The food court is the center of gravity

Almost every report of the mall, from every dreamer, eventually passes through the food court. However different the rest of our malls are — different anchor stores, different decades, different levels of decay — the food court keeps showing up as the place you end up when you stop steering.

Mine sits under a skylight that never shows weather. The stalls are almost recognizable: a pizza place one letter off from a real chain, a counter that serves something golden and fried that I have never once seen anyone eat. Trays everywhere, always just cleared or just abandoned.

Where does your mall pull you when you let it? And if it is the food court — which stalls are open, what is the light like, and have you ever actually tasted the food?