Posted by Chief Petty Officer Sam Nazarian (Host of Florence’s) in Florence’s Lounge- Expanding Tastebuds

Posted by Lieutenant Navale Huzzen (Engineer) in Florence’s Lounge- Expanding Tastebuds

Posted by Chief Petty Officer Sam Nazarian (Host of Florence’s) in Florence’s Lounge- Expanding Tastebuds
Posted by… suppressed (16) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Sam loved a challenge and he loved surprising people with good food and drinks. In some ways his job as Lounge Host was not so different than when he had been an operations officer. They were both about logistics and making sure things ran smoothly. Sometimes this required creativity.

His present challenge was to introduce Navale Huzzen to different things and see what might surprise her. It had taken some thinking and he had come up with a plan he was happy with.

Sam puttered behind the bar, but he had help today and Jessik was handling the regular orders. Sam had a black apron over his green line button-down and was moving about with efficiency as he waited for his special guest to arrive.

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

Navale had taken the time to change into something that was not her grease and glitter and goo covered uniform. Not for any reason other than this was the second d time she had cleaned up after the glitter goo beast. It was everywhere and she was going to be randomly sparkling for at least a year. She chose an off shoulder, short sleeved sweater with denim pants and soft soled flats. She hoped she had gotten the glitter out of her brow etching.

She walked into the lounge exactly on time. She walked up to the bar and slid onto a stool. She didn’t think there was enough hot water on the ship to ease the ache in her back. “Hey Sam, Hey Jessik,” she grinned and rubbed her hands together, landing her gaze on Sam. “I am ready to be surprised.”

Lt. Huzzen, Engineer

Sam folded his arms on bartop and leaned forward, grinning. “But are you really? And there are different levels of surprise. I think we should established any boundaries you may have here, but I will say that I have planned to ease you in to all this.”

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

Navale matched his posture, even leaning forward herself and grinning. “Prolong the experience? I’m on board for that. As for bounderies… hmmm.” She made a show of thinking. “It must be safely edible, I have no food allergies that I am aware of,” she spied a random glittery fleck on the back of her hand and scowled, “and nothing glittery or gelatinous or slime like.” She scrubbed at the spot with her thumb, until she was satisfied it was gone. Then, the grin returning, “Other than that, I suppose I am in your hands or at your mercy,” and she laughed.

Lt. Huzzen, Engineer

Sam didn’t confirm which one of those options it might be, and instead slipped back upright and turned to face the back of the bar. He set about mixing something together, shaking the shaker for a goof fifteen seconds before adding the ice and shaking again. He turned back to Navale, a tall glass in hand. The drink within was a pale yellow, with a thick layer of foam forming the top third. “A gin fizz,” he said, sliding it to her. “Something to engage the palate. A good gin, lemon juice, sugar and egg white. It’s creamy but bright.”

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

Navale looked at it with interest. She picked it up, raised it to Sam with a grin, “To your machinations.” She didn’t sip it. Instead she took a full taste, diving into the experience. “Mmm that’s delicious. Not what I expected from a drink with the word ‘fizz’ in it. It’s creamy, almost like ice cream.”

Lt. Huzzen, Engineer

Sam grinned. “No point in starting off with something too tangy or strong. Will ruin everything to come. Now, do you want something with some heat, or some bite. And yes, those are different savoury experiences.”

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

Navale crossed her arms on the edge of the bar and leaned forward just slightly. “Let’s start with some bite.”

Lt. Huzzen, Engineer

He lashed her a smile and nodded. “Okay then, bite it is.” He turned to the side and crouched, pulling something out from under the bar. Standing upright, he tapped a button on a console. While he waited for the first dish to come out from the kitchen, he opened a large jar, though the lid took some effort having been apparently overtightened at some point. Sam blew out a breath before it finally popped and unscrewed. “Clearly one of my staff has been messing with my jar. They know better,” he said, a glimmer flashing through his eyes.

Navale’s eyes widened just slightly at the change in demeanour. Growing up how she did, you learned to pay attention to such things. It made a difference in the quality and length of your life. Curiosity got the better of her though, “Oh, is that some secret recipe in the jar?”

“Not so much secret, but the ingredient inside is not one I have a lot of. I have it fresh, not just replicated. The liquid is a brine. I was more concerned about how tight the lid was, which “

A few moments later, once of the servers brought out a small plate with three small rounds that had been breaded and deep fried. They probably would take no more than two bites to eat. Sam took a fork and carefully pulled out delicate pink threads of some sort of vegetable and the strong smell of vinegar floated out from the jar. He twirled the threads atop one of the rounds with an artistic flourish and repeated with the other two. He slid the plate towards Navale. “Makaran crab and shrimp cakes. They are sweeter, but the pickled lemmet adds a much needed brightness and bite.”

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

Navale watched as the add the pink threads to the top. He had a flare for this and enjoyed it. It wasn’t just a job, he really liked doing this sort of thing. Or he was really good at acting like he did. She picked up one of the small cakes and bit off about half of it. It was different. The usual salty tang of seafood wasn’t there, it was sweet but not really over powering, but enough to notice it was sweet. It was unexpected after the sour harsh scent of the vinegar. Then as she chewed the lemmet hit her tongue and changed the experience completely. Her eyes widened and she grinned around the next bite.

She wiped her fingertips on a napkin before reaching for the second one. “Oh now that is very different. I like the change with the lemmet. It makes you want to experience it again.”

Lt. Huzzen, Engineer

He gave her a wide grin. “It’s what my paternal grandmother would call moreish. But hold onto that thought, we’re going to go through the spectrum of flavours. I hope you left room. These are small bites, but they add up.”

“You ready for the next?”

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

“Oh yeah, I’ve got room. Where I grew up, you ate everything you were given even if you were full. You never knew when you might get to eat again.” Her smile never slipped though. It was simply a fact of life where she grew up. But she’d had a happy childhood, and a lot better than some people had it. She polished off that last bite, “Alright, what’s next, because that was good.”

Lt. Huzzen, Engineer

Sam rubbed his palms together, flashing her a grin. “Alright, Navale… may I call you Navale?” They hadn’t exactly established if they were on a first-name basis, because Sam was on a first-name basis with everyone

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

She laughed, “Of course. That’s my name, and I much prefer it to ‘Hey You’.” Shevgrinned. “I never did understand the human habit of referring to someone by their family or last name.”

Lt. Huzzen, Engineer

Sam shrugged. “It’s usually in context. Some people’s position in work or even activities necessitates the use of a last name as an identity and sometimes it just sticks.”

“That makes sense I guess. So do you prefer to go by Sam or something else?” she asked.

“Sam works for me,” he said with a grin.

He moved down the counter and gave a gesture to someone, who nodded. A moment later, a bowl was slid across the U-shaped bar. Sam picked it up, ducking briefly to grab a wider-styled spoon and brought it over to Navale. It was a petite bowl of a clear broth with some cubed vegetable and pale meat, plus come chopped garlic and specs of dark. There was probably no more than ten spoons worth. It was just above a warm state, but not quite steaming, so it was easy to eat without burning one’s mouth.

“This is česneková polévka, or garlic soup. It comes from a place called the Czech Republic, where I was born. It’s chicken, potatoes, garlic and you’ll taste an aromatic herb called marjoram. It’s a very common soup, especially if you are unwell, but it’s not bland, so I think it’s a nice palate cleanser before the next course.”

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

“So a little peek into you, Sam? Is it something you enjoy?” Navale leaned over the bowl slightly and inhaled the aroma. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t exactly appetizing either. She was willing to try anything. She took the spoon and carefully gathered the soup and brought it to her mouth. She blew across it gently, just incase, and watched the steam dance before she tried it.

“I do. I figure everyone should have access to a comfort food and it’s always nice to share something like that, especially if you have fond memories attached to the dish.” Sam said.

“Out here, it’s nice to have a reminder of home. Maybe I can show you one from my home.”

It tasted much better than the aroma indicated. She nodded, it was interesting, but the moment she swallowed it she sneezed, several times. The garlic having a similar effect on her that pepper had on humans. She grabbed her napkin quickly and covered her face.

Lt. Huzzen, Engineer

He smiled softly. “Ahh, so we’ve hit a limitation. They had established the last time in the lounge that she had no allergies, but sometimes ingredients could sneak up on you. “Do you know what part might be the issue? I can adjust the rest of the menu accordingly.”

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

Navale shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve never had garlic or marjoram. So ai don’t know which is which. But I like it. It just tickles my nose.” She ate some more, still sneezing every couple of bites. It made her laugh.

Lt. Huzzen, Engineer

He just shook his head. At least she liked the dish. “Well, you let me know when you are ready for the next dish. It’s going to be something quite different.”

~Sam, Host of Florence’s

Navale managed a couple more spoonfuls before the sneezing from her tickled nose got the better of her. “Alright,” she grinned, “let’s try your something quite different.”

Lt. Huzzen, Engineer