Affurgato Mingle: December edition

[necromanswers]

♥ Who: Open to all
♥ Where: Affurgato
♥ When: This week
♥ What: A grant reopening of the best restaurant in town!
♥ Rating: probably PG/13ish?



What a sad, sad month November was. The local cafe, Affurgato, has been closed. However, at the start of this week, a surprise notice is sent out to all communicators:

Affurgato's open again! Come save your sorry tongues from those replicator meals. Or come pet a cat, if that's more your jam. We don't judge here, we only charge.

Also: it's Candlenights! Bring the staff a present. If we find it interesting enough, you might get something extra in your meal. What do the staff like? Well, that's your job to figure out. <3

The restaurant hasn't gone through any sort of redesign, but it is somewhat decked out more than usual; soft colourful lights line the outside, candles on every table (fake or magical, so they are cat-safe and non-flammable), and even Ditto appears to be a little more seasonal this month. Hard to tell whether or not he's okay with this, he's a tough read.

One notable difference is that Lup isn't out running front of house as much, with the kitchen more bustling now that they're down one chef. She's keeping up pretty well, but the seating arrangements have been shuffled around to make the max capacity a little lighter to maintain things if there happens to be a rush. The menu is gently simplified, but the ingredients taste better than ever, and for this week in particular, fresh turkey dinners are back on the menu, alongside a crunchy treat that is called "fried unicorn dick", but is... probably just a battered candy bar. Probably. Maybe. Who's feeling brave?

On the 9th in particular, a fresh message goes out to friends of Honerva, gently pestering them to swing by the cafe for an open mingle. And maybe you should volunteer for a little bit at the cafe, serve, assist Honerva... it's terrible for a lady to have to work on her birthday, after all. You know, if it was her birthday. Wink.

On that day in particular, every visitor gets a free slab of delicious and delicately frosted cake.

Come on over, Havenwellians! Or whatever you're called. The cats have missed you! And you've missed the food, no doubt.

Comments

[kingkingcxiii]

[The knock at the edge of the service window starts a little tentative as if the person doing it isn't sure he should be. Considering how their last email exchange ended, Regis is tentative. He still has no idea what he said wrong, but he can't justify coming back to enjoy the cafe without checking on the one running it.

There is a bowl of red-orange oranges in his other hand. The ingredients Lup has may be better, but these oranges did grow on a tree and a tree from his home at that. Hopefully, they will be a nice little treat even if she doesn't want to cook with they.]

Hello! Might I have a word with the chef?

[necromanswers]

[If she holds their last conversation against him, she doesn't show it; instead, she glances sidelong at him with a casual smile.]

I might even give you two, if you behave yourself.

[kingkingcxiii]

[Regis holds up the oranges.]

Does offering you fruit grown off a tree from my home count as behaving?

[Like he would insult her by offering her something from the replicators. He's not that keen to see what it is like to be a frog.]

[necromanswers]

Oooh, fresh fruit? That definitely counts.

[She turns properly to face him, making a grabby-hands gesture. Even with magic on her side, you can't get something from nothing. Having fresh ingredients always help.]

[kingkingcxiii]

[Regis smiles, pleased at her excitement, and then carefully passes the bowl over to her.]

I'm not certain how they will taste compared to other oranges you have had. I haven't compared them to the oranges from the replicators yet. As you say, freshness counts for a lot. It didn't seem like a fair comparison.

[necromanswers]

Hey, there's only one way to find out. Maybe I'll add some oranges to the menu for a few days.

[She sets the bowl on the counter and lifts one, giving it a sniff and a light squeeze, then starts to peel it to check the contents within.]

So you've got an orange tree?

[kingkingcxiii]

Do you recall when the rain revitalized the city causing things to grow like crazy, especially plants? During that time, I found a Duscaen orange tree sapling which grew almost to adulthood before the event ended. It is smaller than the trees I am used to, but perhaps it will grow some more in the future.

[Magic plants and magic rain. Who knows anything for sure. If nothing else, when Lup gets the orange peeled she will find that despite the darker skin color, the orange itself looks like a normal orange and the juice is just a little sweeter than a normal orange would be.]

[necromanswers]

Whaaat? That's bullshit. All I got out of that month was a murdervine.

[Her annoyance is genuine but short-lived. She makes a little pile of the orange peel on the counter as she strips it - so useful! not an inch of it to be wasted! - before removing a single slice and taking a bite. The reaction is immediate: delight, because nothing is truly as good for a chef as perfect, fresh ingredients.]

[kingkingcxiii]

A...murdervine?

[He looks a little concerned. Okay, no, very concerned, though some of that concern fades when he sees how delighted she is at the taste of the orange.]

It appears to meet your approval?

[necromanswers]

Mmhm. [Sorry, were you expecting an explanation unprompted?] Yeah, actually, it's got a nice flavour to it! I think I could find a use for 'em.

[kingkingcxiii]

Do I need to keep an eye out for murder-tendrils?

[His eyes shift side-to-side as if he is scanning the cafe for threats. Plants don't much like fire, right?]

I'm glad to hear it. I don't suppose there might be a dessert or two you have in mind?

[necromanswers]

Hm? Oh, no, that was months ago. It's living in magic jail in my garden these days.

[Lalala don't worry about the murdervine... she's a little sorry she brought it up.]

Oranges are good for desserts, sure. Chicken, too. I'll experiment with them, but if you've got any requests I could take it under consideration. Or inspiration.

[kingkingcxiii]

[Regis hums softly. Magic jail. Right. But, she has evaded twice now, so he's not going to push her.]

Honestly, I would love to see what you come up with. I can eat food from my home whenever I go back. It's not everyday that I can eat food from other worlds.

[necromanswers]

Does it count as a food from another world if it's using your own home country fruit?

[She nibbles on another slice of the orange, offering a third out to him.]

[kingkingcxiii]

[Regis takes the slice with a grateful smile.]

If it is prepared in an otherworldly manner? I don't see why not. For all I know, you may be able to use it in a way that is so different, I would never guess it was there without you letting me know.

[necromanswers]

Can Lucian magic do weird shit to food? Because that may be a more unique way of prepping things where I'm from.

[kingkingcxiii]

We can turn drinks into healing potions with some effort, but that is not exactly meal preparation. Starting a campfire might be about as close as meal preparation as our skills come.

[Weskham might have tried a little harder to teach him to cook if Lucian magic worked that way.]