A dietary staple of the State Street lifestyle, Noodles & Company sits on the intersection of Johnson Street and Madison's famed pedestrian walkway in the downtown area. With a recent face lift, a relatively new menu and prices that have long accommodated the student budget, the trendy sit-down restaurant — part of a growing national chain — is fresh as ever. And to show off the eatery's new look, spunky advertising and unique appeal, Noodles & Company has tapped a national spokesperson of sorts — an Asparagus Queen, to be exact.

Allison Doyle, who will be transferring into the University of Wisconsin this fall, wears her vegetative tiara — won in a national contest — with pride, raves about the restaurant's signature Wisconsin Mac & Cheese and is quick to lecture about the healthy benefits of asparagus.

"With its abundance of vitamins C, A & Folic Acid, asparagus-eating Badgers will be stronger, happier and more productive," Doyle comments when asked what Madison stands to gain from consuming the oft-esoteric vegetable.

With an application written entirely in rhyme, Doyle scribed her way to regality with such marketable proclamations as "What's my favorite vegetable on earth? / The green Asparagus, it's been my favorite since my birth."

But between the newly crowned queen's garden enthusiasm and Noodles & Company's eye-catching green advertisements, one must wonder if the restaurant's true appeal hasn't been side-stepped. Sure, in an age of carb-watching, well-prepared asparagus must have some common appeal. But Noodles & Company really wins with their classic dishes. The Japanese Pan Noodles have a beautifully thick texture, ideally complimentary sauce and the perfect amount of mushrooms mixed in. The Indonesian Peanut Sauté claims a delightful kick, full portion size and goes marvelously with a chicken breast. Other items are excellent as well — in fact, few fail to please — and even Doyle's favorite dish, the Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, couldn't be farther from the lengthy green of asparagus.

"[I]t is such a classic," the queen notes. "I can always go for a bowl of Mac & Cheese."

"As the national Asparagus Queen, Doyle will have various queenly duties, including spreading the word about the much loved, but often misunderstood asparagus, and the benefits of consuming healthy, fresh vegetables everyday at Noodles & Company," the restaurant chain notes in a press release. "She'll also need to do the queenly wave on command. In exchange for her hard work, Doyle will dine free for one year at Noodles & Company and will fly free with a friend anywhere Frontier Airlines flies in the continental U.S."

And Doyle is wild about those victorious perks.

"The best part of being Asparagus Queen is simple: I get free Noodles for a year," Doyle notes. "Some people think I might get tired of eating at Noodles every day, but what college student would get sick of free food? Also, I get 2 airline tickets as part of the prize, so I’m all set for spring break."

Oh, and she even gets to keep the tiara at the end of the year.