# Noon Midtown Review

- Link: https://exclusiveaccess.net/noon-midtown-review/
- Published: 2010-12-07T13:39:03-05:00
- Author: EAN

# Noon Midtown

## Gourmet sandwiches and chic design

by Jennifer Zyman

The culinary industry is full of career changers. But how often do you hear about
someone going back into the kitchen after becoming an attorney? Meet Katie Birmingham,
chef/owner of Noon Midtown (1080 Peachtree St., 404-496-4891, www.noonmidtown.com).
After seven years in the kitchens of high-profile Atlanta restaurants such as Bacchanalia
and Seeger’s, Birmingham started practicing law. But her passion to return to 
the industry was rekindled when she and her husband encountered restaurants selling
simple sandwiches made with premium ingredients during their honeymoon in Italy.
Birmingham recognized the lack of such spots in Midtown and set out to build a place
of her own inspired by her trip. Two years later, Noon Midtown opened its doors.

Noon surprises with its up-market industrial finishes married with earthy woods 
in a space flooded with natural light. And nifty touches like the brushed metal 
letters of the alphabet you take to your table after ordering at the counter and
commercial cookie sheets in lieu of plates speak to Birmingham’s attention to 
detail.

Noon’s decision to serve only breakfast and lunch seems to be working in its favor
judging by how packed the surprisingly large dining room has been. The list of breakfast
items is small, but the sight of Allan Benton’s lauded smoked country bacon in
a scrambled egg breakfast sandwich stacked with Monterey Jack cheese and scallion
pesto is all the proof you need that Birmingham knows what discerning Atlantans 
love.

Sandwiches — both “cool” and “warm” — dominate the lunch menu, although
a handful of salads, soups and sides are also available. Pole-caught tuna salad 
is not your average mayo, celery and canned tuna concoction. Instead, the diced 
pieces of potato, chopped Nicoise olives, perfectly crunchy greens beans, red onion,
olive oil and lemon are more of a deconstructed Nicoise salad on soft country bread.
But you can get the bread slathered with the restaurant’s homemade mayo if you
miss the creaminess. The Prosciutto Baguette borrows a bit of inspiration from the
classic sandwiches sold in France. The prosciutto, butter and Parmesan are a lovely
combination, but the baguette is a little too rough on the roof of the mouth and
the interior lacks the requisite airiness.

Selections from the warm section are hit or miss. The pastrami on dark rye with 
Swiss cheese and mustard is too fatty and greasy — especially when taken to go.
And the meatloaf sandwich loaded with Benton’s bacon, Tillamook cheddar and tomato
jam might be a bit on the sweet side for some people’s tastes. But the “panino”
creations are consistently pleasing. The creamy earthiness of roasted eggplant against
fresh goat cheese, sun-dried tomato pesto and balsamic glaze is perfectly juxtaposed
against the crackly pieces of pressed ciabatta speckled with char. The dense chewiness
of the mozzarella, roasted red peppers and basil pesto in the Peperonata Panino 
has a sinful pizza-like quality without the guilt.

The chilled side salads are a little lackluster and limp, but the store stocks an
impressive wall of gourmet chips. And a cup of Noon’s ever-changing soup of the
day — especially the bright tomato with a hint of fresh tarragon — is a pleasant
accompaniment to the sandwiches on even the hottest of days. The selection of beverages
is anything but an afterthought; the restaurant serves an exhaustive list of choices
from coffee drinks made with Counter Culture coffee to Rishi organic teas to Boylanâ
€™s sodas to Arden’s Garden juices.

The only downside to Noon is that a meal can get little costly if you have a large
appetite. But a few extra dollars is chump change for such quality and passion in
a sea of middling Midtown lunch options.