photo/Ryan Carey, courtesy Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue
Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue
476 Stevens Ave., Portland
536-1395
noblepizzaandbbq.com
Writing these reviews is a side hustle for me. My full-time job is getting young folks ready to enter the wild world of the restaurant industry. Some — maybe even many — aspire to run their own place one day, and rather than talk them out of it (as I probably would have done just five years ago), I show them the steps necessary to make their business successful.
Besides having a ton of money in the bank to start, my next-best piece of advice is this: Get to know your clientele. Knowing what group of people want what kind of food at which time of day or night is key.
Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue has answered all those questions correctly. And yes, you read that correctly: pizza and barbecue. Seems like an unlikely combo if you don’t know Deering Center, whose residents first lost Siano’s pizzeria and then Elsmere BBQ in the corner building Noble now occupies. Noble knows its neighborhood.
Need to grab a quick pre-dinner bite with the young ones after soccer? Feed those hungry faces one of the many items on the kids’ menu. A meatloaf cheeseburger, mac ’n’ cheese, chicken tenders or pasta with house red sauce are all only $7. I defy you to find a cheaper and better quality kid’s meal than this.
Taking your boomer folks out? First you’ll need one of Noble’s many specialty cocktails to set the mood, and with the most expensive one priced at $13, you could even have two. Craving a frosty tap beer after work? They have a bar for that.
While there, try the Smoked & Fried Wings ($16); they’re crispy on the outside and fall-off-the-bone tender within. Would a salad make you feel healthier? Go for the Classic Caesar ($14) with marinated anchovies, or go big with the Proper Cobb Salad ($14) and indulge in the bacon, cheese and fried onions. Or get into full glutton-mode and add brisket or pastrami ($8), chicken or pork ($6), because you deserve it.
Put the aforementioned meats between a bun (glutinous or otherwise) and you’ve got four of Noble’s six sandwiches. The others are the adult-sized version of the aforementioned Meatloaf Cheeseburger ($17) with cheddar, bacon jam and truffle ketchup, and Roasted Spaghetti Squash ($14) with fried pickles, tomato compote, pimento cheese, apple citrus slaw and barbecue sauce.
On my most recent visit, our party paired our sandos with some hella tasty Pimento Mac n’ Cheese ($7), Grandma’s Beans ($7) and Griddled Corn Muffins ($4). The sides were plenty enough for a meal, but being in glutton-mode, we also ordered pizza. Big ol’ pizzas, too! The 16-inch, homemade thin crusts are perfectly charred on the edge and just floppy enough to fold for a New York–style bite. We tried the Noble Cheese Pizza ($22) with that house red sauce and parmesan, and the Murder Hornet ($27), with the now ubiquitous hot-honey-and-pepperoni combination. Trendy or not, I’m here for it.
We didn’t get to try that day’s dessert or one of Noble’s milkshakes on account of being uncomfortably full and going home with several doggy bags, but there will be many next times. Owner Ryan Carey and his growing family live in the neighborhood and have kids at the elementary school down the street. He’s been part of the Maine catering scene for decades and genuinely cares about his product and customers. During our visit, he left the kitchen and circled the dining room, shaking folks’ hands and asking how everything was. In this ever-more impersonal and corporatized age, that’s another thing his customers appreciate.
Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue is open Tues.-Sat. from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. for dine-in, takeout and delivery. No reservations accepted.
