My new favorite place to eat is the Marketplace Cafe in Nordstrom at Ala Moana. I heard and read a lot about it when it first opened, but Catherine Toth's review of it in her "Daily Dish" blog is what really pushed me to go there. Read Cat's review here.
I first went there about a month ago, and upon entering, it was a little overwhelming. There was a sign saying to grab a tray, which we did, then we just stood there in awe. Fortunately, the staff is prepared to handle people standing there with their mouths open and suffering from temporary paralysis. She explained that we could look around, then order through the staff.
There are several different sections or stations. The first is primarily sandwiches and soups, and some entrees. I ordered a cup of tomato basil soup, per Cat's review, from this station. The next station consisted of pizza, pasta, and salads. Again, per Cat's review, I ordered the bleu cheese and pear salad, while my dining partner ordered the mushroom and pepperoni pizza. Then, a golden ray of light led us to spot some of the freshest fish we'd ever seen sitting on the counter behind the salads. We noticed that one of the dishes displayed with the salads was poke. We HAD to order it. The last station was a dessert counter. The desserts looked awesome, but we were too preoccupied with the other food and skipped it. Finally, we approached the cashier who will also provide glasses for drinks.
Let me step back a moment...one of the great things about the Nordstrom Cafe is they use REAL food displays, so you'll see almost exactly what you'll be getting. The other thing you should know is that they'll make what they can for you as soon as you order it, like soups and salads (including the poke). For other items that require more preparation time, they will provide you with a "ticket," which will be rung up at the register. The third thing is that the standard beverages are actually pretty cheap here! At about $1.95, it's cheaper than most other places we frequent, including Chili's. And yes, refills are included.
After you pay, you head into the dining room and find a seat. I've been there four times so far, and we've never had a problem finding a seat right away. You can eat outside too, but at Ala Moana, that doesn't appeal to me. I just picture myself choking on the bus exhaust fumes while trying to enjoy my dinner. If all goes well, a server should show up shortly after you seat yourself, and they will take the ticket from you and place the order for anything that you weren't immediately given.
As for the food, everything I've tried has been awesome! I am totally in love with the tomato basil soup and the artery-clogging crostini that comes with it! The blue cheese and pear salad also proved very worthy, as did the pepperoni and mushroom pizza (which is a pretty nice size for a one-person meal). But the poke...I heard angels sing as I bit into the poke and the unusual chips that came with it. The poke is tossed with a shoyu-based sauce and spread on a bed of an Asian slaw that is also tossed in a light dressing. But the best part of this dish is the won ton chips served with it. These are no ordinary won ton chips. They have furikake and who knows what other addictive substance sprinkled all over them. We figured out that this dish was probably meant to be eaten together by putting a little bit of the slaw and the poke on the chip. Heavenly!
It's been hard for me to stray from the above dishes, which I've eaten more than once. I have also tried the mushroom ravioli, which was excellent, and a special French dip sandwich served with seasoned fries. The French dip was good, but our service experience on that visit slightly marred the taste for me. Without going into all of the gory details, there were three of us and our food came out at drastically different times, leaving me waiting a good 20 minutes or so for my sandwich. By the time it came, my two friends had just about finished their food. However, I must say that our waiter handled the situation well and even offered me a soup while I waited.
This restaurant is a cross between cafeteria-style and table-service. It's nice that the servers refill your drinks for you (or they should) and come and check on you periodically to see if you need anything. On our first visit, we weren't sure how to handle the tipping. Surprisingly, a number of people left without leaving a tip! We don't leave as much as we would at a table-service restaurant, but we do leave something since they do bring out food, provide refills, bring you take-out containers if you need them, and periodically check to see how you're doing. On my last two visits, we noticed that they started leaving bill trays, except that since the food is already paid for, the trays have a card with the servers name and chocolate mints (which are REALLY good -- do not leave those behind!), presumably to encourage tips.
While some people think it's ridiculous to pay $10 for a sandwich, this is not your everyday sandwich place. And overall, the prices are very reasonable, with most items being in the $10-$12 range and having fairly generous portions. We have eaten meals here for less than some meals at Chili's. And even Zippy's prices are creeping up there. Besides, the quality of food here is excellent. Dishes are prepared to order, and for the most part, they are quite efficient and it's speedier than eating at a table-service restaurant. We feel the food and service are worth it, and it is definitely someplace I will frequent. Give it a try!
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