My first visit to Garden State was not exactly what I was expecting. First, there are two locations…read morein the Bellecour area, maybe one block from each other. So when my friend and I couldn't find each other and both insisted that we were at the Bellecour location, it took us a few minutes to realize there were actually two Bellecour locations. We decided to eat at this one since they had tables set up outside and it was a nice, sunny day.
We sat down around 11:15 and the restaurant was not serving lunch yet so my friend ordered an espresso and I a tea. The tea was okay but nothing special and it cost almost 3€ which I should have expecting, seeing as how this is a tourist area. They finally started serving lunch around noon so I ordered the Italien Croque Maison which was mozarella, grana padano, tomato, aubergine, and fresh basil on a toasted whole wheat sandwich bread. My friend ordered the Chevre Wrap which was chevre, tomato, lettuce, black olive, and artichoke on a white flour wrap, toasted in a panini press. Both came with a side salad of fresh greens, sundried tomato, a tasty balsamic dressing, and topped with sesame and poppy seeds. I tasted both sandwiches and they were both yummy. The melted mozarella sandwich turned out to be a bit too heavy for a warm, sunny day though so I would definitely recommend the wrap if it's hot out.
We really wanted smoothies with our lunch but this location doesn't serve them until April so we headed to the second location to try the Bonne Mine, an orange-flavored smoothie. I definitely don't think it was thick enough to be called a smoothie. It was more like a mix of fresh fruit juices. But it was very tasty! Also, at this other location, they had an easily accessible refrigerated to-go section so you could just grab a cold sandwich or wrap, plus whatever sides you want, like tabouli or a salad, and various desserts such as yogurt, fromage blanc, or tiramisu. I might try the to-go experience next time.
I'm definitely glad to know this place exists, even if it wasn't absolutely amazing, because it's fast and fresh and somewhat more healthy than other fast food options in the area.
