Noodles of a Different Caliber

Unbeknownst to those who consider Swish the best "Asian" restaurant in town, the various genres of Japanese cooked food-ramen, yakitori, and yes, even tempura-are not merely pre-sushi appetizers but art forms unto themselves, each worthy of its own gastronomic temple. Tokyoites take yakitori so seriously that a certain smokey alley way in Shinjuku where one's options are entirely limited to grilled skewers and Sapporo has been affectionately termed 'Piss Alley'. Because you might have trouble convincing all of your friends who want their pad thai with a side of tempura to eat soba noodles on a given night, perhaps consider venturing downtown alone and taking a seat at the bar of Soba Koh.

The streamlined, airy restaurant appeared somewhat quiet on a recent Friday evening but this had less to do with empty tables and more to do with the slightly awkwardly shaped space-a perfect square-which accomodates only a single row of tables along one wall and a bar en face.

While deciding whether the weather outside warrants hot or cold noodles, choose from the carefully edited selection of sakes and the tiny appetizer plates. The broccolli rabe, though surrounded by a moat of lovely ponzu-esque sauce, was not much more than a wee tangle of weeds. A better choice might be the Green Tofu: two cubes of homemade organic tofu spashed with a bright basil sauce and topped with a sliver of those deceptive japenese green peppers that resemble jalepenos but aren't remotely spicey. If you're itching to get on to the buckwheat there are many permuations on offer-soba gnocchi, which were surprisingly light, and tasty agesoba, fried soba noodles. Also worth considering is the tempura of thinly sliced delicate autumn mushrooms, which provided a delectable balance of chrunchiness and chewiness.

But on to the plat principale: the organic, hand-cut, speckled soba noodles. Soba noodels are about the size and shape of linguine but are made from buckwheat and so boast a nutty, earthy flavor that takes the cake at this time of year. Soba Koh offers a myriad of toppings for your swirl of noodles, including unctuous duck and eggplant, fried tofu and scallions, or yam and quail egg. The uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe) and shiso leaf cold soba tasted of the sea in the best possible way. The soft-shell crab hot soba was also particularly impressive -the noodles came with a whole sprawling, spidery crab crisped to perfection.

However utterly satisfied you feel at this point, do not rise from the table without sampling one of Soba Koh's desserts, which are inventive yet appropriately restrained. Both the green tea mousse and the black sesame pudding are served with tiny wooden spoons that seem to make the desserts last forever. This is a good thing, as the mousse is intensly smooth and soothing, while the pudding-which is an austere shade of dark grey-is ever pungent. Each is topped with squirt of whipped cream. Soba Koh is the ideal place to introduce one's self-or one's friends-to the experience artisanal soba, a place that you are likely to return to repeatedly as winter winds us around her unweildly chopstick.

• 309 East 5th St. between First and Second Ave. • (212) 254-2244 • dinner, Tue-Sun, 5:30 to 10:45 p.m.; Brunch, Sat and Sun, Noon to 3:00 p.m. • Avg. meal $20 •