Do you like line-ups?  I don’t.

But if there’s a reason for one, like at Kitsilano’s relatively young (going on three years now, but still feels shiny and new) South East Asian noodle bar offspring of the Victoria mother ship – Noodle Box, it may be worth checking out.

Here’s the punch line: it is.

I’ve run across some pretty cool asian food options in Vancouver like Flying Tiger and Hapa Izakaya.  So by all means, check them out and the service will undoubtedly imprint itself in your hypothalamus.  But that’s not what I’m on about here.

I’ll be first to admit that Noodle Box has certainly been hyped up a great deal in the press and through talk around the water cooler.  And I’ll be honest, it probably doesn’t warrant all of it.  It’s not breaking any culinary records on the foodie scale.  At least, that’s one person’s view.

What it does deserve, though, is props for some dead-on simple customer service – attention to the customer’s needs, helpful suggestions on what they may want, and little touches that have extended its reach far beyond the doors at 1867 West 4th Avenue.

Our last visit to Noodle Box came complete with a (much anticipated and surprisingly short) 5 to 10 minute line-up and service from one of their great employees – Oscar.

By the time we got to the counter, we had barely scratched the surface of the enormous three pronged menu board attack.  Trust me, when you walk in, you’ll get it.  What turned our line-up frown upside down, though, was Oscar’s smile, pleasant demeanor, and the fact that he made suggestions based on what he thought we’d like (read: our friendly, neighbourhood tour guide through Noodle Box’s cornucopia of food choices, hot sauces, hot n’sour soup combos, drinks, and of course, cool little asian take-out boxes).

Throw-back to 1980, according to muppet lore

Oscar the Grouch is a furry, green Grouch who lives in a trash can on Sesame Street, in between 123 Sesame Street and Big Bird’s nest…

Like all Grouches, Oscar’s mission in life is to be as miserable and grouchy as possible, and pass that feeling on to everyone else. When a visitor knocks on his trash can — invariably interrupting him from a nap or an important task — Oscar greets them with a snarl. He complains that he wants to be left alone, although when he’s left entirely to himself, he’s dissatisfied — there isn’t anybody around to irritate or complain to.

Well let me tell you something, the Oscar we met:

• is neither green nor furry
• is not miserable and doesn’t come across as someone with a mission to make others miserable
• is pleasant, helpful and greets people with a smile when people ‘knock on his trash can’

What’s more, as one of us was on their inaugural Noodle Box experience, Oscar was likely responsible for an extra order of pork that magically found its way into my Thai Tom Yum soup.  So to you, Oscar, thanks! We appreciated the gesture and it was the sole reason why the pen found its way to the paper in this crazy electronic world we live in.

darren

noodle box, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating