38 Henry St., Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo
718-625-3737

To anyone with a modicum of pasta-cooking knowhow, the thought of eating pasta at a restaurant by this name will no doubt seem repellent, that is until they get to know the place. I was hoping to find some clues to explain its baffling name amongst Noodle Pudding’s menu items or within the space itself, but my quest turned up empty.  Located on the border of Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo, it is a convenient walk from Dumbo’s premiere venue for avant-garde performaces, St. Ann’s Warehouse. Theater or no theater, Noodle Pudding is highly worth recommending.

Puntarelle (Italian chicory) with anchovy dressing

A group of friends and I recently tried it after seeing the Wooster Group’s fabulously wild take on the epic love story of Dido and Aeneas, La Didone at St. Ann’s. I found the opera highly amusing and had to submit to a few outbursts of laughter especially during the boar hunt scene. I’m quite confident that those who have seen the opera will have no trouble recalling the scene.

We started our dinner with a salad course. I was delighted to see that they had the puntarelle –which are seasonal in spring, but not commonly found in New York, on the menu. It blinded me to all salad options on the menu and my excitement caused a few of my table companions to follow suit. The puntarelle were fresh, mildly bitter and the lemon-vinaigrette dressing with light anchovy paste worked well with it. While I would have preferred to more chicory shoots from the heart of the chicory, the salad was truly a delectable surprise. The golden beet salad that one of my friends ordered was also deliciously noteworthy for taste and the quality of its ingredients.

For my main course, I ordered the pappardelle alla boscaiola. It was a humungous portion served in an oval platter. The pappardelle tasted homemade and were densly covered with oyster and portobello mushrooms. The mushrooms were meaty and deliciously infused the pasta with their gorgeous flavors and aromas. Unfortunately, I’m unable to illustrate it with an image–my photo came out overexposed. However, I will illustrate a couple of the other main courses that were enjoyed at our table–I insisted on sampling them all.

Spinach pappardelle with lamb ragu

The spinach pappardelle with lamb ragu were excellent. The pappardelle were tender but not overcooked and the shredded lamb was light and fragrant and delicately flavored in a white wine sauce. I didn’t manage to get a shot before my friend sprinkled lavish amounts of grated Parmiggiano Reggiano on it.

The spaghettini al pomodoro were made a deliciously sweet plum tomatoes. The sauce was exuberantly fresh and there was not a hint of acidity.

Risotto with shrimp and peas

The risotto special was made with shrimp and peas.  The shrimp were fresh and the texture had a good snap-factor. The fresh snow-peas did more than add color, they bestowed a delicate sweetness to the dish. All in all the flavors harmonized beautifully and the rice was a high-grade Arborio. The only downside to this dish, was that the rice was a touch overcooked. 

Boysenberry Tart

We enjoyed it all with a $30 bottle of Pinot Grigio from Friuli–less expensive options were available but the overwhelming consensus was for the Pinot Grigio we ordered.

By the end of this course–all of the main course portions were uniformly generous–dessert had to be negotiated. We settled on espressos a few bites each of the boysenberry tart. The berries were fresh and undisappointingly sweet and tart. They were set on a layer of Italian custard cream, which in turn rested on a crust that had a nice consistency and was good to its very last crumb. 

Noodle Pudding is definitely a place that warrants repeat visits. And if I were a neighborhood local, I’d definitely make it one of my regular spots.  The food is tasty, well-executed, simple and unpretentious. The service is experienced, attentive and pleasantly informal. All in all it’s a place to go to for a not very elaborate, but fabulous-tasting meal at cut-rate prices. 

The only downsides are it’s a cash-only restaurant and it does not take reservations. Fortunately, it has a decent bar area for waiting–as you can imagine this place is consistently packed.

Oh and be sure to take down the street address before heading out there. There is no sign on the outside. Perhaps it’s because Noodle Pudding doesn’t need struggle to create a “insider-type” following? In any event, it’s well-deserved.

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