Northwest Arkansas Mall Food Court Offers Standard Fare

4201 N. Shiloh Drive

Fayetteville

We don’t normally head to the mall to eat lunch, but lots of folks work there or find themselves shopping there during the noon hour, so the food court is the logical choice.

As mall food courts go, this one is … well, pretty much like all the others. Certain chain eateries proliferate in mall food courts — like Sbarro, the pizza place. We’ve never seen a Sbarro anywhere other than a mall. And that’s fine. Sbarro offers pizza by the slice, just what many people want to tide them over during a shopping spree.

The only locally owned eatery at the mall is The Marketplace Express, which is owned by the same group that has The Marketplace Grill in Springdale and Brioso Brazil in Bentonville.

We tried the grilled chicken salad ($5.50) at The Marketplace Express and thought it was quite good. The salad has the usual ingredients: mixed greens, grilled chicken, cheese, bacon and croutons.

We noticed The Marketplace Express charges for water. We can’t remember how much it costs, but it’s the only place in Northwest Arkansas we’ve seen do that.

The diner who ate at Kelly’s Cajun Grill on the east side of the food court was initially skeptical of the fare. She loves Louisiana food and doesn’t care for imitations.

The Cajun Grill uses New Orleans as a fast-food theme, offering dishes such as bourbon chicken and red beans and rice — which was served dry and tossed rather than in Louisiana’s gooey style.

The Cajun Grill’s “world famous” bourbon chicken seemed to be all-white meat in a sweet-flavored barbecue sauce. For $7, she got a generous helping of the chicken, a side of the red beans and rice, a helping of crisp but unseasoned green beans and a fountain soda.

There was no line at the Cajun Grill and the server was very friendly. Although it didn’t really seem like Cajun food, the grill offered some variety for the food court.

Another diner watched the Philly Grill make her lunch. She ordered a small grilled-chicken Philly sandwich with mushrooms, onions, cheese and spicy mustard.

For a total of $7, the diner also had a side of french fries and a soda.

For a mid-shopping lunch break, the Philly Grill is a good place to stop, she said.

Another diner in our group went for Chinese food at Lotus Express. She said it was “OK.”

“Good egg roll and sweet and sour chicken, but I didn’t like the cashew chicken,” she said.

Lotus Express prepared the food quickly, she said. The two-item dinner, side of rice or noodles, egg roll and a Diet Dr. Pepper cost $7.50.

Basically, the mall food was good for fast food, but we wouldn’t recommend making a special trip there just to eat lunch.

There are better places to have lunch in north Fayetteville and south Springdale.