Noodles and Company is already one of those places that for me fills the wide gulf between fast food and a relaxing sit-down meal in a local eatery.
The counter service with table delivery is speedier and generally more budget-conscious than the latter but tastier and more satisfying than the former.
Now Noodles, which recently opened a new location near Downtown at 544 E. Ogden Ave. – in the former East Pointe Blockbuster location – has put what it's called an "adult" twist on its top-seller, Wisconsin Mac 'n' Cheese.
There is a bacon, mac and cheeseburger with meatballs, bacon and diced Roma tomatoes, topped with chopped scallions and breadcrumbs.
A Southwestern chili mac melds mac 'n' jack with those same meatballs and green onions, but adds a dose of spicy red chili.
The one that caught my eye is the Truffle Mac with baby bellas, shreded parmesan, parsley and a dash of truffled oil.
While you won't mistake it for the pasta course at a Ristorante Bartolotta white truffle dinner, it's pretty darn good for sit-down fast-ish food. And it costs about $8.
These dishes are available for a limited time, though I suspect if they're popular, they'll hang around longer.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
