Night 11: Nearl, Cheeseburger & Beer with Cream Puffs
The Late Night Diner is a part of Rhodes Island's canteen. That goes without saying – to whom had anyone ever heard of a diner in the boiler room?
As the name implies, it opens around midnight. There are only a handful of customers at a time.
Operators off their night shift could take an order and bring back to their quarters. Night owls could sit dining-in while leeching off the Diner's wi-fi. The Doctor would come for instant noodles from time to time.
Drinks are in the cooler. Anyone burdened by their own thoughts could take one and chug it down, anytime.
Menu? No such thing exists. What the Chef prepares is what you get. It all depends on his mood of the day.
Welcome to the Rhodes Island Late Night Diner. In here, you might even meet a familiar face or two.
Making delicate dishes with astonishing complexity was not the Chef's only specialty. In fact he doesn't make them everyday. Most of the time what's offered largely depended on his mood and what ingredients the canteen had left for the day. That's why tonight he is making a fast food staple – the cheeseburger.
The buns were already prepared. He had asked the cooks of the canteen to make them during their day shift. High quality bread flour mixed with milk and whole eggs to form the dough and left to rise. Afterwards it was cut into smaller, round portions before left to leaven for a second time. They were then sent for the oven and only to be taken out when they had taken on a hue of dark gold. With a layer of melted butter applied and some sesame seeds sprinkled on top, they are ready to be used for hamburgers or to be eaten straightaway.
As for the patties, they were made from freshly machine-grinded beast meat. Added was some salt, black pepper and minced onions, and mixed vigorously in a single direction till the meat batter is sticky and easy to shape. This is when it's ready for the grill.
The iron plate of the grill was heated and oiled, and meat batter shaped into balls were placed on top. When the bottom of the meat wads were just about to brown and harden, a piece of oiled paper was put on top so when the spatula was pressed down, it will not stick to the would-be patties and ruin their shapes. When the aroma of the grilled meat is in the air, and the golden juices flows freely on the grill, it's time to take off the paper and put on a slice of cheese. The most common way to melt the chees is to put a lid on the patty and let the steam form the meat juice do the work. Yet the Chef has his own method. He likes to use a small blow torch to melt it directly. It works the same, and leaves the cheese slightly charred and bubbling, giving the patties' flavour a few more layers.
Then the buns were cut in half, buttered and left on the grill till toasted. What placed on the bottom bun then were in this order: a piece of lettuce, a thick slice of tomato, some pickles, the cheese patty, few strips of crispy bacon, another piece of lettuce. Then the top half of the bun slathered with sauces of the customer's choice was placed atop of the whole thing. Completed with the order was a long wooden pick to pin everything in place. Thus a towering hand-made cheeseburger was ready.
For the authentic Columbian-style cheeseburger experience, the pick is a must-have. It was used by the diners that littered the nation as a proof that they didn't cut down on ingredients. And with a size like that, it's not hard to see why something like this is sweeping through the nation like wildfire. Although the pick that the Chef uses also came with two strips of paper, each with a message printed on them.
"Burgers are high in calories. I'd better see you taking a stroll in the ship after the meal. If I caught you go straight to bed, I'll personally drag your ass to the training room! - Gavial"
"If you ordered this for your late night meal, you'd better also asked for a large bowl of vegetable salad from the Chef! The sauces, cheese and bacon are all loaded with fat and calories, and it's not healthy for your body in the long run! Better leave them out! - Hibiscus"
"Are those Medical people always this weird?" an operator took off the wooden pick and held the hearty sandwich, "Who'd still think about health when they had chosen the burg? Wasn't it the point to indulge yourself a little with some trashy food?"
"Shush! You'd be done for if Gavial heard you" his college across the table put up his hands in a hurry, "It's not everyday we can get off early and meet up like this. I don't wanna have our next gathering in the Medbay."
"Speaking of gathering, should I order some beer?" the only girl of the group said while standing up from the table.
"Beer, cola, fizzy water, whatever you want - " the man holding the burger looked up, "What are you still standing around for?"
"Shhhhh," the girl gestured for silence "Look there! Wasn't that..."
"No freaking way. Isn't she almost never on board nowadays?"
"But that must be her!"
"She got burger and beer too?"
"Looks like so...and a large plate of cream puffs."
"She's so cool! Should I ask her to sit with us?"
"Not really...with us three being Infected and all that..."
"What's wrong with that?! Aren't the ship filled with the Infected? ...Wait, she's heading towards us."
"Yeah, she's looking at us too!"
"*Ursus swearing*, you idiot. That's for standing around like a statue and looking right at her!"
"What should we do?! She's coming straight for us! Think of something, you two! What should we say to her?"
"We can say whatever but can you sit the*Lungmen swearing* down first?!"
"I want to but my legs! I-I-I can't make the move..."
The lady came before the flustering trio, and gently put down her tray of food on the table. Then she sat down on the vacant chair.
"Good evening, gang." She said to everyone with a smile.
"G-G-Good evening to you too, Miss Nearl..."The Ursus of the group replied in stutter while pulling his star-struck colleague to sit down.
"You don't look so well," Nearl placed the plate of puffs in the middle of the table, then turned towards the blushing girl, "Are you feeling ok?"
"I-I-I..." the girl buried her face in her palms.
"She's just too excited for having a meal with her idol." the Lungmener took a bite of his burger, "Though honestly we'd never thought one day we could sit around with the Radiant Knight and...eat burgers." He then turned to the girl and nudged her half jokingly "Hey you, why don't you get yourself some beer?"
"I had the chance to visit the ship tonight, so I figured I'd come by and grab something to eat." Nearl had a sip from her mug. The beer was fermented with the superb wheat stock of Londinium, as a result it carries a sharp and penetrating flavour. "You know, in Kazimierz many competition knights would have hamburgers as their prime choice when it comes to food."
"...because they are tasty?" The Ursus clicked his mug with Nearl's in good cheer.
"It's a part of it for sure. But moreover being a fast food staple, it simply takes a lot less time to prepare and to consume. To competition knights who spent most of their time in the arena, it's quite an advantage. Other than that, it's cheap, yet comes loaded with energy and protein. I think that's the main reason why many knights and civilians alike chose hamburger for their meals." Nearl then read those messages left on the pick by the medical operators, and let out a hearty chuckle, "It sure fits Hibiscus to write something like that."
Taking big bites – ones that sample all ingredients from top to bottom – that's the proper way to enjoy a burger! The alluring wheat fragrance from the buns, combined with crunchy lettuce, slightly -sour-yet-sweet tomato slice, refreshing pickles, and the crispy bacon, sticky-thick cheese with succulent meaty-patty – hard and soft, meat and vegetable – all flavours mix and mingle together in one's mouth, like a bustling, energetic party. Then wash it all down with a large gulp of icy carbonated drink. Big bites after bits and mouthful after mouthful, till there's nothing left. Complete, uninterrupted satisfaction - that is the absolute, unadulterated truth behind the food that are hamburgers, no matter it's hand-made or produced through a streamlined fashion.
"I'm still in a daze – the legendary Radiant Knight would share her late-night meal with some nameless Infected for company..." the girl, coming back with her beer said. She reached for a cream puff and popped it into her mouth. "And to have you spend so much on puffs..."
"I'm glad that I could share a meal with you guys. Oripathy is not gonna stop us enjoying good burgers, drinks, puffs and each other's company." Nearl also took a puff, "Besides I've saved up a few weeks worth of meal benefits. They are going to expire if I don't do some spending."
There are many details that would require one's attention when it comes to making puffs. Add sugar and butter in water and heat it up. When the butter had melted completely, pour in flour and mix till it took in the water, then turn the fire low and keep mixing. Heat is the key here – if not heated enough, one would get a batch of hard biscuits instead of puffs after baking. When the batter is cooled, add beaten eggs in several small successions, and mix thoroughly till the batter is thick yet could still somewhat flow. Then fill a piping bag with the batter, and squeeze out into portions on a baking tray – of course, the Chef was also prone to make large ball puffs or narrow finger puffs. It all depends on his mood of the day and the choice of piping bag nuzzle. After they are baked, inject whipped sweet cream from the bottom. But no matter what type of puff one ought to make, the inside space must be filled to the brim – that's the only proper way of making a cream puff. For petit puffs one simply has to eat it whole, and beneath the superb flavour of the butter and egg from the warm, slightly crispy skin, one would finally have an intimate encounter the rich creamy sweetness of the chilled cream.
A natural smile slowly emerged on Nearl's face after she had eaten the cream puff. Regardless of race or nationality, Infected or no, it was the happiness anyone would have felt after eating something delicious. The girl saw it, and it was then she realised that her idol, the legendary Radiant Knight Margret Nearl was but another young woman, one just like her.
"To the Radiant Knight" the now slightly tipsy Lungmener raised his almost empty mug.
"To burgers and beer!" the Ursus followed with a booming voice.
"To...to Miss Nearl!" the girl raised her mug with reddened cheeks.
To Rhodes Island and the future of the Infected. That was what Nearl wanted to say.
"To cream puffs." She said instead.
It was an ordinary late-night supper. It should be followed by an ordinary toast.
"Um...Miss Nearl, can I have your autograph in just a moment?..."