Noodles & Company, located at 3030 Evans Street, offers a variety of pasta for reasonable prices. -Nick Faulkner | The East Carolinian
Grade: A
I?m not sure about you, but I get antsy over long breaks from school. While I love my family and hometown, after about three weeks, Greenville begins looking better and better. This Christmas break was no different from the rest ? and on Jan. 3 my silver Honda civic began the familiar trip with Greenville marked as its destination.
One of my first meals back was at a pasta place that had opened just the week before. Noodles & Company quickly won me over, and just a few days ago a friend and I made a return trip to the restaurant, which is located on Evans St.
It was a grey and rainy day outside, but as we made our way into the restaurant the bright lighting immediately set the mood for what was to be anything but another dreary meal.
After we rounded the corner of the entryway, we walked to the counter and began perusing the menu board above the cashier station. While I was deciding on what I wanted to eat, I began to notice just how clean the entire restaurant was.
The kitchen, which was visible to the entire restaurant, was composed of the cleanest stainless-steel counters that I have ever seen in a restaurant. The open, clean kitchen spoke highly of the level of work the staff puts into keeping the place presentable.
I ended up choosing their most popular dish, the Penne Rosa with grilled chicken, along with the Tomato Basil Bisque soup. My friend chose the Pesto Cavatappi with a Ceasar Salad.
While the mounds of pasta and rich soup were the highlight of the lunch, the next best part came right after we ordered. Yes, I?m talking about paying. My bill, which included a regular size Penne Rosa with grilled chicken added, soup and a drink, came out to be only $11.20.
After I handed over my debit card with glee, I approached the most high tech drink machine I have ever seen. The coke machine was touch screen and offered more selections of fountain sodas and lemonades than I even knew existed.
Within five minutes of sitting down, our food was ready and brought out to us. While admiring the gorgeous plate that sat before me, I realized just how much food my $11.20 had bought. The pasta, which covered the plate, was almost spilling over the edges, and then on top of the mountain of pasta was an entire chicken breast. And the soup, which was only a dollar, was in a bowl big enough to have been a meal by itself. Needless to say, I finished off both of the dishes.
The pasta dish was composed of penne noodles in a creamy, somewhat spicy, tomato based sauce. My favorite part of the dish was the contrast between the salty feta cheese and the soft penne noodles, which were lightly covered with the rich and tangy sauce. I also enjoyed the vegetables that were included in the dish. The tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms were some of the freshest ingredients that I?ve ever tasted in a pasta dish. And, instead of the sauce overwhelming them, the taste of the vegetables stood out.
The Tomato Basil Bisque soup was completely different than your normal tomato soup. The consistency was thick and creamy, and the basil worked great to give the dish flavor. My favorite part of the soup, though, was the fact that it had a rich, cheesy taste. It was almost as if they had added milk and possibly cheese to thicken the soup, while simultaneously giving it the creamy, rich taste.
I also tasted my friends Cavatappi, which was light and would make for a great choice for someone eating healthy.
All-in-all, this restaurant?s amazing food and the Panera-meets-Starbucks atmosphere made for an enjoyable meal and experience. This modern caf? style restaurant, which combines the cheap prices and speed of fast food with the service and high quality dishes of a five-star restaurant, is a great addition to Greenville?s restaurant scene for anyone looking.
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This writer can be contacted at lifestyles@theeastcarolinian.com.
Source: http://theeastcarolinian.com/?p=7043
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