#ccsemberclub

The club is bustling, busy...

As is Emerson! He moves between the hostess station, the tables, the bar, and the kitchen to keep everything moving smoothly.

"Holy crap," one of the servers says to him out of earshot of customers, "Why are we busting to the seams tonight?"

the answer is obvious, THanksgiving week is feast or famine for folks time. And if they have to do the big family dinner on Turkey day, couples want some thing spoiling just for them and OUT before it

CC is skipping her usual breaks between sets to keep the crowd enthralled as best she can

Her William keeps an eye on her, that she isn't over-doing it.

Satyr stamina seems to be holding!

But table 3 has folks bitching about the waitress messing up their order. she is trying to explain that Vichyssoise is normally served cold but she'll be happy to heat it

He watches.... is the server ok? Handling it?

She apologises to the lady of the table and says Ma'am... the woman in question takes GREAT offense (Seems to be from California and not getting southern manners) and starts to demand a manager

And lo! One appears!! "Hello folks, I hope ya'll are doing just fine this evenin'." he says with a smile.

"We are not, this waitress is incompetent, the food was brought to us cold, and then she insulted us"

"Aw heck, that don't sound right!" he jollys along "She's a sweet gal. Ya'll don't want vichyssoise, I can recommend another seafood dish."

"We wanted it, she just didn't have it cooked right" The woman says

The waitress mutters "I'm sorry sir, they asked for it traditional"

"Oh, -traditional- vichyssoise???" He chuckles, good-old-boy humor "Aw, folks, no. You let me bring you some of that modern vichyssoise. Stella, now, you come with me, take those bowls up and come on back to the kitchen with me, I'll learn you what that modern stuff is...."

And sounding a bit like a stubby Foghorn Leghorn, he trails the server after him.

"Yes sir..." Stella moves quickly after him

the lady huffs but the boggan is gone so fast she can't voice more gripes

He's chuckling by the time he gets into the kitchen. "Here, 86 these...." what was served (and is perfectly fine, damn it all) gets dumped "Here, take $20...." he peels a bill off "go over to that corner market and get, oh, four cans of New England clam chowder, any brand, keep the change. Get back as quick as you can. Meet me here."

"yes sir. I just called her ma'am, like i do every female customer no matter waht their age, I swear"

"We're going to need a big microwaveable bowl!" he tells the prep chef (who may well be the sous and de cuisine chef as well....)

"Oh, I'm not fussed at you my dear. Go get the soup."

And he ducks into the barback area to grab a bottle of rail sherry.

Stella does, moving promptly as directed, looking much relieved as it seems she won't be fired

Teensy , chef for tonight, has the big bowl out "Did they just snub their knows at my Vichyssoise?" The she troll looks cranky

Emerson busies himself around the kitchen by toasting off some large croutons in butter, salt, and fresh marojam and thyme, preparing some interesting serving dishes, and shaving some leeks.

"Out of ignorance, my dear, out of thier own ignorance. Which will prove our blessing so...."

"Mmph" She lets it slide "Good for them I'm busy.." She hands over the latest finished meal to a server "Table 5"

"Where's the can opener?" He finds it "Oh, a ... say, two cups of milk please?"

A suet chef assists, he's a quiet man, scared of Teensy but good at his position

"Thank you." Emerson wipes down (it seems he can just wait?) the counter and waits for the soup to arrive.

The soup is arrived. Stella says "I worry those folks are just going to get madder the longer we take"

"It will be ready in less than five minutes." he assures her as he works "Go serve the table each a glass of unoaked Chard on the house to pair with this. I'll get this ready and you come serve. Go go go....."

He opens the cans and scrapes them into the bowl, and thins it a bit will milk and a bit MORE with sherry, then pops it into the microwave to heat.

Granted, the m-wave here is rarely used but......

She rushes off

The microwave seems overjoyed to be used, if an item can be. Some wag has put an accent mark over the word microwave as if it were said like a French name

but it works fine

He gets the dishes ready, a ladle.... when the machine bings he goes in, stirs well, and sets it going again... in about 3 minutes the soup is heated through. He plates the dishes, floats a leetle more sherry on the soup's surface, and tops with a scattering of those large fresh croutons. Should be ready -just- as Stella returns.

Boggan timing is a gift and an art and a talent

so she shows up just in time "They're still glaring at me. My tip is going to be terrible"

"Now, Stella my dear... remember. This is a -modern- vichyssoise created by Chef Remy of the Auguste Gusteau culinary institute in France, just last year. I plied the recipe out of him and brought it home with me to the Ember Club where it is -not- a menu item. It is made only on request, and always paired with a Chardonnay. The owner will visit the table -personally- to ensure they enjoy the meal, or it will be complimentary. You can remember all that, yes?"

She nods "Modern Vichyssoise, by Chef Remy of Auguste Gusteau.." she struggles a bit with pronouncing it "culinary institute in France. Just last year. You pilled how to make it ouf of him and brought it here but it's not a menu item. Request only. always paired with Chardonny. The owner will check on them personally to make sure they enjoy the meal or it's complimentary" Good memory serves a waitress well

"Excellent, now for the Love of Julia Child get it out there before it goes cold."

And she picks up the pace and goes out there. He can hear her rehearsing what she was told as she goes.

Teeny looks over "MODERN Vichyssoise? Julia Child wept"

Emerson chuckles "Just a bit of fun. They'll go back to wherever they came from talking about the modern fish soup they had in land-locked Kansas City...." another chuckle.

"What if word gets around and I have to make that as more come for it?" She grumbles "or are we going to deny it ever happened?"

"Well, it's not on the menu....." he looks bewildered at Teeny.