Junkfood

Between 2004 and 2005-06, Cartwheels and Thanks-A-Lot replaced Animal Treasures and Iced Berry Piñatas; and Café Cookies replaced Double Dutch.

There are two baking companies licensed to produce Girl Scout cookies, ABC Bakers (Interbake Foods LLC) and Little Brownie Bakers. Each company must produce three mandatory cookie types and can offer up to five more. Currently, there are five common cookie types that are produced by both companies. Confusingly, the same cookies have different names, depending on the baking company. This chart shows which cookies are equivalent.

Between 2003 and 2004, Iced Berry Piñatas replaced Friendship Circles, and Lemon Coolers and Double Dutch replaced Olé Olé's and Aloha Chips.

References:

• ABC/Interbake Foods: http://www.girlscoutcookiesabc.com/atc/default.asp
• Little Brownie Bakers: http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/cookies.html
• History of LBB cookies through the years: http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/history.html

I visited the IKEA in Stoughton, MA, partially to look at furniture but mostly to try their restaurant.

I was there on Saturday, the day of New Year's Eve. When I arrived at 10:30am, the parking lot was pretty much empty. However, when I left at 1:30pm, the parking lot was entirely full, and cars had to stalk exiting customers to get a spot. I also recall that there was an overflow lot nearby, and that was filling up. If you are a Zipcar customer, IKEA has about 4 or 5 spots reserved for Zipcars (though at 1:30pm, all of these spots were taken by non-Zipcar vehicles).

For breakfast, I had the 99-cent Breakfast Plate which contained a good portion of scrambled eggs, home fries (with onions and green and red peppers), and bacon (I was served 3 strips). The food was tasty and definitely a good value.

For lunch, I had Swedish Meatballs and a side order of Macaroni and Cheese. The Meatballs come with two red potatoes (I think that you could also request French fries) and some lingonberry preserves. Again, the food was good. I especially liked the Macaroni and Cheese. Towards the end of my meal, I was surprised when a woman and child just sat down across from me at my table. The restaurant was crowded, and this was pretty much the way to get seats (getting someone in your party to sit next to a diner who is almost finished).

Finally, on the way out, I had a 50-cent Hot Dog at the Bistro downstairs. I think that it was pretty good. It was served on a New England-style roll.

If you really like lingonberries or meatballs and want to serve them at home, there is a small food market next to the Bistro. Frozen meatballs are $6.99 for 2.5 pounds. Lingonberry preserves are $2.99 for a 14 oz. jar or $9.99 for a 1.5 liter tub.

Restaurant Hours:

• 9:30am - 9:00pm, Monday through Saturday
• 9:30am - 5:00pm, Sunday
• Breakfast is served from 9:30am - 11:00am.

Restaurant Menu:

• $0.99 Breakfast Plate (scrambled eggs, bacon, and home fries)
• 3.99 Swedish Meatballs (10)
• 4.99 Swedish Meatballs (15)
• 5.99 Swedish Meatballs (20)
• 5.99 Herb Poached Salmon
• 4.99 Gravlax Lox Plate
• 5.99 West Coast Salad (contains crayfish, mussels, and shrimp)
• 3.49 Gravlax Lox Baguette Sandwich
• 2.99 Ham & Cheese Baguette Sandwich
• 2.49 Open-face Shrimp Sandwich
• 1.99 Panini Sandwich
• 1.99 Foccacia Sandwich
• 1.49 Soup
• 1.49 Salad (bowl)
• .99 Macaroni and Cheese Kids Meal
• .99 Macaroni and Cheese, side order
• 2.50 Macaroni and Cheese, full portion
• .75 Soft Drinks
• .75 Coffee or Tea
• 1.99 Swedish Apple Cake
• 1.99 Chocolate Mousse
• 1.79 Daim Torte
• .99 Lingonberry Mousse

Restaurant Notes:

• The Restaurant is upstairs, immediate to the left of the escalator. It's actually a cafeteria-style restaurant.
• The serving area has two lines, both serving the same hot food. The far line is usually shorter. However, both refrigerated cases might not contain the same items.
• You have to bus your own trays.
• Swedish Meatballs are served with two red potatoes or fries, and a bit of lingonberry preserve.
• Lingonberries taste like sweet, non-tart cranberries.
• There are free refills on soft drinks.
• Soft drinks include Pepsi products, as well as a lingonberry drink/soda (they were out, so I wasn't able to try it).
• The Restaurant was crowded at lunchtime, and it became difficult to find a place to sit.
• Credit cards are accepted.
• Meals tax is not included in the prices.

Bistro Menu:

• $0.50 Hot Dog
• 1.00 Cinnamon Roll
• 1.00 Soft Serve Cone
• .75 Soft Drinks
• .75 Coffee
• 4.00 Cinnamon Rolls (6)
• 3.00 Hot Dogs (2), Soft Drink, and Chips
• 1.50 Cinnamon Roll and Coffee

Bistro Notes:

• The Bistro is downstairs, past the checkout counters.
• All tax is included in the prices.
• There are two lines. Sometimes one is shorter than the other.