fandomtownies | Community Center Class: International Cuisine, Monday evening

Current Location: Milan

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!ccclass: cooking

Community Center Class: International Cuisine, Monday evening

"Good evening." Hannibal was meeting them on this side of the portal again, and gave the introduction before they stepped through. "Tonight we will be visiting Italy. Italian cuisine is rather eclectic, and a bit of a misnomer - different areas of the country have quite different cuisines, due to their varying climates and influences. We will be going to Milan, the capital of the Lombardy region in the north, to a restaurant called Nabucco. It serves mostly traditional Milanese foods, with a bit of experimenting as well - I understand their ricotta-stuffed pumpkin flowers are not to be missed.

"The predominant language is Italian, and if you need help, feel free to ask me, but due to a constant influx of tourists, many people may speak some English as well."

He waved them through onto an early evening street, where the restaurant had tables both inside and out.

"Please, enjoy."

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Ready to eat

Kanan Jarrus

Mary Connell

Lucille Sharpe

Enjoy the bustle. Or not.

By some miracle, Kanan had managed to leave the apartment without the dog twice in one day. Maybe because he just had a way with animals. Maybe because, once again, he'd waited for Stance to drift to sleep and had made his bid for freedom then.

It actually made him feel sort of underhanded, but he'd only be gone for an hour or so, so he was trying not to think about it too hard.

Mangia!

As per usual, Hannibal will be ordering an assortment of things from the menu if you want to taste.

Edited 2016-08-08 03:08 (UTC)

Kanan found himself going with the risotto, which the menu assured him was real, though he wasn't certain if it was trying to assure him that it was real risotto, or really Milanese. Being in Milan would have made the latter assertion kind of redundant. But then, maybe this was exactly the sort of place that got a lot of tourists, as Doctor Lecter had said, and they were simply stating that you hadn't had risotto properly until you'd eaten it here.

He tried a small sampling of things with polenta as well, mostly because the word sounded vaguely obscene to his ear and he wanted to know what it was all about. As it turned out, polenta was somewhat less exciting than it sounded, but the meatballs and cheeses that it was served with helped to balance that out somewhat.

"The wines from this area are also traditional," Hannibal said, pouring Kanan a glass. "Italy adores its food and its wines."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to miss out on a tradition," Kanan replied, smiling as he reached for the glass with a nod. "Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate it."

He appreciated Hannibal pointing it out to him almost as much as he was going to appreciate drinking it.

"That is what I'm here for," Hannibal said, grinning.

"The area of Italy has seen the beginning of several civilizations and movements that form the foundation of many aspects of culture in the Western world," he said. "Though it's been a unified country for little more than a century."

He took out his phone and called up the image of Earth again. "Italy is here." He zoomed in to show it more clearly.

"Ah," Kanan said, listening intently, smiling faintly as he did so. "You weren't kidding about the history lesson, huh? Where is it in relation to where the island is supposed to be parked, again?"

"It can never hurt to learn more about where you are," Hannibal said, giving him a little smile back.

"The island is generally here." He turned the map to show Baltimore.

"Ah, there it is," Kanan agreed, looking thoughtfully at Baltimore. "It's not easy to picture the island in any one place, it's been doing so much moving around. I do have to say, though, if there's any one thing about this place that does have me impressed, it's the portals. From wherever the island is to here without even having to step on a ship. That's really something."

It was basically the only technology this place had going for it, so far as he was concerned, but it was nothing to sneeze at.

"They are wonderful, aren't they?" Hannibal said. "They'll take you to a different time as well, although I prefer to avoid that when possible. They have been known to make terrible missteps, and I would rather keep the travel as simple as possible."

Even if they mostly didn't happen to him.

"Terrible missteps, huh?" Well, now Kanan's curiosity was piqued. He raised his eyebrows a little. "I have to admit, Doctor, I really want to ask."

"When we tried for a vacation to London, we ended up in a very odd-looking war zone.," Hannibal said. "The last time Jono came back to the island via portal, it took him a month, and he wound up with sunburn, a frog, and a liberal coating of candy."

There were degrees of disaster.

Well. That earned a blink.

Hell, it earned two or three blinks, and a tilt of Kanan's head.

"... So what you're telling me is that I'm probably lucky that Portalocity can't figure out how to make a connection back to my particular version of my own galaxy."

"Not precisely," Hannibal said. "But you are very lucky you haven't insisted they try and gone through anyway."

Kanan grimaced at that.

"Exactly what I need," he sighed, shaking his head. "An attempted trip back home, only to end up... with a frog."

They did have frogs in his galaxy, remarkably. On Rodia.

"I'm guessing the frog wasn't the worst of it."

He already had a dog, thanks. He didn't need more pets.

"No, there were other parts that were much worse, from what I understand," Hannibal agreed. "The frog was merely inconvenient in that we had to keep him away from the cats until we had a place to put him."

"And I'm sure they loved that," Kana replied wearing the faintest hint of a smirk. "I suppose the important part is that he made it home eventually. But I'll have to admit, that does make me more than a little wary about using their services in the future."

No matter how convenient the portals seemed at a glance.

"I have rarely had a problem with them, and nothing to that extent," Hannibal said. "But it does warrant caution, I believe."

"It'll definitely have me think twice if they ever come back to me telling me that the routes to home have opened again," Kanan replied, shaking his head a little. "I appreciate the heads-up. I never would've guessed, with as stable as the ones we've been using are."

"In a previous class, we did once end up at Milliway's," Hannibal said. "We'd been intending to go to an Earth satellite in...well, a nearer future than that."

"Huh... Well, I did like Milliway's, for the most part." Kanan was still not so sure about the beef. "Their drinks were good, anyway. And the salad wasn't bad."

Sigh, Kanan. Nobody went to the restaurant at the end of the universe for the salad.

"The show was lovely, and they had a very large selection of wines," Hannibal added. "Although we did have to carry out one of the students, due to one particular drink."

"... Was it the one with the ridiculous name, by any chance?"

Kanan was acquainted with that drink.

Lucille chose oysters as a starter. That was something she had never tried, and although they looked a little repulsive in a strangely tempting way, she found she really liked them. They were odd, alive. And they went very well with a glass prosecco, which quickly made her a little tipsy.

After that she tried both risotto and polenta, and had a glass or two of lovely red wine with it.

She would probably have a headache tomorrow.

But she would really enjoy the evening!

"Miss Sharpe." Hannibal nodded to her. "How are you enjoying the food this evening?"

There was no way that Mary was going to miss trying the ricotta-stuffed flowers, if only to say that she had tried ricotta-stuffed flowers. After that, she eagerly sampled a little bit of all the seafood dishes, as well as the polenta with mushrooms and the Milanese risotto.

Hannibal smiled at her. "I trust there are enough options this time. I should apologize again for the earlier faux pas."

"There were so many things to choose from that I'm glad I skipped lunch," said Mary with a grin. "And you have nothing to apologize for. I should have spoken up a lot sooner, but I forgot that it could be a problem. My chef at the hotel followed me to Fandom from Las Vegas, and he knows me well enough to substitute chicken or fish when he takes my room service orders."

"Very useful," Hannibal said. "Las Vegas? Fandom must be quite a change. In lighting, if nothing else."

"It's a lot quieter. I actually missed the sound of the slot machines when I first arrived," said Mary. "Of course, now that I've gotten used to Fandom, I can't go back to Las Vegas without getting overwhelmed by the lights and sounds. It's hard to believe I grew up there but it no longer feels like home to me."

"It's amazing the things that human beings can become acclimated to, isn't it?" Hannibal asked. "I've become quite used to Fandom's quirks, and things I once marveled to consider are now rather commonplace."

"Hmmm. Maybe that's why I feel out of touch with friends back home. They can't really relate to my stories about turning into a pony or being in space," said Mary.

"I imagine it's difficult to connect," Hannibal said. "'Oh, you got a parking ticket? I spent the past week as a houseplant'."

"Especially when they're all getting married and having babies, and I'm not," said Mary, a touch of bitterness to her voice. "It makes it difficult to relate, I suppose. They moved on with their lives, and I had to rebuild my life all over again."

"Rebuilding is also moving on," Hannibal pointed out. "It's a form of moving on that allows you more freedom to redefine yourself."

"And I did need to redefine myself," said Mary. "I went through something rather traumatic as a child, and ended up having to relive it just before coming to Fandom. Even though my friends stood behind me, I'm not sure they really understood how awful it was. Starting over in Fandom helped me put it behind me in a way I couldn't do back home."

"A new setting can do that," Hannibal said. "Childhood traumas can be very difficult to combat. But you have left it behind now?"

"For the most part," said Mary. She would always carry some guilt for the price that her former boss Ed Deline paid in order to to keep Mary and her sisters safe from their father. "I know there are some residual feelings from it, but I haven't let it stop me from living my life."

"Good." Hannibal toasted Mary with his wine. "The trick is not to avoid feelings, but not to let them drive you without being aware of it."

He's here!

I swear, why do no Italian restaurants have decent web sites??

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Community Center Class: International Cuisine, Monday evening

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OOC