Ebar

Best coffee at the mall. Unfortunately that bar is pretty low. Still I am grateful for this little coffee bar because without it I’d be stuck with Starbucks at the bookstore. I drink espresso drinks which seem to be a real challenge for SB. The ebar does okay. This is not the coffee shop you drive across town for, but as a break from mall– head, it’s a treasure. Best part is the service. I come here frequently and the staff has always been fast, friendly and positive. I’d give them a fourth star if only the coffee wasn’t over-​roasted. This probably won’t matter as much to most folks. I’m a total coffee snob.

While standing by the cashier to buy a yummy slice of cake, I noticed the bakery products are no longer covered. Shortly thereafter, I see flies roaming around and even sitting on these delicious baked goods! I told the cashier thinking she would take me seriously but, she just looked at me and smirked like she could care less! Does anyone else think this is not hygienic to leave food out in the open? Whatever happened to the glass lid they had before covering the goodies?

E-​bar: E for Exciting!
After shopping for a while, I became very tired and decided to get a caffeine pick-​me-​up. I couldn’t think of where to go so I searched on Unilocal and found Nordstrom’s Ebar. Oh yea, I forgot about this little espresso café tucked in a corner outside the first floor of Nordstrom. When I arrived at the coffee shop, I found a great selection of hot and cold beverages: coffee, espresso based drinks, tea (Mighty Leaf bag tea), smoothies, and Ice Storms (basically blended powdered coffee, milk, and ice). So many delicious choices! I thought I would try an Ice Storm but then I saw the calories listed beside each Storm. Yikes! Too many calories for me. I really liked that the calories for each drink was listed on the menu. Too bad I don’t like plain Americano… only 10 calories! I went for the tall Caramel Macchiato with nonfat milk with a total of 110 calories. A good compromise in terms of calorie content and yumminess. The Ebar offers 3 milk choices: skim, 2%, and soy. Well, the Caramel Macchiato exceeded my expectations. I dislike syrupy sweet drinks and I was pleasantly surprised that this one had just the right amount of sweetness. It had nice caramel undertones with smooth coffee flavor… not bitter or burnt tasting like Starbucks. What a tasty way to perk up and continue shopping! Now I’m excited to visit Nordstrom Ebar again and try more of their drinks.