Atlas Coffee Cafe, Appleton, WI

If you're ever in the Fox Valley area, make sure to stop in at Atlas Cafe located in the historic flats of downtown Appleton. Walking in, the cafe is warmly decorated with local artists work, clothing, jewelry among other things. I met my mom and sister there for breakfast and had heard great things about the food and atmosphere. It was around 10am when we arrived and I was excited to find out that lunch is served anytime of day as well as breakfast. I chose the Club Sandwich which was amazing! Leafy greens, turkey, cheese layered between toasted sourdough, along with chips was more than enough to fill me up. I only finished half. My nephew got the breakfast burrito which was very tasty and was also my other choice if lunch wasn't available. Served in a whole wheat tortilla, it was plump full of eggs, sausage, cheese and a few other ingredients. The burrito also was accompanied by seasonal fruit such as watermelon, grapes and melon. On the side was sour cream, guacamole and pico. If you are looking for a great place to relax with a cup of coffee or read a book while sitting by the window that overlooks the river or a place to grab a bite to eat, definitly check out this neat restaurant and coffee hut. www.atlascoffeemill.com

Texas Roadhouse-Kenosha, WI

Not my first choice for a nice birthday dinner but since it was my husbands, I let him choose. He was in the mood for a good steak and yummy seafood but we also had our 2 year old along so it was family dining style and we settled for Texas RoadHouse in Kenosha, normally we would go to a nicer, upscale steakhouse. It's a typical chain style restaurant with all the familiar surroundings. The hostess was friendly, the place wasn't overly busy for a Monday night and our waiter was ok at best. As he was taking our order, I was right about to give him my selection, he excused himself to go put in another order. After he came back, I ordered Sirloin Beef Tips with Rice and a Ceasar Salad.  I was in such a mood for a salad but after a few bites, I noticed there was hard crunchy, small gritty things in my salad. I'm not sure what that was about but it sure bugged me! You know how it feels when you get a grain of sand in your mouth and you chew, well, it was like that. I didn't even finish the salad. My sirloin beef tips meal was mainly sauteed sliced onions and mushrooms with a few pieces of steak. Not really what I was hoping for. As for the rice, I'm not sure if it's because I'm pregnant or what but it tasted like it was cooked over a fire with a distinct smoke smell. Not very appealing. Also, because it was my hubbys birthday, I asked him if they do anything special and he said either ice cream or he could ride the saddle. I laughed and said the saddle would be appropriate. I waited for him to bring it over but NOPE, HE FORGOT!!! What a bust. It was maybe 10 mins after I mentioned it that he came back with our bill and told us he could take it whenever we were ready and to have a great night. I told my husband what I had planned for him but he said I got points for the thought. I definitely know why I rarely ever go to Texas RoadHouse.