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 " 0 0 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. - ------------------- - I We Deliverl Jerk Chicken, Pork, Fish, Shrimp, Veggies * Jamaican Jerk Pit Great Fresh Blue Mountain Coffee, Irie Vibes 1 Ital Food & Incredible Homemade Desserts 1 Take-out Dine-In 314 S. 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