Wilde & Greene

Shopping-center food courts are traditionally a last resort. But Old Orchard Shopping Center’s new Wilde & Greene aims to be a place people seek out for dinner, rather than the place they fill up at when there’s no other choice.

Calling it a “food court” isn’t exactly fair. Wilde & Greene Restaurant + Natural Market is a mammoth “dining experience” much like Water Tower’s Foodlife. Diners are given a “credit card” when they walk in the door (annoyingly, you can’t even walk in or out of the restaurant without a card) that can be swiped at any of the 24 food stations in exchange for sushi, gelato, make-your-own stir-fry, housemade pasta, steak and seafood, pastries, pizzas, burgers and much more. Some of the food is bland and cafeteria-like (stir-fry bar, we’re looking at you), but wood-fired pizzas ($8.98–$11.98, or $3.98 for a huge slice) and perfectly toasted sandwiches ($5.98) will make you forget you’re eating at a mall.

There are enough options to please everyone in the family, but mom and dad will love the special kids’ deals at each station. A few favorites: kids’ pasta with tomato or butter sauces ($2.98), a kids’ cheese, veggie or pepperoni pizza ($2.98), veggie sushi roll ($5.98) and a kid-sized version of the potato pancake–like rosti ($1.98). Even the full-service bar has a kids’ deal: free Shirley Temples.

Kids can play grown-up and use their own credit card to “pay” for their food, but that’s just the start of the fun. Make sure to let them watch the pasta machine spitting out shell noodles, and don’t miss the crêpe station, where ginormous crêpes are made before your eyes, filled with fresh fruit, then topped with chocolate and powdered sugar ($5.98 adults, $2.98–$4.98 kids).

Fair warning, a 10 percent gratuity is tacked onto all dine-in bills at the self-service restaurant. They’ll gladly remove the fee by request when you return your card to the cashier and settle up, but the table service is so good you might not mind the charge.