Neighbor Roy emailed earlier in the week and told me he wanted to dine this week at Noodleholics, a place he had heard good things about. Noodleholics has two locations, one on Grant Road and the other on Oracle Road. I Googled these locations and chose the Oracle one because it was 2 minutes closer and had a couple of menu items not available at the Grant Road location.
We arrived and had to park across the road from the entrance. That’s no big deal for most people but I don’t walk so well so that was an issue for me.
Entering we realized that ordering is done at the counter, then they give you a number to set on your table and they bring your food to your table. Since I don’t stand at all well, I asked Roy to order for me: a Two-Meat Mix and Match ($13.50). This was a combination of BBQ Pork and Beef Shank slices on a bed of rice. As they don’t have a bar, I ordered my usual Iced Tea ($3.00).
Roy ordered their Lo-Mein with Shrimp, Beef, and Chicken on fresh noodles ($13.00). He also ordered 6 pan-fried dumplings as an appetizer ($6.50). That and his usual hot tea ($2.50).
“This week we dined at the highly recommended Noodleholics, a Chinese restaurant in the Ace Hardware shopping center in the 7800 block of North Oracle. While it is a fast food restaurant, and we were there for the luncheon crowd, The restaurant was not packed. We seated ourselves, procured menus, and studied them. I judge a Chinese restaurant by the quality of its noodles. I ordered the House Lo-mien–noodles with beef, chicken, and shrimp. The menu indicated that the noodles were made in-house, using whole wheat as its primary ingredient. I also ordered an appetizer of pan-fried dumplings. I also ordered my usual hot tea.
After a short wait, our waitress brought our lunches. The fried dumplings–with a basic ground pork basis were really goodies, as was the dipping sauce. So far so good.
Now for the test–are the noodles homemade as claimed, or were they bought at a grocery store? To my delight, they’re made in-house. I fell in love with the restaurant at this point–finally, a truly great Chinese restaurant with homemade noodles and very reasonable prices. And enough for two meals. The difference between homemade and store-bought noodles is as day and night. Chinese cooks are not called Chefs–they are called noodle-makers and thanks to Marco Polo, noodles are the basis for at least 2 great cuisines–Chinese and Italian.
In any event given the quality and quantity of this fast food restaurant, plus the cleanliness and efficient staff, I give it 4 saguaros. I know I will return soon and try out their soups, I do love a good soup.”
It will come as no surprise to frequent readers of our reviews that Roy and I concur on the rating of Noodleholics. I give them four Saguaros too. My BBQ Pork and Beef Shank were delicious and the rice was OK too. My plate included something green on it, but I didn’t touch it. It was green after all. I don’t eat green if I can help it.
Noodleholics
Central Tucson
3502 E. Grant Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85716
520-305-4262
NW Tucson
7850 N. Oracle Rd.
Oro Valley, AZ 85704
520-268-8662
