The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 4B
restaurant r e v i e w
NOODLES & Co. ARRIVES IN A2
CHAIN RESTAURANT DEBUTS DOWNTOWN WITH LOTS OF HYPE, GOOD SERVICE, SO-SO TASTE
By Stephanie Canning and Nicole Kulwicki
For the Daily "
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The Michigan Daily
the I rant
Gymmies: Sockin' it
to you all year long
Daily Arts Mix Tape NOSEREDUCTION
now
By Megan Jacobs
Daily Arts Writer
n Sept. 16, Noodles & Co. opened to University stu-
dents who have been eagerly awaiting its arrival.
Students no longer have to take the bus to Arborland
in order to enjoy their favorite Noodles & Co. dishes. The res-
taurant is conveniently located on State Street, making it eas-
ily accessible from most places on campus. After hearing rave
reviews from countless students, we decided to skip dinner
in the dining hall to go and see what all the hype was about.
ALEXANDER DZIADOSZ/DAILY
RIGHT: Fast service and an elaborate
ambiance enhances Noodles &
Co.'s dining experience.
BELOW: Menu options are sometimes hit-or-
miss at Noodles. Though the restaurant tries
to appeal to a diverse community with its carb-
conscious meals and new additions, certain
foods lacked the anticipated flavor punch.
We walked into Noodles around
7:00 on a Saturday evening, the
usual dining hour, and were sur-
prised to find a relatively unoc-
cupied restaurant. We looked over
the fairly diverse menu and tried
to decide whether we were in the
mood for Noodle Stir-Fry or Home-
Style Mac & Cheese. Unfortunately,
there was no one else in line except
for one other diner who couldn't
seem to make up her mind either.
After being asked for the third
time if we were ready to order, we
Luckily, the decor of the restau-
rant distracted us and we soon for-
got about our sorry seating situation.
The photographs hanging on the
wall captured various marketplaces
around the world, which, according
to Gould, reflect Noodles & Co.'s
appreciation for "global culinary
traditions." The room was vibrant,
painted with eye-catching colors,
which we were told represented the
"spicy and savory flavors" in the
various Noodles dishes.
One thing is for sure: After notic-
You can see them every day, on
every corner of the Diag. They
peek out from pantlegs and poke
out of Birkenstocks. They have
been known to ruin many an outfit,
and send more than a few women
running from the bedroom. Small,
white and all too conspicuous, the
stark white gym socks shall hence-
forth be known as "gymmies."
It will not kill you, gentlemen,
to not wear gymmies - even
though Calvin Coolidge Jr., son
of the president, did die in 1924
when wearing shoes with no socks
infected his toe. Coolidge, howev-
er, was playing tennis at the time,
not strutting around campus.
Time's have changed, and
obscure urban legends of dead
presidents' sons should no longer
be used as reasons to continue this
trend in this day and age.
Consider this your last warning.
Gymmies should be left at home
as soon as the sandals come out of
the closet. Ever notice how typi-
cal gymmies have no ergonomic
toe-divider to match the flip-flop
design? This happens for a reason,
guys.
To review: Socks + flip-flops =
dressing disaster.
For all you hippie throwbacks
and burgeoning environmentalists,
take special note - those wooly
gymmie imposters that you deem
worthy of wear with your Birks are
acceptable only for camping trips
in remote parks or ... No, that's
really the only time.
Medical school interviews? A
date with the cutie from Span-
ish class? Any black tie affair? If
you guessed secret option "all of
the above" for when gymmies are
wearable with dress shoes, your
next decision is between a cookie
or a medal. You don't see Trump
doing it, so why should you?
A white gymmie is never, I repeat
never, the appropriate sock for a
black shoe. And don't even think
of getting away with a black gym-
mie; not only is it a weak substitute
for a dress sock, but it also leaves
wearers with little black fuzzies
between the toes, which, although
a pleasant change from white, are
totally gross.
Be it a midnight tryst or an
afternoon sack session, few things
come to mind as being more unat-
tractive in bed than a strapping lad
clad merely in gymmies. For God's
sake, boys, make it a habit to ditch
the digs.
Before the first snowfall hits or
the temperature drops dramatical-
ly, suck it up and save your gym-
mies for those frigid days to come.
Your tootsies - and the rest of us
- will thank. you......
The Daily'sresident musical mixer,
Emily Liu, brings you the brilliance of
Double Your Pleasure. Double Your
Pleasure explores the intrinsically
beautiful diversity of mixing records.
Side A presents a version of each song
by one performer, and Side B pres-
ents a completely different version.
* i
1. "Hypnotise"- The A
Stripes
2. "Lucky Star" - Basen
Jaxx feat. bizzee Rascal
3. "Smoke and Mirrors"
- RJ)2
4 "Underwear" - Magr
Fields
5. "The Model" - Kraft
werk
6. "Wake Up" - The W
men
7. "Paper Tiger" - Bed
8. "Barracuda" - John
9. "Heaven" - The Rap1
10. "Rock & Roll" - Lec
Zeppelin
I
The vegetables looked like they were picked
that very day, and the chicken was moist and
tender. When it came to the quality of the ingre-
dients, Noodles & Co. brought its A-game.
ing the small
details in the res-
taurant, it's clear
that ambiance is of
utmost importance
to Noodles & Co.
We had admired
the restaurant's
interior for mere
minutes when our
It came out nice and
brought to us by an
HAPPY BELATIED BIRTHDAY, DAiLY!
selected two very different dishes:
the Penne Rosa, an Italian specialty
dish, and the Japanese Pan Noodles
with chicken.
According to Kelly Pascal Gould,
spokeswoman for Noodles & Co.,
this restaurant is the first to open
with Noodles' new-and-improved
menu. This new menu offers
grilled-to-order chicken and beef as
opposed to the pre-packaged meats
the restaurant used to serve. There
are also noodle-less options for the
carb-conscious student.
We placed our orders and were
content with our reasonably priced
meals. The Penne Rosa came to
$6.10 and the Japanese Pan Noodles
with chicken totaled $7.50. Our
piece of advice, however, is to pay
attention to the "extras" you add to
your meal; add-ons add up, as we
came to find when Nicole added
chicken to her noodle dish.
Noodles & Co. offers two lev-
els of seating for diners. We found
seating to be somewhat limited on
the first floor, so we made our way
up to the second floor and waited
for our entrees to arrive.
We found an empty cafeteria-style
table and took our seats in two pain-
ful-looking chairs. The chairs were
uncomfortable, to say the least, and
by the end of the meal, our behinds
were craving something with the
slightest bit of cushion.
food arrived.
hot and was
extremely friendly employee. The
portions were not overly generous,
but definitely substantial. Both of
the dishes looked tantalizing and
were presented nicely on large white
dishes. We dug into our respective
plates and were slightly disappoint-
ed; we found that the noodles looked
just a bit better than they tasted.
The Penn- Rosa lacked a cer-
tain punch, while the Japanese Pan
Noodles seemed to have more than
enough; Nicole had finished her
water by her third bite. Though the
flavor of our meals left something
to be desired, we must compliment
the freshness of the food. The vege-
tables looked like they were picked
that very day, and the chicken was
moist and tender. When it came to
the quality of the ingredients, Noo-
dles & Co. brought its A-game.
Overall, we enjoyed our trip
to Noodles & Co and would most
likely return. Although it wasn't a
to-die-for dining experience, the
atmosphere was pleasant and the
service was more than timely. The
ingredients were fresh, the flavor
was respectable and the portions
were reasonably priced. As time
goes by and the chefs become more
acquainted with the various reci-
pes, the food should get better and
better.
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Come Check Us OutIf
First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor
1432 Washtenaw
(between South U and the Rock) -
Fellowship, Fun, Musk, and Meaning,
learning & service, munchies & more!
662446
see our web page for details:
w.first resbyterlan.org/campmLin.htm
Ann Arxw