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Today at lunch, after eating my customary peanut butter and blackberry jam sandwich on Milton's Healthy Multi-Grain bread, I met a challenging navel orange.

The orange didn't peel well. The rind came off in chunks like tree bark. I was undeterred.

Once I had removed the rind, I spent little time removing the remaining pith due to impatience. I couldn't see a clear breaking point to section out the orange, so I dug my thumb into its top to create the divide.

As if I were changing an infant, I was suddenly hit in the glasses by a yellow stream of liquid from the orange.

I put the orange down on my desk and went to the restroom to wipe off my glasses.

"How's it going dude?" a co-worker asked.

"OK," I replied. "But an orange just peed on me."

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Home is where the heart is. The Polish Home Association is where the pierogi is.

Capitol Hill is abundant with many a strange and eclectic restaurants, and Amanda and I were delighted to try out Dom Polski, aka the Polish Home Association restaurant, on Friday.

Tucked away off East Madison on 18th avenue, the cash-only restaurant is only open from 7 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and limited to members of the Polish Home Association. Of course, to skirt around that, Dom Polski helps customers buy a day's membership (or admission) for $1 per person.

Stepping into Dom Polski is literally like stepping into a Polish beer hall. The decor is tacky, but somehow authentic. A rustic, wooden bar serves up only imported Polish brews as well as a few infused vodkas. Everyone but the waitresses speaks Polish.

Amanda was craving pierogis, so we ordered all the flavors Dom Polski had to offer: Meat, potato and sauerkraut and mushroom. We also ordered some dense onion rings and the Special Polish Platter: cabbage roll stuffed with spiced beef, more pierogis, potatoes and kielbasa smothered in a mysterious orange sauce. Yum.

We drank strange, unpronounceable beer. We ate hearty, tasty food. We couldn't understand a lick of Polish conversation. We loved it.