We eat well at home. Salad accompanies the pasta every time it’s my turn to cook. When my husband cooks, it’s brown rice and green vegetables most of the time. And so, on days when the errands have piled up and 20 Valentines cards must be purchased, the munchkin and I might possibly be found dining (free of guilt, but disguised in mustaches and top hats) in the Target café.

The environment is exactly what you would expect: bright, loud, and permeated with the scent of popcorn. But sometimes that’s exactly what’s called for when the child is restless from riding around in the car all morning and the mother is too tired for hushing and shushing. Let the kid spin around on the seat and talk too much. Everyone else is doing it.

The Italian sausage (surprisingly delicious) tastes perfect with a side of popcorn (the bag is big enough to share with three or four people), and the little mini pizza is just right for a little mini person.

This $10 lunch for two includes one pepperoni pizza, one Italian sausage on a bun, one bag of popcorn, one soda, and sliced apples (not pictured because we forgot to get them out of the self-serve fridge, though we did pay for them).