I tried Noodles & Company, a Midwestern fast-casual chain, for the first time and its huge menu was impressive

• I visited Noodles & Company, a Colorado-based fast-casual chain, for the first time.
• I appreciated the wide range of menu items, from pasta dishes to zoodles to soups and salads.

Noodles & Company is known for serving internationally-inspired and American noodle dishes, pasta, salads, and soups.

Though the chain began as a Colorado-based restaurant, there are now 452 locations across 30 different states. California alone has 15 locations.

Here are some of my initial thoughts after visiting Noodles & Co. for the first time:

There are seemingly endless combinations of noodles, spices, and proteins

Upon walking into the restaurant, I noticed how many choices are on the menu. I was pleasantly surprised by the range of what seemed like healthy options, such as noodles made from vegetables.

The chain also offers vegetarian and low-calorie choices. You can even customize your dish by substituting regular pasta with zoodles or cauliflower noodles or adding protein like chicken or steak.

I consider myself a health-conscious diner, so I appreciated the wide range of options.

The restaurant had a clean, industrial feeling design and atmosphere

The layout and design of the restaurant felt efficient, and the decor reminded me of a Chipotle-esque industrial, clean feel.

I wanted to taste something from each section of the menu — including mac and cheese, signature, and classic — but I wasn't sure where to start.

I asked the employee working at the register for her recommendations and for what people seem to like.

Based on her advice, I ordered the penne rosa, the buffalo mac and cheese, the Japanese pan noodles, and a plain order of zoodles, to try out their texture and flavor.

My order came out to $25 for four small dishes, or about $8 each. I feel like I got a decent amount of food for this price since I couldn't finish it all in one sitting.

There was plenty of dining space inside and outside. After about a 10-minute wait, I got my food and sat out on the patio.

Each dish was flavorful and well-portioned

The penne rosa was bursting with flavor, with whole bites and bits of tomato. The dish wasn't as creamy as I expected, but I liked that there was feta cheese sprinkled on top.

The spicy buffalo mac was soupier in texture rather than creamy, but I liked that there was extra cheese sprinkled on top of this dish as well.

If I had taken it to-go and eaten it at home, I would have microwaved it to melt the cheese on top. Still, it tasted good and I didn't think it was too spicy.

The Japanese pan noodles had a nice tang in the broad but balanced mix of flavors.

The texture of these noodles was my favorite of the four dishes, as they were thick, long, and soft to bite into.

Finally, I tried the zucchini noodles, which I ordered plain to test out the flavor and texture without the distraction of spices and sauces.

However, if I wanted to add an extra kick to my plain zoodles, there were also jars of Smoulder from Boulder spice mixes inside the restaurant.

The zoodles were thickly cut, and I think they could have been a great alternative in dishes like the Japanese pan noodles if I were gluten sensitive or trying to make a health-conscious substitution that still tasted good.

I plan to go back again to try more noodle combinations

In addition to traditional noodle dishes, the chain serves soups, salads, and a generous kids' menu with a selection of classics like Wisconsin mac and cheese and spaghetti and meatballs.

There are also family meal options, which can feed up to four people and include portions of more than one type of pasta.

Overall, Noodles & Co. felt like somewhere you could dine-in with family or friends or get to-go for a fast-casual meal, with something for everyone on the menu.

It seems like there are an endless number of noodle dishes to try, so I'll be going back again.