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| - Noodles & Company has long been one of my favorite "not quite fast" food chains. I still have very fond memories of visiting the State St. location (aka: the SECOND ever Noodles!) while visiting Madison visiting in high school and throughout college as a student here...when it was pretty new...because I'm old. ;) I love that some of their staples have been there forever - Wisconsin Mac and Cheese and Mushroom Stroganoff are two old standbys for me, and I'm also loving how much the Noodles menu has expanded over the years. I like that now meat is an option that you can choose and pay extra for, instead of the past when I would have to order a meaty dish and ask for it without meat. I also love that they label their vegetarian items on their menu. I've learned the hard way that many, many...MANY times when you order something you think is a vegetarian item it is actually made with with a meat base. I also think their prices, while definitely not cheap, are reasonable, especially when you consider how much pasta you get in the big bowls.
I was thrilled when another Noodles location (how many are there in Madison now?!) opened up even closer to me in Middleton. This is a great family friendly option for when we are brave enough to take our entire brood out for dinner. My six year-old daughter and I visited for the first time on a weeknight at about six p.m. I want to make sure that my review reflects this particular location, rather than the chain as a whole. Here are my thoughts:
1. The layout is nice. The decor is nice. I love that the dining room is broken up into to sections and there is a little area in the back that is cut off a bit from the main dining room. This was perfect for the poor family with the screaming toddler, which happened to not be my family, for once! There are tables, booths (or at least one in the back) and some counter seating. A nice variety.
2. The staff was exceptionally friendly, including both the girl who took our order and the one who brought our food. They were accommodating when I requested my food without a certain ingredient. The girl who brought the food did forget to take our table number, but no big deal.
3. I was so, so happy to see that Noodles now offers a legitimate "kid's meal" where you get some noodles, two sides, and a drink for five dollars. My daughter chose the Mac and Cheese, broccoli, and a "kid krispie" which is just a small version of their totally delicious Rice Krispie treats. She ate it all and enjoyed it all. Her only complaint was that the food was "just warm...not really hot." I have mixed feelings - I know they are catering to kids and don't want them to burn their mouths, but I also know that eating cold broccoli is not so yummy.
4. They have one of those crazy cool soda machines that lets you make any random, awesome, maybe nasty combination of soda ever. I used the cup from my daughter's kid's meal and got her an Izze soda, so I felt especially cool with my little tiny cup. ;)
5. My food (the Penne Rosa) tasted great and was, indeed, hot. My one itty, bitty, tiny complaint is that when they brought the food, there was sauce and cheese all over the bowl (inside - sides above where the pasta sat, not the outside...you can see it in the photo). I know, you are rolling your eyes reading this, but honestly...if Noodles wants to present itself as a "nicer" dinner option, they need to have a good presentation, and a messy bowl just don't convey that image. Also, can someone from Noodles confirm this for me...do you put a random piece of contrasting pasta in every pasta dish, because every SINGLE time I eat at Noodles I always get one (just one) random "other" pasta. This time it was a corkscrew in my penne. My daughter had fun trying to figure out how it got all curled up that way. ;)
6. Finally, one more little area for improvement - when we sat down, the table next to us had two empty soda bottles on it. When we left, the table next to us had the same two empty soda bottles on it. The restaurant wasn't packed and the table on the other side of us was bussed while we were dining. Just keep you eyes open a little more.
I think I am going to love having this Noodles & Company close...
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