Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Nothing but Noodles


8190 W. Union Hills Drive, Glendale

I saw this place last week when I ate at Wok-n-Stix which is about 100' away and it looked interesting on the net so I decided to give it a try.

I would like to give this place 3 stars but one thing kills it. The concept is good. There are plenty of menu choices. I was there on a Tuesday about 7PM and the place had several diners and some folks picking up take out. Of the five tables being used 3 had kids and the noise level was like there were 30 kids in there, not sure why designers lately seem to come up with acoustics that want to drive folks out. Even though the kitchen was open the sounds of cooking had been damped from the seating area. With a combination of booths and different height tables that could be moved around it would be easy to bring in a group of say 20 people. Many of the customers seem to have been there before.

The company website says service in about fifteen minutes after ordering and that was just about spot on. I had had a heavy lunch and wanted something light but hot as it was rainy and cold. I got the Cheesy chicken and vegetables ($7.29). It came in a bowl centered on a large plate which was filled around the bowl with romaine and shredded cheese. The meat and vegetables (mine had mushrooms, carrots, and broccoli) were fine. For the average person that added meat to a noodle dish and a soda or beer I would say $12-14 per person which is the low end of the scale I picked.

Now to the one thing that kills it. For a place that specializes in food with sauce, most of it containing cheese, the sauce sucks. Even when heating stuff from a jar I am one to heat any sauce or soup containing dairy to serving temperature very gently and stirring often. Not sure if this was brought to temp too quickly or left on the heat too long or had hot stir fry oil added to it or what but it just wasn't right. The flavor was off and it looked just about to separate. I'll go back a couple more times over a few months, trying different dishes, and if they fix the sauce I'll update my review. Like I said earlier I like the concept and hope they can work out the bugs.

4 comments:

Knitterman said...

Have you considered doing a "Blue Collar Palate" to critique all these little places not covered in the press by fancy-dancy restaurant critics?

As often as you eat out, your opinion might be worth a little pocket change in return. :-)

SharpScott said...

Try following my link to Yelp Phoenix. My reviews are already being published, along with a few thousand other peoples. And eating out once a week is not often, around here some folks eat out 5 or 6 times a week.

Knitterman said...

Oh. it's not laid out the way my brain works. What name are you using there? Do I have to know the name of place to see if you've reviewed it?

But still, it's good to get your name out there.

SharpScott said...

If you want to see only my reviews use the "My Yelp" link. All of the reviews I have posted over there are mirrored here. There are links to the rest of the site at the top of the page. And by clicking on the restaurant you can see other reviews on te places I have written about. I am Scott W over there. It is a site that encourages the use of real names.