I am not sure why, but department store restaurants just never enticed me. Allen and I were meeting a friend at Cerritos and needed to find a place to grab a bite. Not wanting asian food, I was a little lost where and what to eat. When I found Nordstrom Bistro with all the glorious reviews on Yelp, I thought I would take a chance. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
I hadn’t been to Cerritos Mall in years. When I approached South Street exist on 605 freeway, I saw a Halloween banner hanging on the building where Nordstrom once stood. OMG, did it close? With the way economy is going and so many stores closing, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. I decided to drive around the mall anyway. Luckily, it had just relocated to the other end where Robinson used to be. Whew!
The Bistro is located on the second floor. The interior is modern and open where you can see the kitchen. On a Thursday night, it was pretty empty. I asked to be seated but was told we had to order at the cashier first and the server would bring the food to the table. Alright. I grabbed a menu and looked it over with Allen. The menu was not very big, but had enough selections and varieties for everyone. Once we ordered and paid, we headed to a booth.
Our waiter was a handsome young man with a very cute accent. He was friendly and attentive through out dinner. Although I thought he should have just brought out the bread without asking if we wanted some. C’mon, who would turn down free bread, right? 🙂
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My entree selection was NIÇOISE SALAD WITH SALMON made with organic baby greens, romaine lettuce, herb and dijon roasted salmon, french green beans, kalamata olives, petite tomatoes, red onion, potatoes, egg, capers and dijon balsamic vinaigrette. I loved it! The salmon was tender and flavorful. The potatoes were perfectly roasted and the dijon balsamic vinaigrette was light and refreshing.
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Our friend ordered the STEAK & ARUGULA SALAD with organic baby arugula, thinly sliced flat iron steak, roasted zucchini, jumbo white beans, oven-roasted tomatoes, parmesan cheese and garlic croutons with dijon balsamic vinaigrette. She also enjoyed it very much. I took a piece of the steak and it very tender for flat iron steak.
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Allen had BRAISED SHORT RIB SANDWICH made with dark cherry braised short ribs, sharp white cheddar cheese, organic baby arugula, pickled onions and jalapeño aïoli on toasted baguette. He said it was just OK. The flavor was lackluster and the cheese tasted more American than ‘Sharp White Cheddar’.
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Even though we were stuffed, we decided to try some desserts. The Strawberry Short Cake was very pretty. The ‘Short Cake’ actually tasted more like biscuit but we didn’t mind.
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The Chocolate cake with caramel sauce was sooooo good! OMG, if you ever go and you like chocolate cake, you must try this.
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If you’ve never tried Norstrom Bistro, take a chance like I did. It’s worth it!
