FOOD

Noodles

15-17 Bolshoi Cherkassky Per., bldg. 1, (495) 623 5396, m. Kitai-Gorod, Lubyanka, www.kosherclub.ru
Open Mon.-Thu. and Sun., noon-midnight

This “Noodles” is no ramen shop: the kosher eatery is named after Robert de Niro’s character in “Once Upon a Time in America,” Sergio Leone’s opus about the rise of gangsters in Brooklyn’s Jewish ghetto. Noodles makes a decent entry into the small handful of eateries catering to the city’s Jewish community. While its food and décor don’t exactly transport diners to Flatbush, for Moscow they’re not half bad.

Noodles has mostly retained the stodgy interior design of the space’s previous tenant, Sobranie, but some black-and-white photographs of New York and De Niro provide a feeble American vibe. Muted TV monitors play “Once Upon a Time in America,” Woody Allen films and other New York Jew-themed fare. Watching Woody silently banter with Diane Keaton in “Manhattan” wasn’t quite enough to conjure up the essence of the diaspora, but it wasn’t unpleasant, either.

Russia’s chief rabbi Berl Lazar signs off on the restaurant’s compliance with Jewish dietary law. Since Noodles serves meat, the establishment is dairy-free, down to the vegetable cream in the coffee, and it’s closed on Friday and Saturday for Shabat. There’s a high Jewish presence — my friend was the only male customer not wearing a yarmulke — so it was somewhat disappointing to find that the only traditional Jewish dishes on the menu are the “Brooklyn appetizers” on the first page, which include gefilte fish and three types of hummus.

For starters we tried a delicious hummus topped with pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and ground lamb. Its only flaw was that it could’ve used more of the thin toasted bread slices provided for dipping. Gefilte fish, ground fish balls in fish-based gelatin, may not be a universal crowd pleaser to those who didn’t grow up eating them on holidays. But Noodles’ preparation was spot-on and came accompanied by two Russian-style servings of horseradish, one colored by beets.

© The Moscow News / Joy Neumeyer

Gefilte fish comes with two kinds of horseradish, one colored by beets

In addition to the eponymous noodles (served with cherry tomatoes, chicken or beef), the main menu offers standard European-American fare. Cold items include American-style salads with iceberg lettuce and meats such as roast beef; for hot mains there is a variety of fish and meats, including schnitzel and lamb chops.

We opted for the black cod smoked on alder chips, which was plump and tender, with the perfect amount of smoke. The slightly sweet soy sauce-based dressing wasn’t a show-stopper, but it paired nicely with the smoky fish and its tasty bed of carrots, asparagus and arugula. Oddly, the least impressive dish at Noodles turned out to be the noodles: they came sadly sauce-less, with only arugula, tomatoes and some over-salted pieces of beef to add flavor.

Service was plodding, but friendly, and at our waiter’s suggestion we sampled the chocolate truffle for dessert. It turned out to be chocolate mousse encased in a chocolate shell. The mousse was too sweet and the shell needed crunch, but the mango and raspberry sauces with blueberries helped us forget the mediocrity of the main event.

Noodles is stuck in a bit of an identity crisis. It’s a Jewish restaurant with few Jewish dishes; a 1920s Brooklyn concept with as much Brooklyn spirit as matzo has yeast. But if Noodles gets a little more daring with its menu and offers more traditional dishes (matzo ball soup, anyone?), it could be a real draw for Jews and goys alike.

Schyot, please!*

Hummus with lamb 350

Gefilte fish 380

Beef noodles 450

Smoked black cod 970

Chocolate truffle 380

*All prices are in roubles