Noodles & Company: Great for Vegetarians and Meat Eaters Alike

I'll take rice over noodles any day of the week, but one day I was shopping in Niles, IL. and looking for a place where I could pick up some good food. As a vegetarian, it's difficult to find a broad selection of food in restaurants, but when I drove past Noodles & Company in Niles shopping center parking lot, I took a peek in. Looking up at the signs, I was impressed and hoped for the best. Noodles & Company's food menus range from Asian, Mediterranean, and American dishes. All of their meals have a selection of various vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, sprouts, onions, cabbage, greens, olives, celery, etcetera. With seasonings ranging from red pepper to butter to parmesan cheese, Noodles & Company doesn't know a thing about being bland.

When Mother's Day rolled around, I recommended the restaurant to my mother and after she ate one bite of American-style butter noodles with shrimp, she was hooked. She stared at that menu several times and brainstormed on how she was going to get a Noodles & Company on the southside of Chicago. From the menu, Illinois locations for Noodles & Company are only in the suburbs. My mother loves noodles and meat (Noodles & Company also gives the choice of having chicken or beef), and I love vegetables and tofu, so Noodles & Company is definitely the place to find a happy medium for the two of us.

As soon as you walk into the Niles location, the restaurant is very cozy, with photos on the walls, booths and tables spread out, and when a customer asks for a drink, they get a real cup. Although you order at a cash register, the cashiers bring your food to you, as well as condiments, and clean the table afterwards. The prices are very agreeable: a regular dish is $5.25 and $6.95 (if you want chicken, beef, shrimp, or tofu); the trio (which includes a meat or tofu and either Caesar or tossed salad) is $6.95; and a small dish is $3.95 and $5.65 (with meat or tofu). I spent less than $20 on both of our dishes, including bread, salad, and drinks. They also have Nantucket juices, one of the most delicious sweet flavor brands of juices I've ever had.

The location is in a great spot, a block away from Barnes & Noble bookstore, across the street from Walgreens and Walmart, and near Best Buy. There is a shopping area with stores like The Avenue and party favor stores, so if someone were to just be out and about shopping, Noodles & Company is a convenient location to snack at between runs. Every time I go inside of Noodles & Company, the restaurant impresses me more. I might regret taking my mother there though. Now that she knows there are no Chicago locations, I'm sure to be dragged there during every visit. She went home with a grin on her face and plotting on how to get my father to drive there next. Noodles & Company has definitely made a new fan on Mother's Day.