Description:

According to Menu: vegan broth with dried shiitake mushroom, ginger, soy, and kombu with baby bok choy, steamed egg, chilis, scallions, nori, and rice noodles served with your choice of pork belly or tofu

In Reality: half-decent broth with some mushrooms, scallions, bok choy, and a hard-boiled egg served with mostly cooked noodles

Review:

The first time I tried the noodle bowl, I was quite disappointed. It was pretty much ramen with a couple of toppings.  The best part was the sweet potatoes fries that came with the meal swipe (well, it was an additional 1.5 points, but they are worth it). The broth is salty, which for me is a plus but for others is a turnoff.  I liked the bok choy, mushrooms, and the eggs; they were a nice addition to the basic ramen.  However, overall, I was not too happy with the results and as a college student with limited meal swipes, thought that it was a waste of a swipe. Afterall, I could make ramen in my dorm for fifty cents and the only con would be the lack of mediocre veggies and soggy protein (both the egg and the tofu).

A week later, I went to Summies and was obviously not getting the noodle bowl, but my friend did. I got the vegan burger (which is an entire separate review in it of itself), and surprisingly, I was envious of my friend with the noodle bowl.  On the one hand, my meal was right on the cusp of edible, so that helped put the noodle bowl in good light.  But I gave it more thought, and upon reflection (as my rage and disappointment wore off and were no longer factors of bias), the noodle bowl wasn’t actually that bad. I mean, there is a reason why everyone loves ramen, and Summies just provided ramen with some extra amenities.

In conclusion, the noodle bowl is worth trying, but don’t expect too much from it. And get a good side so you have something to look forward to/distract you from the fact that you just used a limited meal swipe.

Clearly my friends enjoyed it…