Nordstrom Cafe
Last week I got to enjoy a lunch outside the office with CC of Pink Candles at Ridgemont High. It was a gorgeous day and I was happy to get out of the office for a little while.
I’ve dined at Nordstrom quite a few times. I really like that despite the casual order-at-the-counter atmosphere, you’re treated to nice sit-down restaurant service while you are dining.
For lunch, they offer a variety of grilled sandwiches and salads. There’s also a really tasty looking dessert display.
I keep forgetting to take a picture of the menu which is not posted online.
We got in line to place our order. Then you are given your receipt and order information which you take to your table. it’s open seating and we chose a seat by the window. Shortly after being seated, a waiter came by to look over our order and ask us our drink options. A few minutes later, he returned with our food and drinks.
Attempting to eat healthy and not succumb to food coma, I chose the chicken artichoke and goat cheese salad.
CC chose the California Club sandwich. I love how they grill all the sandwiches. The bread crisps to a golden brown.
CC also ordered the pear almond tart, which our waiter exclaimed was one of his favorites. She was generous enough to share it with me. It was delicious. You could taste the almond flavor inside the buttery pastry dough. There were also many plump sweet golden raisins baked into the tart shell. And of course there was pear on top.
CC also got me a present from her recent trip to Oregon. French macarons! My favorite.
I love how many flavors this place has. Violet, passionfruit, just to name a few. Each one was bursting with flavor. She also gave me this chart where they draw all the macaron flavors. I love the whimsical art and the paper is actually a subtle shimmering pink, though you can’t really see it from the photo. It was a good thing I chose a salad for lunch so I could enjoy these macarons.
You can read CC’s account of our lunch here. My previous Nordstrom post can be found here.
Nordstrom Cafe
324 Horton Plz
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 239-1700
they don’t do the whole gamut of flavors everyday. seems like they only do 5 or 6 at a time and they rotate it. Three years ago when I went, they actually had ‘calamansi’ flavor. turns out the pastry chef used to live in the Philippines (but she is not Filipino)…so I thought it was cool she did that flavor. it’s not on their little flavor poster though so maybe it’s been ‘retired’ or it was a fluke or one time deal or something.
Oh I see. That makes sense. hard to offer all the flavors at once. So much work! But it would be disappointing if the flavors you want aren’t there the day you visit.
i like the fries
I’ve never had the fries.
i like how each of their macarons are decorated. the hazelnut had a small brushstroke of gold paint, the chocolate chips had little chip crmbs and so did the fleur de sel. the week before when we went to the other location of Pix (on Division), they had a pumpkin macaron that you would have loved. they decorated both sides of the macaron with pumpkin seeds, forming a flower pattern!
Yes I like the decorations too! And so many flavors..I kind of want to go visit just for the macarons.
I think nowadays, all the Nordstrom Cafes have the same menu items. The one at Fashion Valley can get pretty crowded at lunchtime, and the line is not very organized.
Oh I see. I guess maybe I won’t go visit then. I need to visit the cafe at Neiman Marcus.
I haven’t been as consistent going to Nordy’s cafe for awhile. I would drive to Fashion Valley just for their Chicken berry salad and their chicken panini. I recently had a shrimp arugula salad and it was pretty tasty. But man – is it EXPENSIVE or what for their salads! Have you tried Urban Plates in Del Mar? I think you’d like it – lots of salads and stuff – Tender Green style (kinda).
No I haven’t tried Urban Plates. I don’t get a chance to go to Del Mar much but I’ll put it on my list.
I could tell you were at the Horton Plaza location from the first pic! The Nordstrom Cafe at Fashion Valley used to have a grilled veggie sandwich that I loved. This was before the remodel, and for some reason, only Fashion Valley had it. And those macarons and chart are so pretty!
I’ve never actually been to the Fashion Valley one! I should visit to compare.