April 20, 2007

Stylish Nomi raises the bar in Northville:
Eclectic menu has lots of hits and a few misses

BY EMILIANA SANDOVAL

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Downtown Northville, with its Victorian buildings and nice boutiques, is cute.

Nomi, on the other hand, is anything but cute.

The new restaurant on Main Street is sleek, modern and classy. It'd be right at home in Novi, Birmingham or even Chicago. And judging from the crowds, it's just what Northville needs.

Nomi -- the name stands for Northville, Michigan -- is owned by first-time restaurateurs Rachel Stern and Al Irish. Though it's at ground level, it feels like a loft, with tall windows along one wall. The burnt orange walls are balanced by a black ceiling and slate tile floor. Diaphanous curtains separate the cozy booths from one another, with shiny black chandeliers above the booth tables . In the center of the restaurant, which seats 155 people, is a rectangular blond wood bar with a shiny black top. Four flat-screen televisions are set above rows of backlit bottles. The effect is cool and effortless.

The executive chef is Jason Jones, who has worked at the Whitney, Etouffee and Motor City Grill. His vision is sophisticated American food with international influences. Mixologist Rico Miller created the cocktail menu. (Both menus come clamped to a silver clipboard that takes up too much table space, and you have to unclamp the pages to read them. Irksome.) Some things were bull's-eyes, and others were complete misses.

First, the drinks. Miller's imaginative concoctions have names like the Dark Prince, Tibetan Sunset and Tiger Lily. Many are made with fresh fruit, which means they might be slower coming to the table, but they're worth the wait. They're gorgeous, though they seemed a little weak for premium cocktails.

The food also was beautifully presented. The cured salmon, buttery ahi tuna and sweet yellowtail in the seafood tartare appetizer ($13) played nicely off one another. The artichoke pesto in the Mediterranean platter ($10) was gone in a flash, but the baba ghanoush was way too lemony.

There weren't even close to enough toast points for the seafood or enough pita for the Mediterranean platter, but our server offered to bring more before we had a chance to ask. That meant a lull during which we stared at the food waiting for more bread, and, later, annoyance at being charged $2 for it.

The chicken shumai spring roll ($8) was burned on the edges, and the calamari -- not enough to warrant the $10 price -- were fishy and chewy. The crunchy peppers and tomato chunks in the satisfying, slightly spicy white bean turkey chili ($6) put it somewhere between a white and a red chili, unexpected in a good way. The smooth butternut squash soup ($6) had the perfect amount of cinnamon and nutmeg. It was cool and sweet and almost could've been dessert.

The Caesar salad ($5) was drowning in dressing. We had better luck with the warm steak salad ($10), tender medium-rare strips of steak in a horseradish Dijon vinaigrette.

The dinner entrée menu is billed as small plates, meaning smaller portions, which didn't satiate the he-men in our group. Also, if you're a vegetarian, you're out of luck. All eight selections feature beef, seafood, lamb or chicken.

The Georgia peach salmon ($21) felt summery, with a topping of candied pecans and mango peach salsa, along with some heavenly garlic mashed potatoes. The surf and turf -- petit filet and langostino tail -- also was delightful ($24). The Szechuan tuna ($19), a sashimi-grade fillet seared and dusted with sesame seeds, was supposed to come with roasted Asian vegetables, but all we got were mixed bell peppers. Don't bother with the chicken fusilli ($10), chunks of chicken breast smothered in a bland garlic cream sauce. The chili and lime prawns were gigantic ($19) and fresh.

We preferred the simple, thick-crusted crème brulee ($5) and the classic tiramisu ($6) over the dessert won ton ($7), which was filled with bananas and peanut butter, then drizzled with chocolate and topped with strawberries, pineapple, kiwi and chocolate ice cream.

On all visits our server -- we had the same one -- was gracious, attentive and kept her cool, though she seemed to have too many tables. On weekends, there's live music, which can make for a very loud room. When the weather warms up there'll be outdoor dining. And that's always a good thing.

Contact EMILIANA SANDOVAL at 313-223-4474 or esandoval@freepress.com.

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