It’s nice to see the department store lunch counter grow up. You still order at the front, but there aren’t plastic trays or patty melts. Instead of burgers and fries, there’s steak frites; instead of chocolate malts and root beer floats, there’s peach tea and dainty glasses of ruby red pinot noir, brought to you by actual servers. It’s enough to make us want to go to the mall.
This article appears in Sep 12-18, 2007.