Candy Coma Candy Exchange

We’ve had quite a few questions about our Candy Coma promotion.  This year, Candy Coma is only being conducted in a handful of markets on November 6th from 11am – close, except those with an “*” which will take place on November 1st.  Here’s the list of participating restaurants. 

Here’s how it works: Bring in a pound-ish of Halloween candy in exchange for a free bowl noodles. 

Michigan
Grand Rapids, MI (E. Beltline, 28th Street)
East Lansing, MI (East Grand River)
Portage, MI
Okemos, MI
Kalamazoo, MI
Northville Township, MI
Royal Oak, MI
Troy, MI (N. Troy, Troy)
Ann Arbor, MI (Arborland, State Street)
Livonia, MI
Royal Oak, MI

Illinois
Normal, IL*
Champaign, IL*
Bloomington, IL*
Springfield, IL*

Indiana
Indianapolis (Trader’s Point, Broad Ripple, Pyramid Place, IUPUI, West Maryland St.)
Bloomington
Plainfield
Muncie
West Lafayette
Carmel
Noblesville
Greenwood Place

Wisconsin
Wausau*
Eau Claire*
Stevens Point*
Iowa
Davenport*

Missouri
St. Louis
Chesterfield
Des Peres
Creve Coeur
Columbia
Hampton Village
Delmar

Nebraska
Omaha (72nd & Dodge, 120th & L)
Lincoln (Pine Lake, P Street)

Virginia
Arlington (Pentagon Row, Ballston Commons, Crystal City)
Fairfax
Vienna
Alexandria (Alexandria, Kingstowne, Mt. Vernon)
Vienna
Herndon
Fredericksburg (Cosner’s Corner, Central Park)
Manassas
Sterling
Lessburg
Mechanicsville
Midlothian
Richmond

Maryland
College Park
Gaithersburg
Silver Spring
Rockville (Rockville Townw Square, Rockville Town Square)
Waldorf
Bethesda
Lanham
Hunt Valley
Pikesville
Columbia
Baltimore (Harbor Place, White Marsh)
Bowie
Owings Mills
Annapolis

North Carolina
Durham (Pavilion)
Charlotte (South End, Arboretum)
Cary
Raleigh (Cameron Village, Brier Creek)

Tennessee
Knoxville
Nashville

Ohio
Columbus (Polaris, Clintonville, Hamiliton & Morse, Grandview, Lane & High)
Reynoldsburg
Westerville
Powell
Dublin
Upper Arlington
Cincinnati (Kenwood, Hyde Park)
Beavercreek
West Chester
Kentucky
Florence

Our Food Doesn’t Require any Makeup!

The New York Times ran a rather lengthy article yesterday about the theatrics involved in creating the tempting, picture-perfect food seen in restaurant commercials.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/business/in-food-commercials-flying-doughnuts-and-big-budgets.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=food%20photography&st=cse&scp=2

While we found it interesting to learn the extremes that restaurants will go to make their food look good, we assure you that at Noodles, it’s the real deal.  Any photography you see of our dishes- whether on our website, on our social media pages, or in advertising – is made using exactly the same ingredients used to create the yummy dishes you enjoy in our restaurants

 We’ll leave the special smoke machines and “food catapulting devices” to the other guys.  We’re all about FRESH food fast! 

Recipe for Backyard BBQ Salad

For those of you who have been asking for the recipe for the Backyard BBQ Salad, you’re in luck.  Give it a try!

Backyard Barbecue Chicken Salad

Recipe for the Home Chef

Serves 4 regular salads or 6-8 small sides

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. bag of mixed lettuce
• 8 oz. shredded mixed cabbage, red and green
• ¾ cup cole slaw dressing
• 4 chicken breasts, cooked, shredded, cooled
• ½  cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
• ¾ cup tomatoes, diced
• ¾ cup corn
• 1/8 cup red cabbage

BBQ Chicken Preparation:

• Bake 4 chicken breasts, completely cool and then shred into bite sized pieces
• In a bowl mix together the chicken and ½ cup BBQ sauce

 Assemble:

• Mix the lettuce, cabbage (keeping 1/8 cup of red cabbage aside for garnish) and cole slaw dressing in a large bowl
• Place the BBQ chicken, corn and tomatoes on top of the mixed greens, forming the points of a triangle in the center of the salad
• Place the 1/8 cup of red cabbage in the center of the triangle to garnish

 Enjoy!

Tessa’s Tips

Sandwiches have come a long way since the lunchbox favorites like bologna on white bread or PB & J (an oldie but goodie).  While most of us had our first experience with a sandwich while sitting at the lunchroom table in elementary school, eating ingredients like meat and cheese between two pieces of bread or dough has been around since ancient times.  Every culture around the world has a unique version, and Noodles has four great options too.

Sandwiches are not just an American favorite – people from all walks of life enjoy the popular portable cuisine.  For example, Cuba has the popular Cuban, Vietnam has the Bahn mi, Mexico has the torta, South America has the Arepa, France has the Monte Cristo, and Greece has the familiar favorite, the Gyro. 

When building your own sandwich, the possibilities are endless. Here are a few tips:

• When it comes to choosing bread, think about trying interesting flavors like olive, herbed, or whole wheat.  Consider different types of bread, such as flatbread, pita, French baguette, ciabatta.
• Get creative with your favorite sauces or salad dressings. This can certainly be mayo or mustard, but it can also be any type of pesto, tempenade, or relish
• There is unlimited amount of options for filling choices—of course most any type of sliced or pulled meat or seafood, like tuna, salmon, lobster are good choices.  And don’t forget about all the yummy cheeses available. 
• You can alter texture and flavor by adding raw or grilled vegetables. One of my favorite types of sandwich is filled with the same fixins I’d put in a salad. Experiment with different vegetables, too–portabella mushrooms make a great meat substitute if you‘re vegetarian.
• Consider whether you’d like your sandwich hot or cold.  Panini’s and grilled sandwiches take on a completely different taste than their cold counterparts. 
• Using small amounts of pickled or marinated vegetables will help elevate your sandwich from ho-hum to happy (roasted red peppers or artichoke hearts)

 Tell us about your favorite sandwich!

RECIPE! Coconut Curried Vegetables with Shrimp

Coconut Curried Vegetables with Shrimp

Serves 6-8

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup broccoli (cut into florets)
• 1 cup carrots (julienne cut)
• ½ cup scallions (cut on the bias)
• ½ cup red peppers (julienne cut)
• 1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
• 1 T fresh ginger (peeled & chopped)
• 1 T Thai curry paste (red or green)
• 1 T canola oil
• 1 can “Lite” coconut milk (from your favorite Asian market)
• 1 T sweet soy sauce (from your favorite Asian market)
• ½ cup sweet Chile sauce (from your favorite Asian market)
• 1 t black sesame seeds (from your favorite Asian market)
• 24 shrimp (16-20 peeled & de-veined)
• 1 lb rice noodles (from your favorite Asian market)

 Preparation:

1. Soak noodles in lukewarm water for 30 minutes. Drain and cool in ice water. Drain, let rest & toss with oil.
2. Blanch broccoli & carrots in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain, cool down in ice water, drain and set aside.
3. Place large sauté pan over high heat. Add canola oil and sautéed mushrooms until lightly golden.
4. Add shrimp, coconut milk and Thai curry paste.
5. Add carrots, broccoli, peppers, scallions, ginger, sweet Chile sauce, sweet soy, and noodles to pan in that order.
6. Toss once or twice to coat all ingredients well with sauce.
7. Place on platter and sprinkle with black sesame seeds

TESSAʼS TIPS: Bangkok Curry Makes it Easy to Eat Healthy

Delighting Your Taste Buds with the Flavors of Bangkok

From offering authentic flavors inspired from around the world, to using only the very freshest ingredients to offering limitless ways to customize your meal, Bangkok Curry epitomizes Noodles & Company.  Learn more and stretch your culinary muscle by trying our recipe for the home chef below.

 BUILDING THE FOUNDATION

The original recipe for Bangkok Curry was developed after an extensive trip to Asia where our founding chef tasted everything in sight. He wanted to create a recipe that provided the perfect balance of flavors and textures that he experienced while in Thailand.  The result is what we all have come to know and love as Bangkok Curry – a light and soulful blend of six fresh, crunchy vegetables tossed with a creamy, yet light curry sauce served over a bed of rice noodles. 

 DIRECTLY FROM THE SOURCE

You can’t fake authenticity, and nothing is more authentic than the ingredients in our Bangkok Curry.  Our sauce is a unique blend of coconut milk, tamarind, hot chile paste, sweet chile, and yellow curry paste (and a few other things that shall remain secret!), all sourced directly from Thailand. We also buy our rice noodles from a company in Thailand where the Thai locals buy their noodles. They call the noodles “long life noodles” because they signify a long life to the person eating them. Because of this, the noodles are never cut or shortened in the belief that it would be bad luck and would shorten that person’s life. So we don’t cut ours either.

 MAKE IT YOUR WAY

Customization is an integral part of the culture of Asian noodle dishes and of Noodles & Company.  The delicate, sweet and creamy Bangkok Curry sauce is the perfect canvas to mix, match and add ingredients. Swap spinach for broccoli or add organic tofu or shrimp. For those you who really want to make it your own, change things up by choosing different noodles.  One of our favorite “remixes” of Bangkok Curry is to go with whole grain linguine instead of rice noodles.  A healthy dash of Sriracha is an easy way to add a spicy, rich kick.  With Bangkok Curry, you can customize it in any way you like while never sacrificing the essence of the dish.

 THINK GLOBAL, EAT LOCAL

At Noodles, we know that local means fresher – and fresher tastes better.  To ensure that our food is uber-tasty, we source as many of our ingredients from local farmers as possible. Going local also fits in with our values that a great meal starts with great ingredients. 

 Bangkok Curry is made with six veggies that we source from local farms when they are in season (which is now!), including: onions, cabbage, red peppers, bean sprouts, cilantro, and mushrooms.

Taste the World, No Passport Required

While we were chatting about favorite travel memories, it wasn’t surprising to hear that for many of us here at Noodles, food is center stage. A few of the fondest memories include devouring a traditional Italian meal with new friends from Sweden while hiking the coastline of Cinque Terra, Italy; a celebratory meal with Kiwis after skydiving in Queensland, New Zealand; and anything and everything on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair. 

 We all agreed that while we can’t always be jetting across the globe, (thanks to families, pets, and wonderful jobs – all worth it, of course!) we still love to experience new cultures and new flavors.  It occurred to us that you might like to try new things too.  So, for the next several months, join us on a little culinary journey across Asia, the Mediterranean and America.  With our collective taste buds as our guide, we’ll highlight a few of our very favorite Noodles dishes.  We’ll dive into the recipe, talk about the origin of specific ingredients and tell you why we love the dish. We’ll even share some home chef recipes you can experiment with in your kitchen.  

 By the end of this virtual global expedition, we hope that you have a fonder appreciation of your favorite Noodles dish, and that you’re intrigued to give our favorites as try.  No passport required.

EXTENDING SUMMER – BECAUSE WE CAN!

For foodies, summer is Nirvana – Veggies are so sweet that they barely require cooking and fruit is so ripe and juicy that it drips down your chin.  To keep summer alive, for just a little longer, we’re extending our Summertime Salads to mid-September!  If you haven’t tried them, prepare to have a new dish to love.

You Came, You Saw, You Ate Some Salad!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Ten Degrees of Salads program.  We had a blast watching the Tees move from one Noodler to another.  We enjoyed seeing familiar faces and making some new friends.  Check out a handful of Tees that saw it all the way to the end…no quitters here!