Grubsnitch

I have eaten here 2 times in the last 5 months or so. I wanted to be impressed but I can't say I was. The Chicken Gumbo was very good. The cornbread was delicious. But, both times the meats were over cooked.. though especially the 2nd visit I did say rare!! The service sweet and friendly. Hey, I have no need to go back here for many months. The restaurant is long and narrow.. just not a cozy feel to it. The portions are enormous. Personally I hate brinking home food but I did on both ocassions. It always makes me feel like I am going to one of those early bird specials in Florida and the leftovers will get eaten the next day for lunch.. Ech!! That can't be my culinary future! I would rather have modest portions of extraordinary food.

The cornbread that started the meal was delicious as were the collard greens but the fried chicken was subpar.

Evaluations of restaurants serving regional or ethnic cuisine tend to hinge on the "authenticity" of the food, but my impression of the NoNO Kitchen is that its Louisiana cuisine might suffer from a surfeit of authenticity, rather than a deficit. The greatest-hits-of-Cajun menu is executed competently but straightforwardly, without the flavor innovations and other niceties one would expect of a more ambitious neighborhood spot. Hush puppies and etouffee both seemed to use the same mildly spicy flavoring. The absolutely massive portions were generally presented unceremoniously, with scatterings of iceberg lettuce the only garnish, although the enormous half-rack of ribs came with tasty and attractive sides of green beans, carrots, and sweet-potato fries. The food at NoNO feels as if it were prepared in large quantities and served cafateria-style at a busy family restaurant, even though it's being served to a dining room that on weeknights rarely has more than a few full tables. There's nothing wrong with that, but I'm not sure there's really a place for it in this neighborhood, and I was a bit disappointed that this stretch of 7th will continue to lag behind 5th in dining options.
On the other hand, while the decorative window treatments and tall mirrors suggest an attempt to recreate the French Quarter, the somewhat incongruous flat-screen television behind the bar is a more accurate reflection of the unfussy food. The selection of beers, including two from Louisiana, was very nice, and the fried okra satisfyingly crispy. If only the bar were a little bigger, it could be a great place to watch a game.