Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you’re getting fat and maybe it’s been raining too long, you’re just sad that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
Paul Varjak: Sure.
Holly Golightly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany’s. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that’d make me feel like Tiffany’s, then - then I’d buy some furniture and give the cat a name!

I always related to this scene from Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Audrey Hepburn. If you insert the word “Nordstrom” for “Tiffany’s,” then you will understand something important about me. I swear that when I enter the doors of a Nordstrom, my blood pressure dips and I feel soothed in my soul. I’m not trying to be poetic or hyperbolic here - that’s honestly how it feels to me.

So it makes perfect sense that Cafe Nordstrom would be an extra-special place to me, combining the quality and service of the rest of the store with the comfort of quality food prepared to order. If I have a case of the “mean reds” I know I will find a delicious remedy at the Cafe.

All of the Cafe Nordstroms that I’ve visisted are quite a bit different from each other, making me curious about how they vary and what adventures await me at Cafes I haven’t yet visited. This feeling reminds me of a classmate from high school named Kathy who is so obsessed with the Mexican restaurant Chevy’s that she has visited 64 of the establishments all around the country. She even devised an extremely detailed rating system for them and created a web site - Shrine to Chevy’s - to document her passion for Chevy’s.

I don’t think I’m going to take my love for Cafe Nordstrom to that extreme, but I can totally understand where Kathy’s coming from.

In San Diego County, we are fortunate enough to have four Nordstroms - Fashion Valley, Horton Plaza, UTC, and North County Fair. The Fashion and Horton Cafes are tied in my book. Horton might have a slight edge because you can sit on their patio and enjoy an amazing view of downtown San Diego.

You can eat your lunch and gaze towards the Coronado Bridge, the ballpark, the convention center…

UTC used to have a full cafe, very similar to the one at Horton. After some renovations, the UTC Cafe is now located outside of the store, on the second level, and it’s basically a coffee shop with a couple pre-packaged salads, yogurt parfaits, and fruit bowls. It’s great for when you’re on the run and just need an iced tea (try their Ginger Peach by Republic of Tea) and a little healthy-ish food to go.

It’s been a long while since I’ve visited the Cafe at North County Fair. I’ll have to go back soon to see exactly what it’s like now that I’m food-obsessed and blogging.

My main Cafe Nordstrom experiences are at their Fashion Valley locale. Fashion is the main shopping situation in San Diego. My friend who moved to L.A. says that the main thing she misses about S.D. is Fashion Valley. It has a ton of stores and it’s always very busy. I would venture to say that, in a given year, every San Diegan must visit Fashion at least once. It’s hard to avoid and why would you want to?

I recently got my friend Amanda hooked on Cafe Nordstrom, to the point where she’ll call and ask not if I want to go shopping at Fashion, but if I want to go to lunch at the Cafe. The answer is always “Yes!” Typically we split a salad and a sandwich. Then we hit the shops, satisfied and energized!

The Cafe is set up cafeteria-style, so you grab a tray and stop at the whatever station you need - Soups, Sandwiches, Panini, Salads, Pasta, Pizza, and more. Here’s what we got the other day:

Artichoke & Chicken Salad - $8.25 - Romaine, greens, grilled chicken, artichoke hearts, roma tomato, red onion, goat cheese, fresh basil, kalamata olives, red wine vinaigrette - This was one of the tastiest salads I’ve had in a long time. The artichoke hearts paired nicely with the creamy tartness of the goat cheese. The dressing was perfect - tons of flavor but yet it didn’t overpower the flavors of the ingredients. I’ll definitely be getting this one again.

Panini California - $7.95 - Smoked turkey breast, avocado, roma tomato, swiss cheese, roasted garlic aioli, sourdough bread - This one is our new favorite. We went through a period of being stuck on the Hickory Smoked Turkey sandwich, but this panini really kicks the sandwich concept up a notch! It makes me want to get a panini grill at home ASAP.

To round out our meal, I usually get a bottle of Republic of Tea on ice. Sometimes we get a fruit bowl in an attempt to be healthy. In typical Nordstrom fashion, the staff of the Cafe leave you with a sweet taste in your mouth as you leave, bringing two little sticks of packaged dark chocolate mints and a business card thanking you for your patronage. The other day, our server’s business card has a Suzy’s Zoo sticker on it and a smiley face with her name.

See what I mean about Nordstrom being the happiest place on Earth? For me, it definitely is - by a long shot!

Anyone have any reports on Cafe Nordstroms in other parts of the country? If so, I’d love to hear them!