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 Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 5:04 pm
It was the last weekend before school. Lydia's last chance to rescue her smoldering wreck of a vacation before school started again. Not that she minded school particularly; she enjoyed learning and loved feeling free of her parents during the week. But vacations were sacred, and the Negaverse had totally ruined the last weeks of hers. Only now was she finally deemed "recovered" by her parents, and allowed to do her back-to-school shopping. Only now that all of the good stuff had already been snapped up, and she had a sole shopping day until school was to start again.
There were few things that could pull Lydia out of a bad mood once she had committed to one, but dining at Maize Maizier was right near the top of that list. She took an early break from her shopping, when she had only bought two bags worth of clothes and supplies, and hailed a cab to her favorite restaurant. By the time the cab pulled up, her mood had already improved considerably. The owners of the restaurant often did fun events for weekend brunches. If she was lucky, maybe she would be there at the right time. Grinning at the thought, she generously tipped the driver and got out of the car, her bags swinging in her hands as she approached.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:56 pm
Today's theme was Indian food. As a result, the uniforms for Maize Maizier had an Indian flair to it all. There was a stock pile of various clothing in the back room for the employees to wear, and Howl selected a lovely white and gold trimmed dhoti.
He now stood at the entrance, his long locks of teal hair masking his right eye which, despite his best efforts, still had some very noticeable bruising. He had attempted to cover the area up with makeup, and though he had made the injury look far less ugly, it still had patches of odd coloring that he felt were completely out of place.
The lad was a quick study on basic greetings for the day, and as a young lady with dark purple hair approached, he greeted her with a simple "Shubha prabhaat, or good morning, Miss." It felt odd to learn new greetings with each theme as he worked, but he understood the appeal it had upon the customer base. It also felt odd only because his own accent sometimes clashed with the other languages.
Tilting his head for a slight polite bow, he then asked "How many in your party, Miss?" She arrived alone, but that didn't mean she couldn't have others arriving after her that she needed to reserve seats for.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 11:45 pm
This was the jackpot! Lydia actually squealed as the waiter greeted her. She loved most of the cuisines served at Maize Maizier, but Indian food was a special favorite of hers. Already she was starting to put together an order in her mind, but she remembered that there might be a special menu and stopped herself. She had several favorites, but was always open to trying new foods, and the recipes that the owners brought back from their travels were, without fail, fantastic.
The greeting made her even more giddy, and she put her palms together and bowed slightly. "Āp se mil ke ḫuśī huī!" Lydia hardly had a conversational knowledge of Hindi, and she was sure that the workers couldn't all master the languages of every culture the restaurant incorporated, but that didn't matter. Aside from the delicious food, she loved the atmosphere of Maize Maizier. Some of her classmates had told her about Epcot, which seemed to have a similar premise, but the restaurant was not only far easier to get to, it was also classier, at least in her mind. Whenever Lydia was lucky enough to come on a theme day, she made sure to practice her limited vocabulary in whatever language was appropriate. Since Indian culture was a favorite, she knew a few simple phrases in Hindi, in addition to the words she picked up here and there, and was determined to use as many as possible.
But it wouldn't do to look like she was showing off, or to be rude to her server. "That is, it's nice to meet you, sir. I'm dining alone today, if you have room for me." She noted the accent with some interest, but didn't comment on it. Perhaps later, after she had taken care of business.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:08 pm
Thus far, learning the basic greetings were about the extent that this particular server had learned. He wasn't fluent, but tried to just smile politely to the young lady as she spoke up in the tongue of the day. He made certain to not even nod in the slightest, since that was a cliche mistake that foreigners would accidentally make to another tongue: nodding to something they couldn't understand. For all he knew, she could have just insulted him in Hindi, and there he'd be nodding his head like a dolt.
Not that he'd ever imagine such an adorable young lady to be so cruel. Minding his manners as usual, he let out a polite chuckle and gestured for the girl to follow after him. "I think we can squeeze one more lovely young lady in our company today. Do you have a preference of being seated inside or on the patio today?" He had already swiped up a single menu and one laminated half sheet that listed all the specials for the day upon it.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 7:47 pm
While Lydia had come across plenty of insults in her language studies, she didn’t practice them, and couldn’t think of any off the top of her head even when she tried. Which she rarely did. There were better ways to get one’s point across, and better ways to insult someone than curse words. Not that she liked to insult someone, but she recognized that there were times and places when it was a necessary evil. Talking to a polite and helpful server at her favorite restaurant was not one of them.
She smiled at the news that there was room and blushed at his casual compliment. The question he posed was a tough one. Lydia tapped her chin thoughtfully, considering the options. It was a lovely August day, warm but not too hot yet. Noon was fast approaching though, and it was possible that sitting outdoors would become uncomfortable. The restaurant was air-conditioned, and while she’d liked the decor, she’d seen it several times over. “Is there anything special going on inside today?” That would make her decision instantly if there was, but if not, she would have to pick something on her own.
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:44 am
On a good day, there might have been some sort of live entertainment. Howl knew this all too well in his short time working at Maize Maizier. "I believe today is quite tame. We were unable to book any specialized musicians for the theme."
Since the young lady had yet to make a decision, he had to pause at one "fork in the road" to await her decision. He was quite a patient young man, and with a pleasant smile he allow her the chance to make her decision.
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 9:31 pm
Some of the entertainment at Maize Maizier was quite spectacular. Musicians were fairly common on theme days, but there were occasionally dancers, other performance artists, and even artisans running workshops. Lydia was mildly disappointed that none of that was going on that day, but Maize Maizier was still her favorite restaurant, and theme days were still her favorites, so she could hardly call it a wash already.
"I see. In that case..." And there, the decision she had tried to avoid. After a moment of frowning, she held out two fingers and seemed to be counting off on them. "... and that is Y-O-U." Content with the result, she nodded at the waiter. "Outside, please! And I'd love a lassi to start- lemon, please, unless you have saffron today." After dining there frequently for two years, Lydia could quote most of the menu from memory, even when special menus were used. "And thank you for bearing with me," she added, aware that she was taking more time than usual. Hopefully her speedy order would help to offset the delay in choosing a seat.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 9:11 pm
Ah, a decision being made by a child's song...
The server was familiar with the end of the common place "Eenie Meanie Miney Moe." With a polite nod, he once more resumed guiding the girl through the aisles until they were at a door to the outdoor dining section.
As a gentleman, he could never resist holding a door open for a young lady, however, she was already spouting out her order to him.
Saffron Lassi... he noted as he held the door open, gesturing out to the reasonably filled area. It was just a comfortable amount of other patrons visiting, sitting and chatting amongst themselves, some already enjoying their food.
After the young lady had gone through the doorway, he made haste in walking up to her side again so he could lead her to a table with two chairs. Once more, he allow his manners to take control, pulling out the chair for the young lady.
"We do have the Saffron today, so I will bring you the Lassi shortly, Miss."
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 2:32 pm
This just kept getting better and better. Indian food, saffron lassi, and a wonderfully polite server. Lydia gave him an extra-large smile, since if all went according to her plans, she would be seeing him on a much more regular basis before too long. Which sounded kind of stalkerish, but her intentions were entirely innocuous. Business, rather than pleasure, though if she had her way there was no reason that the two couldn't be combined.
"Thank you very much!" Lydia took her seat at the table and consulted the menu, more out of habit than anything else. She had an idea of what she wanted already, but sometimes the restaurant did specials, and she didn't want to miss anything. Not that there was much chance of that, considering the frequency of her visits. Even lunch a few times a week wasn't enough to sate her appetite for travel. Something more had to be done, and she was convinced now that she could, and would, do it.
Another time, though. Today, she had a lovely lunch awaiting her, and that was enough for the moment.
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