creams that came with our selections. I thought they complimented each dish well and stayed true to what they advertised. By the time we had dessert though, I had eaten the majority of the octopus, so my sense of taste could have very well been tainted.
Overall, seeing as how NoPa is new, I'd give it another chance, though not for a while. It needs to figure out what crowd it wants to cater to and stick with it. Also, it needs some time to work out its flavors. I would have had no idea NoPa was the product of the owner of Rasika. I have to hope that they are able to figure themselves out and provide their desired experience, given a little more time. There were so many good things about our experience, that it would be a shame if we couldn't come to rely on NoPa in the future.