Earlier today, I received an e-mail in my inbox entitled “Eat N Park Cookies!!!!!!”

While such a message title might leave most people in confusion, I knew exactly what my sister Lea was talking about. She was referring to one of our favorite childhood treats.

Eat N Park was a magical place for us Yoder girls while we were living in Pittsburgh. We thought it was the best restaurant in the world—after all, it boasted bottomless glasses of chocolate milk, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, and a loaded salad bar with everything from those tiny ham cubes to glow-in-the-dark pistachio pudding. In reality, it was an inexpensive family restaurant that didn’t mind when my sister Katie threw up all over the booth…on every visit.

The real magic to this place, however, is its Smiley Cookies. On occasions when the three of us managed to behave ourselves, my parents let us each depart the restaurant with one of these legendary iced sugar cookies.

We moved away from Pittsburgh almost 16 years ago, but our whole family still fondly remembers those tasty little cookies, along with all the adventures we had at that restaurant.

(For those of you interested in trying the cookies for yourself, there’s a deal today for 50% off Smiley Cookies when you order online—hence the e-mail from Lea!)

What were your favorite treats as a kid? Did your family have any favorite restaurants?

Although I would like nothing more than to eat a box full of those cookies right now, instead I ate some more healthful fare.

Before jetting off to the foods lab, I made a simple grilled PB & apple sandwich. Not sure why, but I am on a grilled sandwich kick these days.

For lunch, I packed a batch of Pumpkin Hummus.

Once home from class and several meetings, I threw together a Strawberry Fields Forever Salad. Clearly, I was not really interested in cooking today!

OK, I am off to de-stress. Good night!

Filed under: Meals