Ah, The Blue Moose. I can almost feel the din of noise in my ears as I think of the name. When we went last Thursday, we had to park two parking lots away.

Whatever you thought about the now closed Brick Oven Grille, this is the opposite. Big screen TVs, bright Blue Moose-aritas, a rambunctious crowd at the bar. It’s a see-and-be-seen kind of spot — as I said, quite the opposite of the former tenant. At its heart, it is a sports bar — but somehow manages to feel upscale. Thursday nights boast $1.50 beers (really — almost any beer) and on Tuesdays, you can pick from a selection of $10 bottles of wine. Despite all of this adult fun, it still feels right to take the little one with us. We don’t have to worry about her being loud ... because the adults are MUCH louder.

Their menu is good ... but stay away from the low-cal options. This blogger would advise you to go straight for the macaroni and cheese with braised pork belly. Although it sounds exotic, pork belly is basically chubby bacon. The crispy rich porkiness (yes, I just made that up) is perfect with the gut-busting creaminess of the macaroni and cheese. At this point, you may as well go ahead and have that extra beer, too. (They also offer a delicious Reuben made with pork belly if you want to try the pork and mac-n-cheese isn’t your thing.)

You can thank me in the morning ... or after your nap. Trust me, you’re gonna need a nap.

In the middle of our lunch, a 50-something woman approaches our table and in an interesting accent I do not recognize, says: "So, how do you like the food?" I must have looked quizzically at her — because she quickly said "This is my restaurant — and I'm also the cook.

It isn't very often at any restaurant in Topeka — let alone a buffet — where the cook comes out to see what you think. This pride and sense of ownership is something that you taste in the food — so don’t be turned off by the austere décor.

Toucan Express Bar & Cuisine offers Brazilian home cooking. This isn't a Brazilian BBQ as has become so trendy recently, but instead, this is the kind of food you might find if you visited the home of a Brazilian family. Chicken stroganoff — delicious with a traditional sour cream and paprika base. Baked cauliflower with a layer of crispy cheese on top that was perfect with the Brazilian hot sauce that you'll find on the table. Black beans, jasmine rice, stewed beef roasted squash ... simple foods all with bright spices which were surprising and delicious. Turkey and stuffing was prepared with a nod to the familiarity of the traditional American dish, but with slightly different spices — raisins, too.

Toucan's buffet is open for lunch and they have a dinner menu available in the evening. The owner told me that they are also taking reservations for Thanksgiving. She bragged about how she's been working to put her own spin on traditional American foods — and is certain that her diners will love the results. They also cater — putting them at the very top of my catering call list.

It isn’t very often I actually order true “comfort food” from a menu. When eating out, I try to stick with salad or at least something that isn’t completely slathered in cheese or fried. However, I will admit that if I’m going for broke, all bets are off, which is what I got into Thursday night.

As we perused the menu at Bosco’s, I couldn’t resist the mac-n-cheese with shrimp and lobster. That’s right. Mac-n-cheese so cheesy it’s bubbling at the edge of the plate. A good-sized lobster tail cooked just a little on the rare side sitting right in the middle. Let’s take a moment to discuss this lobster: Lobster is SUPPOSED to be cooked a little rare - leaving the meat moist and sweet. Most places - including large chain seafood restaurants which shall remain nameless - do a considerably better job with cheddar biscuits than lobster tails. Two thumbs up to Bosco’s for getting it right.

Anyhow….The two large grilled shrimp had perfect little bits of char on them. The macaroni was gooey with garlicky cheese - oven-crisp breadcrumbs coating the top. A simple, textural delight. I’ve kind of been craving it ever since we got done with it, and that doesn’t happen all that often – especially not when it’s a $26 entrée. It might very well be the best thing I’ve eaten in months…paired perfectly with an icy cold $3 can of Tallgrass Ale…and please don’t forget to suck those little pieces of meat out of the tail fins. Mmmmmm. Heavenly.

As we drove past the gas pumps, I have to admit that I was having second thoughts about our breakfast choice. We'd purchased a Daily Deal coupon from the Topeka Capital-Journal (http://dailydeals.cjonline.com/) and were headed to the Cafe Next Door to grab a bite.

The first thing I notice is a note posted in the window that says that all of their tomatoes are locally grown. A very good sign. We enter and are greeted by the friendly staff and given menus that explain their commitment to local foods.

The menu is awesome, offering a mix of breakfast, sandwiches and "country style" favorites. I ordered the "Not Egg-actly Taco Salad" which is a really brilliant take on everything that is good about breakfast. A large house-made flour tortilla topped with wilted spinach, potatoes, cheese, chorizo, and 2 eggs (I chose to have mine over easy as I am still trying to make up for all of the raw eggs I didn't eat while pregnant). The sides of tomato salsa, green tomatillo salsa and sour cream topped it off perfectly. The spinach balances the meat and potatoes - making it seem lighter and healthier even though I'm pretty sure that you can't call anything with that much sausage on it "healthy." It's a really perfect mix of textures and flavors - and it doesn't get any better as far as quality goes. 5 stars!