Over the course of about eight months I watched almost every episode of the ’90s television series Northern Exposure. I was obsessed. That might explain why I recently felt so at home in a booth at The Blind Moose.   

Housed in a former Frisch’s Big Boy, Parkside Cafe (1024 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, 513-221-2026) keeps it real with its own drive-thru window, soup and salad bar and what seems to be the original Frisch’s furniture. They must still have the same ice machine, too, because the ice was Frisch’s ice.   

An hour ago, I ate a tablespoon of peanut butter on a rice cake. So healthy and responsible, I thought. Part of my Weight Watchers strategy. I hadn't checked to see if my brand was on the FDA's death-by-peanut list. But the concept of food-as-dangerous has now become part of my everyday consciousness.   

I don't believe I've written a restaurant review while I was still eating, but it's the perfect indicator of how fast our world moves. Going to It's Just Crepes (39 E. Court St., 513-63-CREPE) downtown was a big reminder of that: This place really caters to our busyness.