I was invited to stop over at the new Noodles & Co. at Christiana Mall. The chain is a newcomer to this area, although it has dozens of stores in the Baltimore Washington area.
The company, like Chipotle, got its start in Colorado and moved east. It is headed toward 350 stores and went public this year.
Noodles is part of the trend toward fast-casual restaurants that offer speedy service and fresh ingredients. General Manager Dave Hurley said the restaurant, which opened in July is seeing a growing volume of business. The first store in Delaware opened at Concord Mall.
Noodles & Co. is in a unique location at the mall with only an outside entrance. That could prove to be an advantage when the Cabela’s and Cinemark theater open on the far end of the mall property next year. We tried the Japanese pan noodles and the most popular dish, the Wisconsin mac and cheese.
The pan noodles and steak were tasty, but true to its Japanese roots was a bit on the salty side.
The mac and cheese was not of the baked variety, but had a nice blend of higher quality cheeses and fresh noodles. The chicken that was added to the dish was outstanding. With a couple of above average Asian fast food places available at the food court, Noodles & Co. is a another good option for a quick meal. We’ll be back. – Doug Rainey
