AThingThatMakesMeGoHmmmmmm: Noodles & Co. A Review

Tessa Inspects the Med Sandwich

I write this to you as I think forward a bit and hope that the live event I’m running (right now, yes, as you are reading this post) on April 2, 2012, is a smash success in NYC. For those of you who know me from one of my other lives, wish me luck!

At any rate, I’m also a restaurant reviewer here at alunchboxblog.com, so you can imagine how excited I was to get the opportunity to interview Director of Culinary and Executive Chef Tessa Stamper from Noodles and Co. Noodles and Co is a lunchtime hot spot in Woodley Park, the haven of the National Zoo-set and my former boss’ ALISHIA’S new employer.

Interiors, the Plates Tell the Story

Just skipping distance from the heart of hip and happenin’ Adams Morgan, Noodles and Co. reached out to area bloggers when they decided to expand into four new locations.

Denver area readers will probably recognize these folks from there. Rewind to 1995 and that’s where the owner Aaron Kennedy created Noodles and Co. What started as a single restaurant in the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver, Co., has now grown to hundreds of restaurants nationwide. Denver is an interesting place for food chains we all know: Red Robin, Noodles and Co., Chipotle, Rock Bottom Brewery, Einstein Bagels.

And now hundreds of Noodles and Co.! Well, they’re expanding in the D.C. area,
“D.C. has been a really good market for folks who eat out,” says Mandy Melby, Communications Manager, Noodles and Co. “Noodles and Co. provides good quality and well-priced food. We’re good for DINKs, young professional singles, and young families. And D.C. is a perfect mixing bowl of these demographics.”

So, I’m here to ask Tessa about it.

Incredible Spinach Salad and Truffled Mac N Cheese

Turns out that Noodles and Co., has been in my neck of the woods long enough that I shouldn’t have been surprised that they came knocking on my door. They’re just blocks away from where I live, and blog photog Alex and I ended up having a really nice lunch there. They were determined to share with us the gamut of what they do “from healthy to indulgent.”

One of the things that stuck in my mind was Tessa’s value proposition–for a comparatively low price, a whole family can eat a healthy meal or at least get something that they actually want to eat in one hsop. So it’s easy for groups to decide on a place to eat–which makes it an ideal spot for lunch bunches from work. How many times have you been out and about and can’t find someplace that everyone in your party will enjoy? Story of my life here at work, I’ll tell ya.

Alex and I were pleasantly surprised by what we got here. Even Tessa noted that: “You’ll be pleasantly surprised,” she remarked rather parenthetically. I was surprised by her candor, frankly, and that really scores points with me. I asked her isn’t it interesting that she could predict our response. That’s probably because the chain must have hit some sort of a low note and is now attempting to compete with other fast/casual restaurants in the area. Something of a “Oh, I didn’t think this place would taste as good as it does.” The only way you get that impression is if there was some gossip about the place at one time. I wonder…

I'm Ready for my Extreme Close Up, Mr. DeMille

“Food is our currency,” Tessa followed up. “People are pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. I always hear, ‘This is so much better than I expected.’”

In D.C. Competition is stiff and the details matter: decor, real plates and silverware, sensible portions, quality of ingredients. The whole shootin’ match. Here’s what we found:

Our first treat was a bowl of truffled mac ‘n’ cheese. Turned out I wasn’t really ready to be having something so rich and, well, truffley. It was too much for me. I will definitely forego that the next trip. But Alex loved it. Maybe that’s the point of this place, if you don’t like that item, there are plenty to chooses from that you will like.

Whole Grain Noodles with Cream Tempered Balsamic Reduction

I nearly devoured the entire balsamic glazed spinach salad with bacon, pecans, blue cheese, and croutons before Alex could get his mitts on it. The sweet touch to the dressing/glaze made it feel rich, but according to the CALORIE COUNTER, if you eat this you aren’t really subjecting yourself to a health catastrophe at lunch, only 330 calories for a small salad which portion-size was plenty. Some with their “Med” sandwich, a significant sized pita sandwich at only 330 calories for the regular sized sandwich. The Med is a surprisingly flavorful pita-based feta- and yoghourt- dressed grilled chicken sandwich with a decent selection of vegetables with cilantro. The bite is filling, and Alex was particularly frustrated when I went in for half of the sample they brought to us!

Afterwards in the car on our way to the next restaurant interview, Alex informed me how disappointed he was that I wanted to eat my entire half.

The CEO of this operation is a guy called Kevin Reddy, the guy who was behind the expansion plans for Chipotle back when there were only a few of them in your town. After a terrifically successsful explostion of fast food Chipotle burrito joints, Reddy was recruited by Aaron to spearhead their expansion.Originally from McDonalds, this Reddy guy has a ton of fast-food experience under his belt and is apparently hell-bent on making these fast/casual restaurants the health diner’s answer to QSRs.

A Diner By Any Other Name

I’ll be dead honest with you; I was really hesitant to come in here. I mean, I came because they had an outstretched hand to bloggers like myself, but still, that didn’t sell me on the idea that the food would be worth eating.

But Tessa is a dietitian by training and has been their Director of Culinary since 2008. She’s a friendly, creative soul who brings a surprising degree of passion to what would normally be just another corporate fast food job. She is careful to correct me and clarifies that this is fast/casual dining. The meals come on plates and silverware. Customers do not bus their own table, you are greeted by all employees, no one employee is just “the clean up person.” They fashion teams and get feedback from them through on an internal company blog where cooks can submit recipe ideas to the central office.

This blog has been a particularly effective way of diversifying the menu, coming up with new creative ideas for customers, and generally, keeping an ear to the ground.

Frankly, I wish I’d been able to sample more items. I was a little stuffed after just half a sandwich, a salad, a ton of mac ‘n’ cheese, and a whole grain noodle dish that was outta sight.

I need to slow up and mention just how much I loved the whole grain noodle dish of just vegetables in a balsamic reduction tempered with some cream. It was filling and flavorful, which I love in a noodle dish. But I find most noodle dishes too much, too heavy, or too overfilled. But the portion size here is conducive to keeping your girlish figures and still enjoying the experience of eating lunch.

With the plates and silverware, I’d come here for dinner too, (but this isn’t really a blog about that, so I’ll skip right on to the next point).

I think if you have one of these shops on your lunch route, give it a try. You and your lunch buddies will be pleasantly surprised that everyone got to order something that they enjoyed. I’m a super picky eater who is difficult to please when going out to QSR restaurants, and I know I did.

n going out to QSR restaurants, and I know I did.