Date: 9/10-11/2021
Can I be hyperbolic to start this out? OK here goes. I think I just went to the best restaurant in Roseville. Alright, let’s pack it up. My job here is done. WOW. This is what this has been all about. Well, let me take a step back. Mostly what this blog was aiming for was to find those under-appreciated hole-in-the-wall joints that were doing something special amid a sea of chain restaurants and shine a light on them, at least as much as one guy with a free WordPress website and a camera could. Along the way as I’ve experienced more and more varied cuisine, levels of service, atmosphere and culinary display it’s subconsciously become a search for the type of place that could shine bright well beyond Roseville and be worthy of of a must-visit list for visitors. This weekend I’ve found a new entry for this list.
105 Noshery. Seems this place opened not long after I went on my semi-permeant break in 2016 (at least that’s when they created their Facebook page). Incredibly, this place is within walking distance of me and yet I’ve been completely oblivious of it’s existence. I knew after a quick scan of the menu a little while ago that this needed the double treatment – breakfast + lunch/dinner. Originally I was going to kick off the re-launch with this one but the timing didn’t quite work out. I made a point to drive by here to take a peek on my way to Goose Port last week and the place was jammin’, both inside and out. They have a built-in covered patio area in addition to another outdoor area off to the right, coined the Nosh Club, featuring live music and serving the full menu on a first-come basis.
For my introduction to the Noshery I stopped by for an early dinner on Friday, arriving at about 4. It was pretty quiet but there were a dozen or so parties seated inside and on the main patio. I didn’t take an in-person at the Nosh Club tonight but based on what my drone captured when I left it was jam-packed by 6.
I was greeted as soon as I stepped inside. Although I had made a reservation earlier in the day, just in case, it was clearly not needed at this time and I chose to sit at the end of the bar. From here I had a nice view of the smallish dining room, the bar area and into the open kitchen. My Bartender, Sara, hooked me up with their large menu and a draught beer list immediately.
This menu is kind of intense. It kind of gave me Cheesecake Factory vibes, minus the tacky advertisements, with it’s 12 pages. I had spent quite a bit of time looking at both the Tue-Fri and the Sat-Sun menus this week. As far as I can tell the main difference is a much reduced breakfast/brunch offering during the week. Some pages are in a different order as well, but otherwise they are the same.
Menu Links (Week of 9.6.2021):
* Tues-Fri Menu
* Sat-Sun Menu
The menu is relatively straightforward. It does have a couple little oddities that tripped me up as I first read it though, such as these two descriptions of what comes with the omelets vs 2 egg dishes. I had to read them back and forth a couple times. They basically say the exact same thing, just worded a bit differently. It’s just weird to see these right next to each other.
Another thing that tripped me up was the heading that read “YOU MIGHT LIKE THE ITEMS BELOW, WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES 4…”. I forgot to ask if this meant these items were only available after 4, or something like that. If this is an idiom I’m not familiar with it. Google wasn’t much of a help other than perhaps suggesting it was a reference to Tea Time (they do have a decent selection of teas but this was not that section). But enough of this palaver, let’s get to the food.
I started with a Monkey Knife Fight Pale Ale from Tower Brewing (Originally a Rubicon Brewery beer, Tower purchased the recipe some time ago. 5.6%)($5 [happy hour pricing = -$1]. I also ordered the Cast Iron Skillet Maple Bourbon Pork Belly Brunt Ends with Toast Points ($13). I relaxed and sipped my beer and watched as the bar and kitchen activity slowly ramped up for the night and more staff came on duty. The dining room gradually filled up and Sara was busy making drinks and answering phone orders like a pro until she got some backup in a barback-in-training and the GM, Justine (who wrote the cocktail menu according to an overheard conversation).
My burnt ends skillet was out in a little over ten minutes. It was about a 6-8″ skillet stuffed with with incredibly tender pork, with a nice gradient of charred to non-charred pieces. These were super flavorful and went great on or off the toast points. I’ve never met a pork belly dish I didn’t love and this is no exception. I learned my lesson from Goose Port and called it at about 60% complete on this one to leave room for my entree.
Around this time one of the owners, Randy, popped by to see how everything was going. Very nice guy. He was around for the rest of the night and was regularly making his way around mingling with the patrons and keeping an eye on things.
Next up I got a Jetronic Haze by Red Bus Brewing out of Folsom (New England IPA, 6.1%)($6) and ordered some tacos. One of the chefs (THE chef? He was wearing a different shirt than the rest in the kitchen) stopped by with the nights special, a sea bass dish that looked delicious, to show the bar staff.
My tacos came in about 15 minutes. These are the Blackened Catfish Tacos (Sour Cream, Guacamole, 105 Salsa and Birria De Res Broth)($21). They come on doubled up corn tortillas with a light slaw.
These were outstanding. The fish was nicely seasoned and charred just right while being almost melt-in-your-mouth tender. I gave the Birria De Res Broth a sniff and a taste and got a bunch of cinnamon right off the bat. I ended up using a bunch of this sauce, which also packed a bit of heat with it, and it went fantastically with the fish.
Nearing Totally-Stuffed territory, I couldn’t leave yet without trying one of their dessert cocktails. They all sounded really good, but I settled on the SPCA Float (CAS 1854 Vodka, Kahlua, Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, BJ’s Handcrafted Root Beer, Straus Chocolate Mousse [made with Straus Heavy Whipping Cream] Garnished Bittersweet Chocolate)($15). They donate $1 to the Placer SPCA with each order of this float. After a quick check on the ingredients I was told they needed to whip up the mousse. I was happy to wait on this. Not too much later Justine returned from the kitchen with a container and put this drink together, topping it with a few scoops of the mousse.
I’ve never ordered anything like this before. It was a ridiculously tasty dessert that was like a rich, chocolatey root beer float with just a hint of alcohol to it. Strange but amazing. I appreciated how consistent it was from top to bottom. Not like some drinks where all the alcohol is at the top or bottom and you can taste a clear difference sipping straight from the glass or through a straw. This was a fine end to a great visit.
But wait! Saturday morning I had to come back to check out their breakfast options. I was joined by a friend and we sat out on the patio, next to the water feature that wraps around the front. Kevin served us and was on top of things throughout our stay with the occational help of another whose name I did not catch.
We got started with a tasty cup of coffee from Vaneli’s Roastery out of Rocklin. I liked the oddly shaped saucers these came on. Although I had pre-selected a starter and main dish for breakfast yesterday, I changed both at the last moment. On a recommendation from Sara the night before, we got the shrimp & grits to start (Cajun Shrimp, Grits with Maple Bourbon Pork Belly Burnt Ends and a Poached Egg in Cast Iron Skillet with Toast Points)($15).
It was nice to get some bites of the delicious pork belly once more. This was great. The grits were flavorful on their own and needed nothing additional. The egg was poached perfectly and the shrimp had a light Cajun spiced kick. Although I really wanted to try the skillet cinnamon roll, I was very satisfied with this recommendation and don’t regret checking it out at all.
For our mains, my friend ordered an omelet, the Brie, Parmesan Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Swiss Cheese, Mushrooms and Avocado ($16), which comes with a small salad, choice of home fries, hash browns, sliced tomatoes or fried green tomatoes. As well as choice of sourdough, whole wheat, rye toast, daily biscuit, or Texas toast. I had a bite of this and it was cheesy and packed with mushrooms and avocado.
I ultimately went with the Belgium Waffle [We proudly pour warm pure Dark Amber Vermont Hills Grade A Maple syrup]($11) instead of the Biscuit Slider Flight I had originally picked out. I have been seriously missing my favorite waffle from Four Sisters Cafe which remains closed due to… *gestures broadly at everything*. (update: 4 Sisters appears to be getting ready to re-open, yay!) This was probably my only misstep here. Let me say this, it was a fine waffle and honestly up there with the best of them. I just don’t think anything holds a candle to the Four Sister’s waffle, which is simply on another plane of existence. The jam this came with was outstanding though!
I wanted to give this place six out of five but I got nervous about tearing a hole in the fabric of spacetime; A perfect five will have to suffice ;). I’ll certainly be back.
Eating Through Roseville 
Thanks for researching all the great restaurants in Roseville! My husband and I have been following your blog since shortly after we moved here in 2011.