First it was the burger bars. Then it was the self-serve fro-yo shops (Seriously: can we get a moratorium on those already?). Now it looks like Boca Raton might be perched on the edge of an influx of noodle bars. "Influx" is an exaggeration, of course, given that Kin Noodle Bar at 200 S. Federal Highway is only the second such restaurant to open in the area in several months, but its proximity to Kapow! Noodle Bar can't be ignored. An analysis of the menu, however, reveals fewer similarities than suggested by the "noodle bar" qualifier.
Kin Noodle Bar, which opened this week in the spot formerly occupied by the short-lived Boca Burger Bar (and the somewhat longer-lived Lodge Beer and Grill), is focused heavily on noodles with more than twenty noodle dishes on the menu, including ramen soups and specialties like the "PB noodle" with rice noodles, veggies, meat, and a peanut sauce.
Dinner entrees are in the $10.95 to $19.95 range with most around the $13 to $14 mark. Lunch knocks a few bucks off most items. And while there are lots of appetizers listed -- gyoza, edamame, egg rolls, etc. -- there doesn't seem to be nearly the focus on the kinds of offbeat small plates for which Kapow! is known.
Kin Noodle Bar is open for lunch 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Dinner is 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Takeout and delivery are available. Call 561-361-8777.
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