A Visit to Noodles and Company and how to win free food!

So here's a lesson on why being a little adventurous is a great thing.

I was presented with a very unique opportunity.  I was invited to a tasting event at our local Noodles and Company.  Now I've been a fan of Noodles for a long time.  I've always thought of it as a healthier alternative for lunch than most of the quick lunch options.  And if you call ahead, it's MUCH faster than sitting in a long drive-thru line. But like almost everyone else, I have my one or two favorites (The Indonesian Peanut Saute and the Pad Thai) that I order every single time.  It's human nature to fall back on secure options, even when there are a multitude of choices.  Which can be a shame, because as we learned at Noodles and Company, there are so many great options out there.

At this tasting, we'd be trying almost everything on the menu.  And since there would be a large volume of food, I brought along a posse.. well maybe not a posse, it's hard for me to roll like Jay-Z and very few want to roll like Kanye.  But I did want a wide variety of opinions on the presentations.  Each of us had our own preconceptions, and almost every single one of us had one dish we stuck to religiously.  I brought my wife, Liz (as if I'd leave her home), who could eat their Stroganoff every meal and only chooses this option.  Also, there was my sister and brother-in-law, Trent and Suzanne, who occasionally eat at Noodles and have their one or two favorites as well.  Finally, there was my sister-in-law Lori and my little brother Gail.  Now Gail has been a selective eater for most of his life and in a normal situation, wouldn't even have Noodles and Company on his radar, so I was very interested on how he would respond to the food.

So to begin the meal, we grabbed a drink and the new Coke Drink Dispenser.  It's far beyond the typical 6 or 7 options you'd have anywhere else.  I highly recommend it!  Why?  Well, it has all the standard Coca-Cola options... but you can add flavorings to all the old standards, try 14 different options of Powerade, 7 different Fantas, and flavored regular and light lemonades and a number of other drinks that you would not normally find on tap.  All in all, there are over 120 options, so no matter what mood you're in, you can find something you'll love.  It's a rare occasion when you can get a Vanilla Barq's or a Cherry Vanilla Caffeine Free Diet Coke, so we put the machine through all of it's paces.  If you are a fanatic for one particular beverage, here's your chance to experiment.  Try a flavoring, try mixing different options together in the same glass or just try something different altogether.  And when it comes to the kids, you have a couple dozen more options than anywhere else.  Most of the time, all you have is Sprite, lemonade, and maybe root beer.  But now Sawyer can get his Powerade and Wyatt can get Orange, Raspberry, Strawberry or Grape Fanta, depending on the day.

By the way, all pictures below were taken at our table of the actual food we tasted.  These are not stock photos.  Thanks to Trent Bray of CamAutoMag.com for taking the great pictures of the food.

The meals began to arrive, starting with the Asian fare.  I immediately went to the Indonesian Peanut Saute, because I'm a heat freak and it's what I order almost every time.  The combinations of heat from the thai chiles, the sour from the lime and the heartiness of the peanut sauce always satisfies my hunger.  But the rest of the party really liked the other options. 

The Japanese Pan Noodles were a definite change of pace, with the thicker udon noodles in a soy sauce reminiscent of teriyaki really agreeing with Annie and Lori.  I really enjoyed the shitake mushrooms and the cilantro, which really gives the thicker noodles a light aftertaste.

And then there was the surprise of this sub-set, the Bangkok Curry.  It's a light curry that won't blast out your sinuses, mixed into a great coconut base and combined with perfectly cooked rice noodles.  Everyone at the table had nothing but good comments about this dish.  Even my little brother loved it and went back for seconds.

Next we moved onto the Mediterranean options on the menu.  Now when you think Mediterranean, you think Italy.  And if you think noodles and Italy, you normally think spaghetti and meatballs.  Well, that was the one item we didn't have, and I'm very glad we didn't.  Because the other options were steps ahead of the basic marinara

The Penna Rosa was wonderful.  It's a light red sauce, backed with a few spices and laced with cream, then blended together with fresh whole leaf spinach and mushrooms.  The saltiness of the feta cheese and the Parmesan crusted chicken pulled the entire dish together.

The Pesto Cavatappi was good too, with its light pesto sauce and slight touch of wine.  And the Whole Grain Tuscan Linguine was great and surprisingly light for a whole wheat pasta.  Those noodles have a tendency to be extra chewy and can sit in your stomach like a lead weight, but the dish was just the perfect consistency.

At this point, almost everyone sat back in their seats in an effort to let the food digest, but then came the American courses.  First was the Mushroom Stroganoff, Liz's favorite.  The basic egg noodles with beef, mushrooms and a cream sauce always makes her happy.  Then there was the Wisconsin Mac and Cheese, but there was a twist.  They served it with meatballs.  Now normally you wouldn't think of that combination at all, who would?  But it was REALLY good.  It's so good, the meatballs are now the recommended protein for the Mac and Cheese.

But, the most shocking meal was the Buttered Noodles.  By definition, you would think this would be the plainest meal of the day.  I mean, what would it be beyond noodles and... well... butter?  But it was covered in an Italian herb blend and loads of Parmesan cheese.  Just those two extra ingredients made such a large change that it became a table favorite.

Then, as we were all starting to hit the infamous food wall, the seasonal American options were presented.  The Bacon, Mac and Cheeseburger was great with the crumbled meatballs and bacon sprinkles over the customary mac and cheese.  The Chili Mac made Gail happy with the hearty chili and shredded cheese smothering the macaroni. 

But the overwhelming favorite of the entire day was the Truffle Mac.  It's macaroni and cheese with loads of sauteed portabello mushrooms, Parmesan cheese and drizzled with infused truffle oil.  It was amazing!  The truffle oil just permeated every inch of the cheesiness and lingered in my mouth for a very long time.  There were leftovers, only because of the sheer amount we had eaten up to that point. The Rochambeau fight over them was long and brutal.

After sampling almost everything, and each of us now sporting our own food babies, we sat back and observed the carnage.  There were a few leftovers, but we had demolished most of the plates.  And as we re-examined all the wares, we evaluated our experience.

Liz now has a conundrum when she goes to Noodles and Company.  She was a Mushroom Stroganoff devotee for years, and now she's going to have a problem selecting from at least half the menu.  Lori and Annie found they liked the Bangkok Curry, something that they wouldn't normally ever order.  And Lori, who won the battle for the Truffle Mac leftovers, will definitely be ordering that again.  And Gail, the person who never would have thought of Noodles and Company as an option, is thinking about going there for lunch every so often.

And me... well, with all the options on the table, I never thought I would consider Buttered Noodles.  But I will, along with about dozen menu items now that I know how delicious they are.

And we probably wouldn't have known how good everything is on the Noodles and Company menu if we didn't try it all.

The moral of the story is this.  Sure, you may have a favorite meal at a restaurant, something you order religiously.  But if you just stick to that one dish, you may be missing an entire world of opportunities.  Yes, we had the luxury of trying everything at once, but the next time you go Noodles and Company (or another like it), look over the entire menu and try something a little different, a little adventurous.  Go for that choice that may be a little outside your comfort zone.  Sure, you may not like it, but all you are out is one small meal.  On the other hand, you MAY just find that you love that new item more than your old standby and expand your eating horizons.

And special thanks to Neichel Cook and her entire crew at the Draper, Utah location for the wonderful food and great service!  We'll definitely see you again.

Now whenever I have a great experience, I like to share it with my loyal readers.  So let's pass out some free Noodles and Company food to you all as part of our Christmas Giveaways!  We've already announced that one reader will win a $20 Orson Gygi gift certificate, Well now two more readers will win a multipack of meals from Noodles and Company!   So how do you win one of these packs of fabulous food? 

1.  If you are already a Facebook friend, congratulations, you're automatically entered into the contest.

2.  If you're not a Facebook friend,  become one by clicking on the new Like link at the top right area of the That Means We Get Pie Home Page, or log into Facebook, look for the That Means We Get Pie page and click Like at the top of the page.  You'll then be a friend and be entered in the contest.

3.  You get extra credit for referring new people to the site.  If you convince them to become a Facebook friend, have them e-mail ThatMeansWeGetPie@gmail.com and state that you referred them.  They'll get an extra entry and so will you!  Refer as many people you like and have them e-mail us, there's no limit to the number of entries you can earn.

Well be drawing for winners on December 23rd.  So enter today and experience some of the great food I did at Noodles and Company!