{"id":170,"date":"2009-06-04T18:47:09","date_gmt":"2009-06-05T00:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=170"},"modified":"2026-03-31T17:53:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T23:53:24","slug":"nodas-japanese-cuisine-rio-rancho-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=170","title":{"rendered":"Noda’s Japanese Cuisine – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Mrs.
The energetic Mrs Noda<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Note<\/strong><\/span>: On December 16, 2010, Noda’s Japanese Cuisine, a Rio Rancho institution for a dozen years, closed its doors.\u00a0 Owners Masayasu and Setsuko Noda have retired and will be relocating back to Japan.\u00a0 It was initially announced that their son, an accomplished chef, would be looking for a new home for the restaurant many consider the very best Japanese restaurant in the state. Nearly five years later, we’re still waiting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Noda’s may very well be the very best Japanese restaurant in New Mexico, an off-the-beaten-path treasure whose unassuming facade belies sophisticated and wonderful cuisine.\u00a0 Tucked away in Trinity Plaza, a nondescript shopping center, that facade is quickly dispelled when you walk in to a dimly lit dining room whose subtle, but romantic ambience and attentive, but not hovering wait service portend something special. <\/span>Noda’s has become so popular, in fact, that in 2006 it expanded and now occupies the entire building in which it has been housed from its humble beginnings. At one time, Noda’s shared space with other tenants.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cherry blossoms, soft lights, hanging Japanese lanterns and subtle blue toned walls provide a tranquil environment ameliorated by the faint tintinnabulation of the dozens of wind chimes given to the Nodas by their customers. Interspersed among the Japanese accoutrements are an occasional Kokopelli and even a Navajo Kachina.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Miso
Miso soup and salad<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can’t help but decelerate from the day’s maddening pace, even if you’re at Noda’s just for lunch. When not tied up in the kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Noda meet and greet all their customers and with enough visits may get to know you by name.<\/span><\/p>\n

An intriguing menu showcases authentic Japanese treasures prepared exceptionally well. The taste arsenal varies from sublimely sweet (as in a thick teriyaki sauce with a tangy taste and a subtle hint of ginger) to sushi for which you need a mouth lined with asbestos to consume. The teriyaki sauce isn’t quite syrupy thick, but it’s wholly unlike the runny sauce proffered at other restaurants. It’s a perfect complement to salmon, beef or chicken.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you love fried chicken, a must have is Noda’s crunchy chicken<\/em> seasoned with teriyaki. The chicken is crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. If ginger is your preference (I prefer Mary Ann), the ginger beef–thinly sliced beef saut\u00e9ed and seasoned with a thin ginger sauce–will please your palate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tuna
Tuna Tataki NJC Style<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Donburi is a specialty of the house at Noda’s. A general term for “bowl,” donburi is also the name of Japanese dishes in which a bowl of cooked rice is topped with other items. The spicy tuna donburi<\/em>, for example, might remind you of eating sushi in a bowl (thank you Bill Resnik for that line). The perky, spicy beef donburi<\/em> features a pow in every bite, making you grateful that the rice is cutting the heat of the beef somewhat.<\/span><\/p>\n

The photo below depicts spicy tuna and yellowtail donburi accompanied on the side by wasabi, the house soy sauce (not nearly as salty as the commercial brand) and ginger, the typical accompaniment for sushi. \u00a0As with sushi, the vinegared rice might be warm (as when served with anago) or cold (as when served with spicy tuna). \u00a0If you like your donburi even more incendiary than standard, ask for a side of the spicy mayonnaise. \u00a0It’s pure dynamite.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the most “sushi-like” donburi bowl is the\u00a0Anago Tempura Sushi\u00a0bowl. It starts off with a bowl of sushi rice which is topped with a savory water eel (Anago) sheathed in some of the best Tempura in New Mexico, green chile (also sheathed in Tempura), avocado, cucumber, green onion and flying fish roe. This mouth-watering concoction showcases the unique talents in the kitchen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Spicy
Spicy white tuna and bluefin donburi<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Plating at Noda’s is an eye-pleasing art form. Everything is where it should be for optimum harmony, balance and appearance, a sort of plate syzygy. The balance of color, texture and appearance makes diners give pause to reflect on how great everything looks before their taste buds confirm what their eyes already know.<\/span><\/p>\n

Order one of the daily specials, cod kara-age<\/em> for example, and you’ll be asked if you want the entree by itself or bento box style. \u00a0The bento box is a lacquered and embellished with beautiful and ornate flowers, but the real beauty is seen when you remove the lid and gaze upon the partitioned box and its apportioned treasures. \u00a0Tempura vegetables, rice, two California rolls, and pickled cucumbers fill their compartments, seemingly in an attendant role to the main entree. <\/span><\/p>\n

As purveyors of sushi, Noda’s may have no equal in New Mexico–in terms of taste, degree of heat and perfect preparedness of the rice–despite not having a traditional sushi bar.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Mr.
Mr. Noda delivers a boatload of sushi to our table<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mr. Noda also confirmed that the restaurant uses a blend of real wasabi and the doctored horseradish most restaurants use. You can tell the difference. Real wasabi has an earthy taste and won’t make your eyes water.<\/span><\/p>\n