This week's food adventures actually started last Saturday.

We had dinner at Blue Pacific Sushi Grille. I admit I am not as familiar with Sushi and its variations, so hubby had to order. We got the Rainbow Sushi Combo (Rainbow maki, tuna nigiri and salmon nigiri) which at first I wasn't sure about. Within minutes I had to restrain myself from eating everything on the plate. Lovely stuff, that Sushi. It was served with slices of ginger and wasabi and the flavors blended well as you could hope.

I ordered the shimp satay and also some soba noodles to try them. Satay good, soba, not so much, as I didn't expect them to be cold. I am sure that I should have, but again, this is new territory for me, having only recently overcome my reluctancance to eat ahi tuna - which I now love.

Sunday we had lunch at Ruby Tuesday. I don't want to even talk about it, it was so depressing. In my part of the world, this is the crowded restaurant, because there are so few other choices. I will admit that I like their salad bar, but they have to stop burning crab cakes. Even Mojitos can't fix that.

We ate at home rest of the week... where we are currently drowning in Girl Scout cookies. Stan was only going to buy a few boxes, then came home with 24. I am not making this up.

So here we are on another Saturday, and though chain restaurants are not usually my first choice, tonight we went to Houlihans, which I do really like. As always ordered too much...

Started with the bruchetta, great flavor profiles with the olives and goat cheese... Also got tuna wontons (yum!), and fish tacos (messy!). Stan ordered ribs with shrimp, french onion soup (salty, too much cooking wine + salt?) and the "crispy prosciutto flatbread pizza" which I also liked. "Would we like to consider dessert?" (Even though we just shoved 50% of dinner into take home boxes? Ummmn, yeah! He got what would usually be called apple pie ala mode (but they call the "big yum") and I got creme brulee (don't look for appropriate accent marks because it is late and I don't feel like looking them up) - you know perfectly well that I mean custard w/burned sugar. Maybe not authentic, but it's nice and I like it.

Just noticed that I feel like I could nosh a little... I don't think midnight is too late for leftovers, do you?

I mentioned the hot dogs, then never wrote about them.

Here goes. Years ago, passing through Allentown, there was this sign. [Yocco's, the Hot Dog King]. Inwardly I groaned because I knew.

I knew that we were going to stop, and there would likely be some excuse for stopping such as the need to go to the bathroom. Sure enough, princess running-water, errr... my husband nearly wrecked getting into the parking lot. "I've got to pee..."

Yes, I know these things. I also knew that no matter how reasonably priced, these would not be cheap. I am told, "The secret is in the sauce..." but I am sure I don't really want to know this. My husband discovered that night that he likes the ones that soak in the "secret" all day long. They don't work for me, as one of the secrets tastes suspiciously like chili. [Please don't send nasty letters. I do like Cincinatti chili, but that would not be practical on hot dogs.]

But I did like the cheese dogs. And the pierogies (fried, yay!). And the Birch Beer, even if it is Fanta - which is lucky for me since now we go there anytime we are within 50 miles of the place, and you'd be surprised at how often Stan can make that happen. So there is the must-have hot dog.

Now for the coffee. I won't even pretend to know how to describe coffee. My friend Leon does however. I think he knows more about it than your average Brazilian. He loves coffee. So much that he bought his own roaster.

My first batch of Lonely Monk Coffee came in a jar. Up to this point I'd had no idea that coffee beans are oily -- but they are. He blended and roasted the beans and then described the contents of the batch to me -- I admit my eyes glazed over after the first two sentences. But when we brewed some, they popped right back open again. Deep, rich, doesn't need cream. That is the best I can do in the decription dept. The endorsement? Comes from my husband who hates cheap coffee. Stan won't touch Starbucks, but he loves Lonely Monk.