Foodies Tell Daily Meal What They Think Is The Best Menu Item At Noodles & Company

There are few pleasures as satisfying as a carbohydrate-rich bowl of noodles. Whether it's the complex flavors blended into a bowl of pad Thai, the wholesome joy of macaroni and cheese, or simple buttered noodles, there's something comforting about these dishes.

The love of noodle dishes is also cross-cultural. An Oxfam survey found pasta to be the world's favorite food, outranking meat, rice, and pizza. And no restaurant may understand the world's love affair as well as Noodles & Company. The fast-casual chain has been serving multicultural bowls of pasta since 1995. In a 2013 survey, the company found that 59% of Americans have pasta or noodles at least once a week. It also found that Italian cuisine was the most-preferred noodle style.

Daily Meal was just as curious to find out how people take their pasta, so we asked our readers what their favorite Noodles & Company offering is.

Noodles & Company's 2013 survey may have shown Italian cuisine as the most popular pasta option in the country, but Daily Meal readers are outliers. Both the number-one and number-two Noodles choices in our poll were Asian-inspired dishes.

Of the 567 readers that were surveyed, more than 162 chose the Spicy Korean Beef Noodles as their favorite Noodles & Company menu item. This dish tosses a base of lo mein noodles with a spicy Gochujang BBQ sauce and tops it all off with marinated steak and vegetables. Just behind that, with 148 votes, was the udon-based Japanese Pan Noodles. Together, these two menu items alone took home more than half the votes.

Falling just behind is the comforting classic Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, which had 22% of respondents drooling at the mouth. Fourth and fifth place went to the chain's Penne Rosa and Pesto Catappi, which only scored 77 and 51 votes, respectively.

Nation's Restaurant News reported on Jan. 9 that Noodles & Company been growing at a steady pace in recent years, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fast-casual restaurant chain offers both lighter options, such as its zucchini noodles and the lower-carb "LEANguini," and more decadent fare, such as its stuffed tortelloni.

Nation's Restaurant News adds that the chain's new digital menus have helped the seemingly endless number of dishes feel more manageable for consumers. (Per Insider, Noodles & Company has developed a devoted following for its seemingly endless number of pasta options.)

While Daily Meal readers may prefer Noodles & Company's Asian-inspired dishes, there are plenty of other options at the chain to please any palate. And with more than 450 Noodles & Company locations across the United States, you're sure to find a restaurant to satisfy your carb craving.