"I am a fan of Noona's. I've been twice now and enjoyed the food both times. The concept is Italian (pizzas and pasta with sides , and it's named Noona's because that is the Korean word for older sister (owner Phil Han also of Dooby's and Sugarvale nearby paying tribute to his older sister Christina . Here's what I've tried: I've had and loved the SMASHED SUNCHOKES (crispy fried sunchokes with herbed yogurt, harissa honey mustard, toasted black cumin seeds, and lemon wedges over a bed of kale . Despite the fact that I don't feel like the bed of kale is incorporated into the dish (not even dressed or massaged totally raw and plain and I kind of wish it wasn't there, I love everything else about this dish! The KALE CAESAR is also really good (dinosaur kale, Caesar dressing, herbed brioche bread crumbs, and freshly grated Parmesan it's simple and just good. The GNOCCHI POMMODIRINI STRACCIATELLA (pan roasted cherry tomatoes, stracciatella, basil, balsamic reduction is pretty good but a little too sweet (even with the fennel sausage . Since the stracciatella and tomatoes are already sweet, I wish the balsamic reduction was a spicier or saltier sauce instead Calabrian chili oil maybe? But the texture of the gnocchi was good, and I liked the dish overall. I've had the SPEZIATA PIZZA both as thin crust and deep dish (Fridays only : mozzarella, ricotta, pepperoni, pickled serrano peppers, and red onion. It's delicious. The toppings are both creamy and spicy, and I'm happy with a white pizza myself! The deep dish is really special, but I thought it was good as a thin crust, too. The desserts get changed up, so I've had a BLUEBERRY ALMOND CAKE (good , a RED VELVET CAKE (blah, I've never understood why this is so many people's favorite it just tastes of cream cheese icing and nothing else , and a pint of Taharka ice cream. I think it's fun they support local Taharka, but I wish they did something with it. I love Taharka, but a whole pint of Taharka just straight of the freezer? Maybe for takeout if you want it anyway, but it just doesn't seem like a complete restaurant dessert to me. How about a scoop and some homemade magic shell or something? (I really wanted to try the Damn Good Pie a bruleed buttermilk tart with chocolate cookie crumble crust made by their sister restaurant Dooby's but they were sold out . They offer some wines (including some natural options , beers, and cocktails. The service is great (seriously, all the staff are so friendly . And the restaurant is nice inside. Okay, so I got overly critical and foodie in this review, pretending to be a food critic when I'm just a Yelper!. But that's because I really, really like Noona's. If I didn't really, really like it, I wouldn't be as bothered by things that I wish were just a tiny bit different! So don't take my fine tooth comb critique as a reason not to go! I really like the food! Definitely check it out. It's a great restaurant in Baltimore that doesn't get as much attention as some others (maybe because of its location in Midtown? ."
