Oh, man, what a great eating day I’ve had.

For lunch I had a whole wheat pita with chicken and spinach and an entire sliced garden tomato shoved inside. Yeah, it was a small tomato, but it was still the whole thing. There are certain things I get sick of, but late summer tomatoes are not among them.

Then, this afternoon, the bosses at work bought everybody ice cream treats to thank us for our hard work. It was very nice of them, and I had a delicious M&M cookie ice cream sandwich.

And tonight…tonight, my friends, I am going to what is quite possibly my favorite restaurant in the entire world: the Lincoln Cafe. I realize this is quite a claim, and I’ve eaten at some pretty fabulous restaurants in my day, so why is it my favorite? Here’s why:

1. Absolutely high-quality ingredients. Matt, the chef,, doesn’t use second-rate anything, and I thank him for it.

2. Creative techniques and combinations of ingredients. Matt always takes chances, and he always challenges my palate. I really appreciate it, because he’s helped me grow as an eater. He has an excellent sense of balance, too. Usually when I’m ordering at a restaurant, I look at the components of the thing I’m considering, and if the dish contains something I don’t like, I don’t order it. I don’t worry about that at the Lincoln Cafe. Matt can do things with lima beans (yuck, normally) that are just as amazing as a slab of foie gras studded with duck confit and sprinkled with caviar. Not that I would be opposed to eating the latter.

3. Relaxed atmosphere. Besides the innovative cuisine, they also serve burgers and fries, and the atmosphere reflects both ends of the spectrum. You can show up in jeans or a dress and feel equally comfortable.

4. Friendly staff. Even though we haven’t been around as much as we used to (house and wedding to pay for, after all), the staff always treats us like regulars.

5. Reasonable prices. It’s not dirt-cheap, but it’s certainly a bargain for the quality of food you get. You’d easily pay twice as much for a similar meal in Chicago or New York.

Oh, man, I’m psyched for dinner.

P.S. DC did take some pictures of our exciting dessert last night, but he didn’t post them. I will prod him to do that. He did post a couple of other pictures, though.