Why I celebrated a birthday at this KC restaurant before Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift
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My favorite way to celebrate special occasions is treating myself and those closest to me to a fabulous meal. I love carefully choosing an outfit and pouring over sample menus before making a reservation.
As someone with a mid-January birthday, I am often craving a meal that is fresh with complex flavors to balance out the rich holiday meals from the month before. In recent years, that’s meant sushi.
Luckily for me, Kansas City’s sushi scene is growing. The area’s first omakase restaurant, Sushi Kodawari, opened earlier this year. Kata Nori, a handroll bar in the Crossroads, and Nōka, a Japanese farmhouse restaurant, both opened in 2023.
After my friends gave Nōka rave reviews throughout its first year at 334 E. 31st St. in Martini Corner, the restaurant by chef-owner Amante Domingo quickly became the obvious choice for my birthday celebration last year. Little did I know that a few months later Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift would reportedly have the same idea.
Nōka, which is Japanese for farmer, is a tribute to Domingo’s late father, who owned an organic farm in St. Joseph. His influence can be seen and felt throughout the restaurant, from the wood from the farm that adorns the dining room to the menu, which changes regularly to reflect what is fresh and in season.
My favorite way to dine at Nōka is to choose a few items from each section of the menu and share.
On a recent visit, I started with the dry-aged salmon nigiri ($13 for two pieces). Each dollop of sushi rice is carefully topped with a generous slice of fish with a rich color and subtle, smoky flavor from the dry-aging process, which pairs beautifully with brightness from crème fraîche and a lemon and harissa spice.
Kansas City diners might be familiar with dry-aged beef programs at steakhouses. Chef Domingo took that concept and, like many dishes on the menu, put a Japanese twist on it by dry-aging fish. Diners can see the dry-aging cabinet along with a fermentation area tucked away behind the sushi counter.
“I’ve always been interested in fermentation and dry aging and what time really does to food,” Domingo said. “A theory that I’ve been learning is that fresh isn’t best, and that’s a thing that people don’t know about in the Midwest, that the longer things are properly stored, the more characteristics they build.”
Staying with the fermentation theme, I chose the edamame toast ($16). The bread itself is a kimchi sourdough that has a delightful tang. Kimchi is a Korean dish that is created by fermenting cabbage and other vegetables in a mix of fish sauce, sugar and spices, including gochugaru, a Korean red pepper flake that gives the dish its signature red hue. To make the sourdough, Domingo said he takes the juice from the kimchi and incorporates it into the dough. As a result, the bread has a familiar, lingering, light kick and is topped with lightly toasted edamame.
I am a sucker for scallops on a menu, and at $28, they are one of the more affordable entrees at Nōka right now. The scallops are yakitori grilled and served with wonderfully chewy wheat noodles and bok choy in a miso cream sauce topped with umami oil.
I chose the kung pao Brussels sprouts ($12) to pair with the scallops as a tribute to my own father, who has ordered kung pao chicken at Chinese restaurants for as long as I can remember. Brussels are dense vegetables, so the kick of kung pao sauce, char from the fire and crunch from the cashew furikake topping were welcomed — especially alongside the creamy pasta.
For my meals at Nōka I tend to seek out flavors and experiences that feel unique and sometimes unfamiliar. But chef Domingo knows that he is creating special experiences for diners with all different preferences.
“You need to relate to your clientele and understand that maybe they’re trying sushi for the first time or sashimi for the first time — it’s not like in New York or LA or Chicago, where people have been eating it all the time,” Domingo said. “I always want to make approachable food at the dinner table.”
The wagyu burger ($18), served on a sesame brioche bun; wine-braised porcini ribeye ($42) and nightmarket chicken wings ($15) are options that are likely to feel familiar, but elevated, for diners who may not be as interested in seafood or sushi.
A meal at Nōka is a treat and that can come at a higher-end price point, but Domingo wants the food and experience to remain accessible to Kansas Citians who are not professional athletes or celebrities.
“We’re ever-changing and adjusting to our market — we are never going to try and be something that we are not,” Domingo said. We’re always gonna authentically be ourselves, regardless of what movie stars or athletes walk through the door.”
The current menu includes nine happy hour dishes that are half-off for the entire dinner service on Tuesdays, and Thursdays are half-off on sushi.
As for me, my birthday is coming up again soon — and there’s a strong possibility that you’ll find me back at Nōka enjoying more salmon nigiri for the occasion.
