Last week, I went on a weeklong tour of colleges with my 16-year old daughter. We went to Montreal, Burlington, Boston, and the Hudson Valley. We talked, we laughed, we lingered over lunch. Of course, now that we're back home, it's back to reality. You know, the reality where school, work, and obligations rule, time is measured in seconds, and there is no lingering over anything.

But, I want to tell you about a delicious little restaurant we came across in Burlington where I had one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever tasted. The restaurant is called the Red Onion. The sandwich was the Red Onion Spinach Melt.

Now mind you, I almost didn’t order it. I almost ordered the signature Red Onion Sandwich, which has turkey, bacon, apples, red onions, and smoked gruyere cheese with sun-dried tomato mayo. But I thought, hmm... long drive in the car after lunch, do I really want turkey, what with the l-tryptophan and all? So I opted for the Red Onion Spinach Melt. And am I glad I did.

It consisted of two pieces of bread. (Any bread will do — sourdough, French loaf, whole wheat... I had mine on a hearty rye). Add to that a pile of fresh spinach, mushrooms, red onions, garlic mayo, and sharp cheddar. Then heat it in the toaster oven or on a griddle and enjoy.  

If only everything in life could be this simple, this healthy, and this savory.