A bite of bread, a glass of wine, and a $70 tie - cafes in Union Square megastores

Sunset, Nov, 1996 by Lora J. Finnegan

A luncher's guide to the megastores of Union Square

If you want to do your holiday gift buying in one big shopping blitz, there's no better place in Northern California than San Francisco's revitalized Union Square. Thanks to a retail boom here, you can visit colossi like Borders and the Virgin Megastore or shop at intimate boutiques (with colossal price tags) like Emporio Armani. But the blitz approach can prove taxing, so why not patronize establishments where you can take a relaxing break for lunch without even leaving the store?

At the cafes inside Borders Books and Music and the Virgin Megastore, reading at the table isn't considered rude. Both offer a range of victuals, and each cafe keeps long hours to serve late shoppers. At the Virgin Cafe, we found healthy entrees like couscous salad and spinach pesto lasagna nicely balanced by decadent desserts such as Irish cream crunch cheesecake. At Cafe Espresso in Borders, we were almost too distracted by the knockout view of Union Square to enjoy our black-bottom cupcakes and tea au lait.

Macy's Cellar is an old favorite, if a bit noisy. The deli-style food emporium offers fast service and a variety of choices: a dell with great Asian noodle salads and eggplant parmesan, a Boudin's cafe (sandwiches, salads), and Wolfgang Puck pizzas. Try to beat the noon crowd or you'll never get a table.

Looking for something a little more substantial and a lot more stylish? It's said that Giorgio Armani himself had a hand in the menu and design of the oval coffee bar at Emporio Armani's Armani Cafe. Like the store's simple but elegant clothing, the dishes are straightforward but well executed: the menu focuses on gourmet pizzas, panini, light salads, and desserts. We enjoyed a prosciutto and fruit plate, a pizza topped with fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella, and a hearty glass of chianti. Perhaps it was the wine, but by the end of the meal, we felt so mellow that the $70 price tag for an Armani tie we'd been admiring began to seem downright reasonable.

On the fifth floor of Sales Fifth Avenue, Cafe SFA lets you look down onto Union Square's festive array of lights and its throngs of brightly dressed shoppers. The menu is equally colorful, ranging from a sweet corn and crab chowder (a signature dish that's a good choice for a chilly day) to grilled Asian marinated pork chops with a pink topping of pickled ginger. Sunday brunch - which is offered only during the holiday season - allows you to fuel up for your shopping day with starters like mascarpone beignets and entrees such as smoked chicken hash with poached eggs.

The Rotunda in Neiman-Marcus is elegant, with a tiered dining room that wraps around an atrium lighted by there stored dome from the old City of Paris department store. The "California style" cuisine shows Pacific Rim influences, so we sampled both the Dungeness crab cakes (lightly breaded and served with a tangy red-pepper remoulade) and Asian ravioli (stuffed with duck confit, artfully arranged over a bed of baby vegetables, and drizzled with a teriyaki glaze). Service was attentive - our waiter immediately brought a complimentary demitasse of fortifying bouillon and a basket of fresh, hot popovers.

SHOPPERS' eating RETREATS

BORDERS BOOKS (CAFE ESPRESSO) Powell and Post streets; (415) 399-1633. Cafe hours: 9 A.M.-10:30 P.M. Mon-Wed, till 11:30 P.M. Thu-Sat, till 8:30 Sun.

EMPORIO ARMANI (ARMANI CAFE) 1 Grant Ave.; 677-9010. Food hours: 11:30-4:30 Mon-Sat, 12-4:30 Sun. Beverages: 10-7 Mon-Fri; 10-6 Sat; 12-6 Sun.

MACY'S (MACY'S CELLAR) 170 O'Farrell St. (at Stockton Sst.), basement; 397-3333. Hours: 10-8 Mon-Sat, 11-7 Sun.

NEIMAN-MARCUS (THE ROTUNDA) 150 Stockton St. (at Geary St.), fourth floor; 362-4777. Hours: 11-5 Mon-Sat, 12-5 Sun. (Reservations advised.)

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE (CAFE SFA) 384 Post, fifth floor; 986-4758. Lunch hours: 11-3 Mon-Sat, 12-4 Sun. Holiday brunch begins Nov. 24. (Reservations advised.)

VIRGIN MEGASTORE (VIRGIN CAFE) 2 Stockton St., third floor; 397-4525. Hours: 9 A.M.-10 P.M. Mon-Thu, till midnight Fri-Sat, 10-9 Sun.