On November 28th, I attended the ribbon cutting for Macy’s South Coast Plaza new café and cooking school. Located in Macy’s Home Store on Bear Street, the new space is quite nice and very spacious. The café waitstaff passed out samples of one of the sandwiches on their menu as well as sips of their Wild Main Blueberry Lemonade. Both were quite tasty.

Many ingredients from the food listed on their menu are sold there in a little retail area in front of the café. I went back later and had lunch because I wanted more than samples. The lemonade is so good. The manager said they use their Wilde Main Blueberry Jam mixed right into the lemonade. So, you can buy the jam and make it at home. The sandwich was the Ham, Fig & Brie served on a ciabatta roll. The brie is melted just enough, and with thinly sliced apple-glazed uncured ham and prosciutto, it was heavenly! I opted for a side of their homemade chips – large and crispy.

The first Stonewall Kitchen School demonstration classes began November 28th and run through December 29th. Some of the titles are “Harvest Luncheon in Italia”, “Date Night in December”, “Seasonal Comforts”, “An American Supper” and “Casual Dining”. There will be generous food sampling, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, and recipes to take home. These first 90-minute classes range from $50 to $60. This culinary experience will definitely be on my calendar for next year.

The Other Thing – Everyone at Macy’s involved with this new café and cooking school are very friendly and efficient. They even remembered my name when I went back for lunch.