Restaurant Review: Cafe Nordstrom, Cherry Hill Mall, Cherry Hill, New Jersey

The Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey's Camden County is one of the very oldest indoor malls in the country. Over the years, it has, thankfully, undergone several face lifts in terms of both size and tenants. (Additional parking would have been most welcome, but that never really transpired. Parking at this mall is always at a premium.)

Perhaps the biggest and best news for the Cherry Hill Mall, announced over two years ago, was the addition of the Nordstrom's department store, which puts this Mall in serious competition for truly upscale shopping within the Delaware Valley area. Its flagship stores included the former Strawbridge & Clothier (now gone), Macey's, J.C. Penney, flanked by dozens and dozens of your usual mall 'suspect' stores: Chico's, Talbot's, Crabtree & Evelyn, Coach, jewelry chain stores, Abercrombie & Fitch, the Express, etc.

Much was made of the wisdom of opening a Nordstrom's during what is most likely the worst economic recession in American history. A recent trip in early April, 2009, two weeks after the store officially opened its doors, proved a pleasant surprise. There were people looking and buying (including myself!) There were designers that southern New Jersey and Philadelphia folks haven't seen in one location, probably ever. The store isn't huge, but it's bright, well designed, very comfortable (check out the flooring!) and what they do have is truly top of the line. I've also been told that when Nordstrom's holds a sale, it is a fantastic sale.

Along with Nordstroms, several new dining establishments opened almost simultaneously, including Maggiano's and the high-end Cafe Select, both of which are accessible from the mall exterior. We decided that after two hours of checking out Nordstroms, their cafe looked very tempting.

This was one of those times that it was a very good idea indeed to give in to temptation! We had a wonderful, delightful lunch there - and apparently so did the dozens of other people who were there on a chilly weekday, as the place was packed with both diners and folks getting carry out orders. (A stroke of genius: You've run to Nordstrom's to pick up a few things - why not pick up lunch or dinner for the family as well since you're already there?!) Bear in mind that the Cafe is pretty and softly lit, but not what you would call 'elegant'. On one visit, we were seated by the windows overlooking the parking lot, but a screen placed over the windows blocked out the view, thankfully. It tends to be more on the dim side rather than brightly lit; after even an hour of frantic shopping, it can be a very soothing, laid back atmosphere in which to dine.

In short form, here's what you need to know:

1. Everything served at the Nordstrom Cafe is very, very good, ranging from the really good to the excellent.

2. It's a cafeteria-style service: You look over the menu at the counter before placing your order with the cashier and paying. (They accept cash and credit.) The cashier will give you a piece of paper with your order printed out on it and ask you to find a seat.

3. The place isn't huge, which is a shame, but its booths are very comfortable. Grab one of those when you can. A waitress will bring you your drink order and cutlery once you're seated, and take your order slip from you. Expect a short wait - ours on our first visit was immediate beverage, ten minutes for food.

4. They don't mind if you share your meals. If so, ask the waitress for extra plates. The servers and cashiers here as of early April, 2009 were extremely professional, pleasant, friendly and willing to do whatever they could to accommodate your requests. Portions are generous!

5. They offer a daily special sandwich and a daily special soup. On one visit, the soup was tomato artichoke. While we passed on that, the woman at the next table thoroughly enjoyed her bowl of it.

6. Prices are not dirt cheap, but you do get what you pay for. This isn't 'diner' dining, but more of a first-rate restaurant 'lite' menu dining experience. Soups are $3.50 a cup, $4.50 a bowl (always get the bowl!)

7. They have a great salad selection ranging in price from $8.95 to $10.50. Our favorite salad was the Lime & Cilantro Chicken Salad, with organic greens, romaine, pepper jack cheese, pumpkin seeds, roasted peppers, corn, tomatoes and a cilantro-lime vinaigrette dressing, for $9.25. Other options range from Chinese Chicken, Grilled Chicken, Nicoise, Chicken Caesar, Blue Cheese and Pear (which at $8.95 was the least expensive and very good), and a huge vegetable salad that is probably the equivalent of 18 servings of V-8.

8. Their pizzas are enough for two to share comfortably and are excellent. My Margherita pizza was, frankly, delicious and prepared exactly the way this type of pizza should be served. It came to the table hot, but not so hot that the plate was deadly. The cafe also offers a wild mushroom and sausage and a grilled chicken and artichoke. (Artichokes are the 'new' vegetable of the year, apparently, and are showing up on menus all over the place. New York Magazine gave glowing recommendations to a pizzeria called 'Artichoke Basille', which opened in 2008, as one of the city's top pizza joints.) The Margherita is $8.95, the other two priced at $9.50. Don't be shy about taking home extra slices!

9. There are options for both vegetarians and for shoppers with kids in tow. One of the Cafe's specialities is a huge mound called 'Rustic Vegetables' ($8.75). (Other specialties include roast salmon at $11.25, which I thought to be a bit pricy, and a Tuscan roast chicken at $9.95; both the chicken and salmon came with roasted potatoes and a nicely sized portion of those 'rustic' vegetables.)

There's also a roasted vegetable panini for $8.25, which a friend of mine heartily enjoyed. They do offer three pasta dishes, but none are vegetarian. (Spicy Chicken Penne, Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto - delicious at $10.95, and a Chicken Pasta Rossa with bacon, mushrooms and spinach in a 'red' sauce at $10.25). The pasta dishes are large, hearty and filling, but I do think you can do better budget-wise with other dishes.

There's a nice kid's menu priced from $4.50 to $4.95. The Chicken Fingers is the only kid's dish at $4.95; the other $4.50 offerings include grilled cheese and tomato soup (a great deal!), a hot dog, cheese pizza, macaroni and cheese, and a delightful fruit, cheese and crackers plate. All of their kids' meals include a placemat for coloring, thank goodness, as well as the child's choice of soda, milk or juice in a free Kid's Cafe cup.

10. Their best values, besides the pizzas, are in the Sandwich section. (All come with a nice helping of what appear to be baked potato chips.) The Horseradish Roast Beef was excellent, and they didn't skimp on the horseradish. The beef was good, the roll even better. Also offered are a Chicken Mozzarella, Cranberry Turkey (which another friend really loved - it had Havarti cheese, alfafa sprouts and cranberry chutney on a multigrain ciabatta roll), Chicken and Sun Dried Tomato Panini, Honey Roasted Ham and Apple, and a large Turkey Club on country bread.

Desserts are actually quite good as well. Their brownies, scones and my favorite, the chocolate-covered macaroon, are all large enough to be shared. They vary from day to day, and each dessert ranges in price from $2.50 to $4.95, depending upon what they have on that particular day. In addition to the large macaroon, which had tons of coconut inside, their brownies are heavenly as well! Coffee was good and strong, and refills came promptly and unasked on a regular basis for soft drinks.

The Nordstrom Cafe is open on Monday through Saturday from 10:00 A.M. to 9:30 P.M., and on Sundays from 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.

On each of our visits, we had great food, great seating and nobody rushed us from our seats. If you choose your meal wisely, it really doesn't get much better than that!