I was in State College Pa this week, and as I was about to leave, found myself in the middle of quite a snowstorm.  The weather report had called for only 2 to 4 inches, but within an hour it looked like they really missed on this forecast.  I love State College, so making the decision to stay wasn't hard!

One of the meals I enjoyed was a great lunch at Spats Cafe & Speakeasy.   Spats is New Orleans, cajun type food and they have always done it well.

I ordered a lightly breaded catfish served with tasty greens and very smooth grits.  My lunch partner chose the muffaletta sandwich.  A muffaletta is typically several meats with a spicy olive spread, served on a bread similar to a focaccia.  While I didn't get the chance to taste it, it sure looked good and got raves from my guest.

In addition to the great food, Spats also frequently hosts jazz bands on the weekends and has a comfortable bar if thats what you prefer.

Another reason that I love All Clad...

I've owned a lot of All Clad cookware for many years now, and love the way it cooks and it's durability.  I'm also fortunate enough to live close to the factory and have been able to take advantage of the factory sales that they hold twice a year which has allowed me to buy these at significant discounts.  At the sales they sell first quality and also factory seconds, although I've never been able to see the defects on any of the pans that I've purchased.  In addition, they provide the full factory warranty on the seconds also.

I had two sauce pans that had a non-stick coating which started to peel slightly around the top edges.  By slightly, I mean that the coating has peeled between an 1/8 of an inch to about a 1/4 inch in the worst spots, over about a ten year period.  I contacted the company and they sent me a prepaid postage label to ship them back.  A couple of weeks later, look what arrived!  Two new sauce pans, along with two new lids, which I did not even send to them!

I know that you pay for this service in the purchase price, but it's nice to see that they come through.

Stopped for lunch in Somerset...

at the Summit Diner and when the young ladies at the table next to mine left they chose to leave their tip in this fashion...

The waitress later explained that one of the girls was her granddaughter.  Quite generous too!