There's something warmly comforting - and disturbingly unnerving - about this story:

Sweet + salty satisfaction: Traditional or gourmet, the PB&J has come a long way

They approach. They whisper. They wait for ridicule.

"It's like they don't want anyone to know," said Walsh, operating partner for the restaurant chain in Wisconsin, where the classic kiddie food is served to adults at least 10 to 15 times each day. "Usually their friends make fun of them, but we're used to it."

As they should be. The PB&J has made a gourmet comeback at restaurants and cafés all over the Milwaukee area. Some have added new and grown-up twists, from bananas to bacon. Others leave the King of Comfort Food as is, in all its stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth glory.

"The level of popularity has surprised me," said Ann S. Jacobs, president of New World Wine Company, where the peanut-butter and wine-jelly sandwich has become a menu favorite since its café opened in September. "It really speaks to people."

Chad Lawson hears the call.

A regular costumer of New World Wine, he was excited to see that the café's PB&J is made with wine jelly. Lawson, director of technology at Byte Studios, said he liked the notion of "taking such a childhood treat and finding an adult spin on it."

Read the whole thing. It's worth it, if only for a laugh.