Mini Review: Roost’s Noodle Bowls

By: Mr. Wilson on October 13, 2008

Mr. T and I had lunch at Roost on Friday. I had received a coupon for their new noodle bowls earlier in the week, so we intended to check them out. I'm a big fan of Roost's sandwiches. Would their noodle bowls match up? For $5.95 you get a decent serving of cavatappi noodles in one of a variety of styles:

BANGKOK PEANUT: Peanut curry sauce, topped with fresh cilantro. Delicious with Chicken added.
CRAZY MAC™: Fresh cream with a splash of our own wing sauce then topped with bread crumbs & cheddar-jack cheese. Try with Chicken or Shredded Bacon added.
VODKA BELT™: Cream based marinara sauce, vodka style! Topped with fresh basil. Tasty with our chop-chop™ Chicken added.
CHEESY CHEESE: Fresh cream sauce topped with cheddar-jack cheese. Great with Chicken or Shredded Bacon added.
JALAPEÑO CREAM: Diced jalapeños mixed with our fresh cream sauce. Try with Chicken or Shredded Bacon added.
SWEET CURRY: Sweet curry sauce. That’s all we can say, the rest is a secret. Delicious with Chicken added.
PESTO CREAM: Homemade pesto cream sauce. Great with our chop-chop™ Chicken added.
FRESH BASIL MARINARA: Our house marinara topped off with fresh basil. Delicious with Chicken added.

Adding chicken runs an extra $1.79 (if I remember correctly), bringing the total close to $8. The serving size should satisfy most people. On the whole it's not a terrible value, but I do think the price is too high for the Downtown lunch crowd. To me, a lunchtime meal and drink should together come in under $8. Alternately, Mr. T suggested that adding a breadstick might give the diner more bang for his buck. Noodle bowl at Roost

Pictured here is the item I ordered, a jalapeno cream noodle bowl. Note in the description above that the item promises jalapenos mixed into the cream sauce. That wasn't the case in the bowl I was served. And that's what was most disappointing to me. The bowl consisted of four very distinct ingredients: noodles, cream, jalapenos, and chicken. Each of the four ingredients was fine, but they didn't really do anything for each other. There was no teamwork, if you will. Noodle bowl at Roost

Mr. T opted for the pesto cream noodle bowl. He said it was "very good" and compared it favorably to a similar item available at Noodles & Co. He commented that the noodles and the sauce were prepared very nicely. So how do Roost's noodle bowls grade overall? I admire their attempt to reach out and grab more business in the hyper-competitive Downtown dining market, but in my opinion the noodle bowls are average and unexceptional. Note that I'm not -- repeat not -- saying they are bad. They're fine. But when I crave noodles Downtown, I'm still going to go to either Noodles & Co. or Spaghetti Works. Roost hasn't done anything to break me out of that habit. Meanwhile, when I want a sandwich Downtown, Roost sits comfortably among my top picks. Then again, I didn't care for Roost's sandwiches the first time I had one, whereas now I crave them. Roost has shown both a willingness and an ability to adapt and evolve. With a little work, perhaps the noodle bowls will make a name for themselves.

Comments

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Peter

October 13, 2008 at 8:00PM

Not sure I’d pay $8 for what looks like cat food.

October 14, 2008 at 9:50PM

There is a noodle place in Omaha called Newman’s Noodles on about 170th and Center. After eating there, all other noodle places have been off limits to me. Noodles & Company and Spaghetti Works taste like a watered down light beer compared to this place. I guess that’s the chain vs. homemade mentality that I have though.

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