With PB&J conducting, the Bistro at Union Station is on the right track

David could afford to cheat a little, though he stayed on the straight and narrow with the salad of spinach and grilled salmon, leaving the crispy bacon off the dish. Laura had the steak salad, with slices of juicy flat iron steak, blue cheese, tomatoes and spiced walnuts. I was dieting that day myself. I ate a bowl of clam chowder and a piece of cheesecake.

The following week, Bernita, Sharon and Bob joined me for an early dinner at the Bistro before we saw a play at the Unicorn Theatre (performed by frequently naked actors who obviously eat vegetables and stuff). But Union Station's Bodies Revealed crowd was mostly leaving; we were seated on the second level, overlooking the eerily quiet Grand Hall.

Bob loved the dramatic view, and Bernita and Sharon admired the dining room's unfussy sophistication, with tables draped in white linen and sheaths of butcher paper.

"It's a great menu," said Bob, who wanted to try everything. He and Bernita split a Cobb salad (generously stacked with roasted chicken, blue cheese, bacon and tomatoes), then he ate a couple of slices of pizza topped with sweet Italian sausage, polished off a bowl of bow-tie pasta in roasted-garlic cream sauce with chicken and mushrooms, and finished a hunk of cheesecake. "I didn't want to get too full before the play," he announced.

Having the same idea, the rest of us ordered salads and soups. Our server convinced me to try the California Asian chicken salad, made with roasted chicken, those ubiquitous Asian vegetables and crispy noodles in a soy-based vinaigrette. It was nice and light, but the romaine lettuce and noodles seemed to expand in my bowl — after every bite, the salad got a little bigger. Finally, I pushed it away before it devoured me.

On my most recent visit, I brought along the highly critical Franklin for a late lunch. Looking around, he pronounced the servers "charming and attractive" and said there was finally a professional vibe to the place. "Like people are happy to be working here," he said.

We were pretty happy, too. Franklin ate a first-rate slab of cheese-and-beef lasagna, and I fumbled around with a "wrap" of sautéed beef tenderloin tips and caramelized onions tucked into a flour tortilla that was sliced into bite-sized pieces. I think I would have liked it better on a baguette, but it was great.

Since then, I've actually wanted to eat in the joint again. Here's hoping this marriage lasts.