Normally, I am not a proponent of eating in a mall; however, Zodiac in the Neiman Marcus store in King of Prussia is an exception to my rule. Today, I took off from work to get a little shopping done for the Holiday and also spend time with my college-aged daughter. One of our favorite places over the years has been this restaurant although we may only get to it once or twice annually since they are only open for lunch.
Neiman Marcus’ restaurant is a dying breed in that it is one of the last of the department store restaurants that I know of. I recall fondly as a child being taken to the likes of every department store in our area for lunch. Downtown it was Wanamaker’s Crystal Tea Room or the basement counter (ah the rum raisin ice cream!), Lit Brother’s and Strawbridge’s. Closer to home we had the Trellis room at the Wynnewood Wanamaker’s, the Bird Cage Restaurant in Lord and Taylor (always 2 desserts from the cart for boys and men! Talk about a chauvinistic start!) and the Charleston Garden in B. Altman’s (Wednesday night buffet with sliced prime rib for $7.95! along with baked Alaska!). What child wouldn’t remember these places? This was the pre-cursor to my days as the “Fat Foodie”! Thank you chief!!
Zodiac is a contemporary restaurant on the 3rd floor of the Neiman Marcus store. It is bright and cheerful and you have a nice vantage point to look out over the rest of the mall outside areas. The restaurant today was crowded since it was the week before Christmas. We were seated almost immediately and I asked for our favorite waiter, Richard.
Richard has worked at Neiman for a while and served my mother for years when she would frequent the restaurant. It becomes very nostalgic for me because she and I shared many lunches here.
I started off with the strawberry lemonade ($4) which is a fabulous unique blend of sweetness and tartness in one. This is a house specialty. There were numerous hot lunch choices as well as specials, but I ordered the Tuna Pecan Salad on Wheat with lettuce and tomato ($12.50). Prior to receiving my sandwich I was treated to Zodiac’s traditional offering to all diners which is a small cup of chicken broth along with homemade popovers. The chicken broth is always delicious and today was no exception. This is a wonderful treat on a cold day! The Neiman Marcus popovers are served with strawberry butter (I always order plain butter as well) and are second to none! Picture a popover on steroids because that is the size of the popover you receive. Seconds are no problem on either the broth or popover and are readily encouraged!
My Tuna Pecan sandwich arrived and was very good also. There was nothing fancy about this sandwich, but it is good wholesome food!
My companion ordered the Cheeseburger which was quite delicious. This is a half pound grilled angus burger ($12.50) served with shoestring fries—the burger was done perfectly and was juicy and hot throughout. My dining partner was quite pleased with her choice!
While dining, there was a fashion show going on to pique the interest of the mostly female clientele.
Lunch for 2 was $25 before tax and tip because Richard gave us our drinks “on the house” since we had to wait a few minutes for a table at the counter.
This is still a really good dining experience and highly recommended!
4.5 Brownies
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