A Eulogy for the Shopping Mall: What are/were your favorite food court foods?

Question

The shopping mall is dead. General Growth Properties, one of the biggest and most powerful mall-owners, has filed for bankruptcy. 

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/general-growth-properties-files-for-bankruptcy/?hp

It's been a long time since I've strolled past a Wet Seal or Sharper Image, but there's one thing I'll definitely miss: the food court and all of the utterly bad-for-you but viciously tempting goodies peddled within. 

I'm curious: What food court foods do you consider to be the most classic examples? I can immediately recall Sbarro, Hot Dog On a Stick, Panda Express, Orange Julius, Cinnabon, Mrs. Field's and Auntie Anne's Pretzels (or some other pretzel joint). What else can you think of? 

And of all these places, which nibbles did you love the most?



My favorites:

a frothy Orange Julius in a styrofoam cup

a gooey Cinnabon with that slimy cinnamon goo and runny icing

a burns-your-tongue hot Hot Dog On A Stick (eg a corndog) with accompanying pulpy lemonade

Answer

Auntie Anne's Pretzels, specifically for their Honey Mustard which was crack addictive.

Always had a soft spot for a Sbarro slice, especially when a bit dried out from being under the heat lamp.

My late Mom loved Cinnabon and when she was dianosed with terminal cancer, it was her most requested food.

Answer

In my area the Food Court seems to be the cash cow of the mall. Maybe the dollars are not being spent in retail stores, but families don;t packa a picnic for a day at the mall. A teen I know working there (Chick Fila) reports mega heavy traffic and sales on the weekends. Of course his owners have cut back staff latching onto "the failing economy" train... 

My faves are the "egg rolls" (I used to bring my own tabasco) , the baked potato place and the pulpy lemonade stand.

Answer

I'm a sucker for the bourbon chicken from Cajun Grill (and occasionally the Chinese places). I've tried duplicating that sweet brown sauce at home, to no avail. I am reasonably sure it doesn't have bourbon in it, though.

I also love Auntie Anne's pretzels.

Answer

What I miss most is the Kirgilnix at Malko's. :)

Answer

I still love mall food court food. There is something about walking around gathering samples, discussing with the BF before committing to one that I enjoy. 

Back in the day it was Roli Boli (sp?) stromboli. Hot, greasy and full of meat and cheese.

For dessert Cinnabon. I hate cinnamon buns, but loved the extra frosting that came with Cinnabon buns. 

On a "healthy day" it was a fruit smoothie and one of those huge baked potatoes.

Answer

for the chains Kernels popcorn , New York Fries. I love Orange Julius but can't remember the last time I had one, or a DQ Blizzard. 

I've had plenty of really great food court food from Jamaican to middle eastern to thai etc etc.

Answer

Oh boy, what a fun topic!! I worked at the mall all through high school and if memory serves...

Great Steak& Fry Co- a total grease bomb!
Manchu Wok
of course Orange Julius and Cinnabon
A cookie joint (I can't remember the name) that had gigantic cookies and brownies

Answer

Ahh...I remember the Saturday in middle school when I first learned that fries could be an entree. Mark Moseley's Famous Fries, to be exact. Fries and a home perm, what more does a girl need?

Answer

How about Cupim Hamburgers. Loved their potato bread buns.

Answer

My strongest mall food memories predate the food court.

Back in the day we loved going to York Steak House at the Warwick (RI) Mall. We actually waited in line for a half hour or more to shuffle through a cafeteria-style line for a tray full of slop. Butter was three cents a pat; of course we hid a couple under our plates to put one over on the man. And there was always a girl asking if you wanted "hot delicious mushroom sauce on that?" Of course we did, we were living large.

Good times, good times.

Answer

I have the fondest memories of Auntie Anne's cinnamon-sugar pretzels and licking all the sugary goodness from my hands! Im sure it was a nightmare for my parents, but those mall food memories will be with me forever!

Answer

Before there was a Cinnabon, there was T.J. Cinnamons. Not much left of them now, and those are part of the Arby's chain. They did it first, they did it best, but they fell down in executing expansion and lost ground to Cinnabon's better business management.

T.J. Cinnamon's - a true food court classic

Answer

Jalepeno cheese on a stick at the hot dog on a stick places.

Answer

Maybe this is heresy - especially coming from a New Yorker - but IMHO the upstate NY chain Sicilian Delight has some of the best (non-brick-oven, non-fancy) pizza around. I still stop by the food court for a slice of pepperoni whenever I go visit my folks in Ithaca.

Answer

I was always up for the challenge of a huge plate of food from Manchu Wok. Yummy breaded smothered chicken "teriyaki" or something like that plus rice and egg rolls and the whole nine yards. I remember a high school boyfriend being AMAZED as I ate the entire plate.

Answer

Flamers. They were only in a few malls that I've been to, but when I saw one, I always went there. They cooked the burgers to order.

Auntie Anne's Pretzels with honey mustard dip. Don't forget the salt and butter.

Answer

We used to have a place called Hot Sam. It was a pretzel place like Auntie Anne's but MUCH better and man, did I love getting one of those with pizza sauce or what have you, those were great. They weren't as squishy and sweet as auntie anne's pretzels.

Answer

To clarify, malls aren't dead. The industry is hurting (as are all retail sectors in this bad economy) but it's too big to just up and disappear. Even the malls run by now-bankrupt GGP will keep operating.

But you're right that the types of food-court staples you describe, are kind of on the way out. You'll still find 'em in lower-end malls (like Sunvalley, Hilltop, and Southland in the SF Bay Area, where I live), but in nicer malls, they've increasingly taken a back seat to Starbucks and more upscale, less outdated options.

That said, this thread has me craving a Cinnabon something fierce.

Answer

Aww, I love food court food! I still hit up Sbarro when I'm at the mall. I get pasta salad with extra dressing, and a garlic roll with marinara to dip. I sure did like Hot Dog On A Stick, though. I'd get a cheese on a stick, and dip it in mustard. And a cherry lemonade. And I would be so thankful that I didn't work there and have to wear that stupid hat! The pretzel places are always good, I like to get the buttered, salted pretzel nuggets, and dip them in cream cheese.

Answer

In Canada, we had a chain called "Jimmy the Greek". Their souvlaki special was always a fave of mine. "Greek salad" that was chopped lettuce with a few olives, some onions, and feta with dressing (the dressing wasn't all that bad). Choice of roast potatoes or rice from the steam table. Then they'd fish out a chicken or pork souvlaki skewer from these trays where they were partially cooked and sitting in some kind of broth, and throw it on the grill for a couple of minutes. But they had this absolutely wonderful "garlic sauce" that they threw on the meat, and somehow, it all tasted pretty good, especially for $4. 

There's still a few around, but their prices have gone up, and portions gone down. Haven't visited one in quite a while.

Answer

Chick-fil-A: Love their lemonade, soft serve (I think it's called "ice dream"), fried chx sandwich
The Original Cookie: Damn, everything was literally hot out of the oven...And the samples were always generous

www.thelunchbelle.com

Answer

What I remember marveling at is the number of people who chose to go to Burger King at the local food court. I mean, why would you with all the food court exclusive options?

There was a baked potato place I liked; can't remember the exact name

Answer

I already miss Hot Dog on a Stick because I relocated to the Midwest without any outlets nearby. The Cherry Lemonade is great. I miss the veggie hot dog on a stick option from a mall in Santa Cruz/Capitola.

I also used to hit up Mrs. Fields cookies during every mall visit; at the end of the day, the store would often give away extra cookies.

And for awhile when I was a mallrat, I lived on Gloria Jeans Ice Cap drinks, sugary cold goodness with a little bit of coffee included. Yum. 

When I was little, my mom took us to Eastridge Mall in San Jose ( crazy big mall with 3 or 4 levels and sloping hanging walkways I used to run down, driving mom crazy). Anyway, we'd hit the donut store at the food court. I seem to remember crazy pink and blue circle 1970s decor and really good glazed donuts. Don't see many donut places anymore in malls.

Answer

Our mall opened a Gelato spot in the 70's and it seemed so cool and modern. Of course we also had Magic Pan, with the fancy crepe wheel, and the spinach souffle crepe, and mandarin oranges in the salad! And what was the deal with Morrison's cafeteria? It was a huge deal in Florida but I don't remember why.

Answer

Hot Dog On a Stick. Corn dogs with mustard always hit the spot but the must-have for me is the fresh lemonade with lots of ice.

Answer

I remember when the old Menlo Park Mall in Edison, NJ got redone and it had a food court...we had never seen a true food court in our area until then. There was a place called South Philly Cheesesteaks that my friends and I (and our 15 year old metabolisms) loved! They had the best fries. 
I was also a big fan Auntie Annies's pretzels and also of Cinnabon.
However, I ended working in retail for 7 years so my love of mall food courts has greatly diminished.

Answer

I used to hang out at Orland Square Mall back in the day - and there wasn't a whole lot of stuff I WOULD eat (very picky) but I remember the hamburger joint in the food court - they had the best cheeseburgers! I can't remember the name, but it had a model train that would run around the perimeter of the store...

And Winchell's donuts. Those were the BEST.

Answer

Boardwalk Fries!!! I had a $3 budget to feed myself when I worked at Walden Books (who remembers?) I would order the medium fries and a side of hot cheese sauce, yes the bright orange plastic cheese sauce. They had a condiment bar that had spices, salts, ketchup, etc, and I would use the seasoning salt and malt vinegar very liberally over my medium fries and then dip in the cheese sauce. I would get a free ice water cause my budget allow to actually get a drink.

When I was a child, I definitely remember begging my mom for one of those big baked potatoes, bacon and the bright orange plastic cheese every time we went to the mall. It was so decadent to my 10 year old taste buds.

Answer

Here in Southwestern Ontario there used to be a chain called mmmmmmuffins. When we'd stop at the mall we'd beg our mom to go there because, besides muffins, they had gigantic chocolate chip cookies which seemed to have more chocolate than cookie. If they were fresh out of the oven and still gooey, even better. It didn't take much persuading to get mom to open her wallet.

Answer

I really liked the mochalotta chill at Cinnabon. Course I would get a cinnabon too. Once my friend found a twenty dollar bill on the floor of a department store. He took me straight to Cinnabon.

Answer

When I was a kid I thought my hometown mall was big. Little did I know that it is merely a spit in the ocean of Mall-dom. But I loved to get one of those huge pretzels with the gianormous flakes of salt. That freaky "cheese" out of the squirt bottle and mustard. I was in heaven.

When I worked at the Rushmore Mall in Rapid City, SD I love the huge baked potatoes from Spuds 'n' Stuff. Broccoli, cauliflower, cheese sauce and bacon was my favorite lunch to fuel up during the Christmas season I worked at Swiss Colony.

Answer

I know most of my answers have been used already, but anyway:

Cinnabon, actually make that 2 Pecanbons with extra frosting (one for now, one to take home and have later)
Broccoli and spinach calzone at Sbarro (one of the few "vegetarian" options I actually go for), with extra marinara sauce poured over it
Ben and Jerry's ice cream
Cappuccino Blast at Baskin Robbins

Answer

Hot Dog on a Stick is still alive and kicking at the South Plains Mall in Lubbock, Texas. Roughly once a month I'll grab a big cheese on a stick with a little cup of mustard, a Chick Fil-A sandwich and some waffle fries, sit on a bench and relive the good ol' days of the 1970s. 

And speaking of the good ol' days, a couple of Swiss things have gone missing and I miss them very much. Specifically, there was a little place called Swiss Pretzels (or somesuch) whose pretzels were much better than Auntie Anne's, IMO. And I also miss Swiss Colony. Man what a bonanza for the cheese and sausage-lover!

Answer

Food court "Japanese" food: teriyaki chicken on the metal griddle, chopped up and sauteed with those big metal spatulas. Served with sauce over white rice with steamed veggies. My parents and I used to go to the mall just for that. It was amusing for my parentsto talk to the servers and realize they all spoke Chinese.

Answer

Let's start with Panda Express, love that place though to be honest I would only eat the foods I would never order from a local Chinese restaurant. Then there's Nathan's. I'm not sure how many malls it was in, but when we lived in Jersey City NJ there was one iin the mall and when we'd go to the movies that's what we'd have for dinner. When I was dating my future wife, I took her to Nathan's for her first time. I kept raving to her how good the french fries were and how sh'e never had anything like them. Well, sh got her "cup" of fries, had a few and under the top three was a whole potato that had gone through the fryer (still hard as a rock). We took it back to the counter and they gave her the largest portion of fries I'd ever seen. Now, when it comes to Orange Julius, the first time I had that was back in the late 50's early 60's when I would go visit my father at work in the jewelry district in Manahattan. Wonderful memories.

Answer

I'm not ready to put a nail in the coffin yet. Although I avoid shopping malls when at home, we always stop at Magnolia Mall in Florence, SC, on our trips up and down I-95. One kid loves the pizza, another the fried rice and lo mein, spouse the steak and cheese sub, and me a surprisingly decent falafel. 30 minutes and everyone is happy.

As a kid, I spent way too many hours at the food court at Del Amo mall in Torrance, CA. Don't remember actually eating anything except orange julius and french fries.

Answer

Cookies Steak Pub~
Kings Plaza Mall - Brooklyn NY circa 1070's
OMG what I wouldnt do to go back in time!
They were similar to I guess a Beefsteak Charlies - but WAY better!
Oh the salad bar was the first and by FAR the BEST I have ever seen! With big fresh plump all you can peel and eat shrimp, the greatest herb butter for the breads, and thier specialty was their homemade banana bread! It was a feast even before the entree came!
And all the beer, wine or sangria you could drink! (though I was too young to partake!)

Also have to give a shout out to Orange Julius -
Orange was great - but it was the strawberry Julius that I would kill for - nothing like it ever!
I guess they are still around - but I havent seen one in YEARS!
Mall shopping is akin to hell for me!!

Answer

Most have already been mentioned:
Roy Rogers
Regino's Pizza
D'Angelos and Steve's Ice Cream -- Mmmm
Panda Express

Answer

I can still get Auntie Anne's pretzels at the mall, and I love them. I love that unique buttery flavor that tastes nothing like the common street pretzel. Honey mustard is good, but so is that fake orange cheese. 

I remember a short-lived mall chain called Flamers. They would actually cook the burgers to your liking. Best mall burgers ever. I miss them!

That mall Chinese food is totally addictve.

Topics

Locations

Your post has been published!

A Eulogy for the Shopping Mall: What are/were your favorite food court foods?

More from Chowhound

Guides

The Ultimate Spring Produce Guide: What's in Season & How to Use It

Recipe Round-Ups

Quick and Easy Instant Pot Breakfast Recipes for Less Morning Stress

Guides

How to Care for Enameled Cast Iron So It Lasts a Lifetime

Home

The Best Tool to Clean a Wood Cutting Board Is Probably in Your Compost Bin

Trending Discussions

Chowhound Recipes That You are Saving

A Final Goodbye for Chowhound

Favorite Chowhound Memories

NY Times: Chowhound Closes After 25 Years of Food Obsession, Wisdom and Debate

January–April 2022 Baking COTM: DESSERT PERSON by Claire Saffitz

Quick Links

Latest Discussions

Cookbook of the Month

Dish of the Month

Weekly Menu Planning

Get fresh food news delivered to your inbox

12 Irish Foods to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day That Aren’t Corned Beef and Cabbage

Chowhound

Policies

Community

Editorial

Content