I’m going to assume this guy is the 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM Electric Bonsai Band (Not Electric, Not a Band).
The Bite of Crossroads was not crowded, and not too bad. Of course, I was there on a Sunday, and Saturday or Friday had possibly been worse. The bites seemed to be priced well: 4 bite coupons for $5, or a book of bite coupons for $12. The wording on the poster seemed to imply there were 20 coupons in the book, but it was quite ambiguous. In any case, I didn’t buy any coupons. I was there for my usual lunch, and ready to kick back and do a bit of peoplewatching. Not really in a mood to chase from stall to stall getting the food I needed.
From eavesdropping, families seemed to be having fun. One mom commented to her kid, “it’s just like trick or treating” (yeah, lady, except on Halloween it’ll be free). I didn’t bother participating for two reasons: (1) the restaurants participating are all occupants of the mall. If I feel like trying something new, they’ll be there next week. (2) I’ve been coming to the mall for four years now. I know what I want. I know where to get it.
After lunch, a quick wander around the main area of the mall…
Starbucks (the one by the half price books, not the one out in the parking lot) made a huge mistake with their bite, says the husband. Aforementioned bite was a shortbread cookie, pathetic when you consider their proximity to Coldstone Creamery, who were offering up an icecream and cake creation. Aforementioned husband claims that something in the coffee arena, say, COFFEE, would have gone over much better. It’s true that the only other drink being offered by the Bite of Crossroads was a bottle of Coke’s new low-carb offering — C2 from… QFC.
And speaking of low-carb, I was interested to note there were a lot of decently low-carb bites available. We’re not talking zero-carb options here, but as a for-example we have (from memory):
mini ribs from Jones BBQ
teriyaki chicken from Sushi Zen
vietnamese chicken salad from Papaya
some sort of greek salad from Ebru
sweet and sour (chicken? pork? I don’t remember) from Dragon Wok
And there’s your five buck meal complete with a “dessert” if you count the sweet in “sweet and sour” as a dessert.
I was disappointed to see that Boba, the new bubble tea place, hadn’t gotten their act together in time to open for the Bite. Other new happenings: the impending arrival of Silver Platters this fall, and Paris Miki has moved around the corner from Barnes and Noble. JoAnn appears to be settling into their new space, much to my surprise. I can’t quite get over a sewing store taking center stage (pardon the pun — they’re located right next to the stage) in the mall. I still want some sort of department store.

Related posts:

1. Crossroads Bites
2. Reasonable Eats… Mae Ploy Thai Cuisine
3. Sweetfest: A sugar shared
4. Waiter, There’s a Fish in My Beer
5. Edibles*: Hot Now! FREE Doughnut Day this Friday at Krispy Kreme