What I Ate: November 1, 2009 (Nordstrom's Cafe Bistro, Schlotzsky's)

Lunch: We ate lunch at Nordstrom's Cafe Bistro. Again, we thought the food was excellently executed. During our meal, I posed the question - how can a cafe in a Nordstrom's perform better than many of the restaurants in Austin? If the talent is available, then how come they are working at Nordstrom? The best we could come up with is that (a) the recipes are developed by a sophisticated team with vast resources at their disposal (test kitchens, expert tasters/field testing, etc.) so each location only needs to concentrate on executing the food preparation and not have to worry about menu and recipe design and (b) risk to employees (job stability; restaurant management) is probably a lot lower and benefits (perhaps medical, etc.) a lot better as an employee of a large corporation vs. an independent restaurant which means they can lure some talented cooks who aren't looking for the "glory" and "romance" of running their own restaurant.

Tortilla chicken soup. (The thick soup had really well balanced flavors. The chicken flavor was clearly throughout the entire soup, but a little heat, some cheese, and crispy tortilla chips made this really good.)

Beet Salad. (Candied pecans added a nice sweet crunchy texture to the cooked beets and fresh spinach salad. The goat's cheese added a pleasant (but very mild) acidic and musky flavor that melted into the salad. An occasional sour cherry brought another aspect of sweetness along with a sharp sourness that made this a really enjoyable salad.)

Wild Mushroom Pizza. (The crust tasted of fermented dough and slight saltiness - excellent considering so many pizzas we've tried have a nearly flavorless crust. The crust was also crispy on the bottom and just a little bit chewy - great texture. The toppings worked well with each other - the caramelized onions added a sweetness that didn't overpower the mushrooms.)

Dinner: We haven't been to a Schlotzsky's since the first day we arrived in Austin, so we stopped in one tonight. We split two sandwiches:

The Original - the bread isn't "real" sourdough, but whatever it is I like it.

Chipotle Guaca-Beefsky (more chipotle sauce would have made it better)

We also had their jalapeno chips which we've have several times before and always loved. For some reason, we didn't think they were so great this time around. Maybe we got a mediocre batch?