Mirabelle at the Three Village Inn

150 Main Street, Stonybrook, NY 11790, 631-751-0555, www.threevillageinn.com

On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, we headed to the North Shore of Long Island for dinner at the much lauded Mirabelle. The inn's location near a lake is delightful and the restaurant itself is lovely, decorated in warm tones, throw pillows and a large fireplace that must be heavenly on chilly nights.

Skylark Fine Diner and Lounge

17 Wooding Avenue, Edison, NJ 08817, 732-77-7878, www.skylarkdiner.com

What do you call a cross between a retro diner and a fine dining restaurant? The Skylark answers that question by referring to themselves as a fine diner and, for the most part, we agree.

The Great Diner Tour of 2010

Fans of the Food Network will recognize the show Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives and it's colorful host sampling amazing and unusual diner fare all throughout the U.S. We watch and we wonder and we say to each other "where are these places" and "why haven't we been there?"

A little research into the network's web site reveals the complete list of the show's featured dining establishments and their locations. So we made a list of those within a couple of hours drive...after all, we love a road trip...checked their web sites, mapped the drive and made a plan. The great diner tour will commence!

It's late spring now and this seems like as a good a way as any to spend the odd summer day. We'll drive, we'll eat, we'll review!

Tabouli Salad

This Mediterranean salad uses bulgar wheat and is a quick and tasty way to include more fiber into your diet. This whole grain is small and can turn creamy when cooked but it's loaded with nutrition and can pack over 6 grams of fiber into every serving.

Spaetzle

I've heard family stories of my German grandmother's considerable spaetzle making abilities and they're always such a treat to find on a restaurant menu. But can I tackle making this revered noodle-like creations? Oh, heck yes! These are so deceptively easy to make but people might not believe you. The first time I presented a plate of these to Brian he insisted I must have gotten them dry from a box. I had to make them in front of him to make him believe I'd made them from scratch. So, go ahead, impress...and enjoy. These are so delicious.