Fandom Island and Town

Over time, Lion-o had gotten used to reluctantly trying new foods. He'd even found some new favorites that way. Still, he had his limits and he encountered one today while searching through the walk-in fridge.

"Seaweed? Do people actually eat this? It sounds horrible," Lion-o said as he tossed a package of nori at one of the kitchen staff. "Hey, do you still have any more of that sushi salad? It's delicious!"

The cook wisely decided to wait until Lion-o finished off a second helping before pointing out that the salad had seaweed as an ingredient.

Today's Specials
Sushi Roll Edamame Salad
Udon Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms in Ginger Broth

There was the distinct aroma of blueberry muffins wafting through the cafe. But don't try to order one, because Lion-o and the staff couldn't figure out at first where the scent was coming from. That wouldn't stop Lion-o from trying to sniff it out. Maybe if he's lucky, he'll discover by the end of the day that the scent is actually the new lotion he tried this morning.

Today's Specials
Turkey Chipotle Chili
Chile and Chorizo Cornbread

Lion-o was pouting. He was also doing his best not to speak in case he burst into song again. But he wasn't able to stop himself from humming. When he realized that humming was about to turn into singing, he ducked into the walk-in fridge to hide.

After the humiliation he'd suffered this morning when a video chat with Cheetara turned into him serenading her, Lion-o was determined that no one would ever again catch him singing "Teenage Dream."

Today's Special
Cheddar BLT Burgers with Tarragon Russian Dressing

Thanksgiving was Lion-o's second-favorite holiday after Halloween. Normally he looked forward to it, but this time he was worried about his inability to contact the Thundercats back home. Also, he wasn't able to find a fresh turkey in the walk-in fridge, but the staff promised him that they had an appropriate substitute. Lion-o hoped the thing tasted better than it looked.

Today's Specials
Tofu Turkey
Green Bean Casserole
Red Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

[Open! The OCD is busy fighting over the last turkey at the store.]

Lion-o was disappointed that Halloween had come and gone already. He spent most of his shift explaining to the kitchen staff that he planned to establish Halloween on his home planet after graduation. There would be a few changes, such as making Halloween a week-long event. He was sure that Snarf, Wileykat and Wileykit would back him up on that.

Today's Specials
Deep-Fried Candy Bars with Pineapple
Caramel, Chocolate and Candy Apples
Cashew Candy Crunch Sundae

Lion-o appreciated the efforts of the staff to find more foods that he would like, but he had to take issue with the lettuce wraps. "Burgers should be on a bun! You can't wrap it up in lettuce leaves and still call it a burger," he protested. He also refused to eat their burgers until someone got him hamburger buns. At least, he started out that way, but by lunchtime he settled for eating just the burger part and leaving the lettuce behind.

Today's Specials
Asian Pork and Mushroom Burger Wraps
Ginger-Garlic Green Beans
Coconut Tart

After handwavily finally getting out of that locker where he'd been trapped, Lion-o figured that he should show up early at work to make up for his absence. The staff was happy to have him back, though they couldn't figure out why he wouldn't talk about his experiences. "This crazy girl made me promise to never say a word about it," Lion-o explained with a shrug. That didn't stop the bus boy from following him around all day, pleading for Lion-o to share. But Lion-o remained true to his word and said nothing.

Today's Specials
Seafood Paella
Churros and Hot Chocolate
Crema Catalana

Lion-o was a little late getting to Luke's after class, so he couldn't blame the kitchen staff for picking out the specials without his help. But he was a little perturbed by the things they decided on. "Why in the world would you fry pickles?" he asked.

Today's Specials
Deep-Fried Pickles
Patty Melts
Meatloaf
Peach Cobbler

Lion-o was a little late getting to work because he took a short detour to get his sword. Between the worrying things he heard on the radio and strange sensation that he got when the sword called him, he figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Hopefully the kitchen staff was grateful enough for protection that they wouldn't make Lion-o eat any green beans.

Today's Specials
BLT Burgers
Green Bean and Radish Salad
Molten Chocolate Cakes with Mint Fudge Sauce

Today, Lion-o didn't wander for very long in the walk-in fridge before he grabbed a case of what he thought were tomatoes. They turned out to be something more exotic, but that didn't bother him. He liked seeing more of the unusual produce available on this planet.

Today's Specials
Prosciutto with Persimmon, Pomegranate and Arugula
Braised Pork with Fuyu Persimmon
Steamed Persimmon Pudding with Cinnamon Creme Anglaise

Lion-o knew things had to change with the new ownership of the diner, but he still caught off-guard to see the new walk-in fridge. For today, he'd stick with cooking with ingredients he regularly used, but he was looking forward to seeing just how far back that fridge went.

Today's Specials
Bacon-Swiss Burgers with Tomato and Avocado
Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes

Lion-o brought a change of clothing with him to work today. Because he had failed at paying attention when scheduling his classes, he had to leave for third period and then come back at lunchtime. It hadn't been a problem for the last few weeks, but now they were staying in the cabins. That meant a longer walk for Lion-o, so he thought it would be faster to change at the diner.

He just didn't expect a couple guys from the staff trying to prank him by locking him in storage closet while he was changing. "Not funny, guys!" Lion-o yelled. "Look, if you don't let me out of here, you're going to have to take care of the lunch rush by yourselves." It was a valid point, but they still waited five more minutes to release him.

Today's Specials
Chipotle Burgers With Grilled Corn on the Cob
Grilled Pineapple with Tequila-Brown Sugar Glaze

For reasons that Lion-o could not explain, the napkin dispensers had all disappeared from the diner. The busboy blamed it on the cook, the cook blamed it on the dishwasher, and the dishwasher was blaming the island.

"At least we still have napkins," said Lion-o, though he noticed that the busboy was shaking his head. "What? The napkins are gone, too? What else is there?"

A few minutes later, Lion-o and the busboy were busy putting out rolls of paper towels at each table as a substitute for the missing napkins.

Today's Specials
Avocado Salad
Cuban Grilled Pork
Grilled Ripe Plantains

"The Vikings don't get to have any of our burgers," Lion-o announced to the kitchen staff. No one wanted to disagree with him. They knew Lion-o could be rather possessive of his food, especially when it included red meat, but they also didn't want to be cleaning up after Vikings. Who could tell if they had actual table manners?

Today's Specials
Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas Barbecue Sauce
Bacon Smashed Potatoes
Double Chocolate Torte

The staff was a little stunned when Lion-o asked if he could help out in the kitchen today. He usually avoided going into the kitchen at the diner since the cook had been terrified of him, but Lion-o was starting to miss using some of the culinary skills he had picked up at his previous job.

Today's Specials
Pan-Roasted Sizzling Shrimp
Herb Salad with Feta, Roasted Red Peppers and Toasted Pine Nuts
Sticky Coffee Banana Pudding

Lion-o had a challenge ahead of him today. Even though he brought the droid baby with him to work, it was difficult to get anything done while carrying the baby around. However, every time he put it down, the baby would start to scream and that made it even tougher for Lion-o to concentrate.

And the laughter and teasing that Lion-o was getting from the guys in the kitchen was not helping. He finally retreated to a corner booth with a burger and milkshake and tried to eat quickly while the droid baby was sleeping.

Today's Specials
California Burger with Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato and Cucumber-Wasabi Mayo
Mashed Peas and Carrots
Strawberry-Banana Milkshake

While Lion-o had enjoyed spring break, he felt a little bit out of the loop to hear the kitchen staff eagerly discussing some movie trailer he hadn't seen. In fact, it took a while before the busboy finally mentioned to Lion-o that the trailer was on YouTube if he wanted to see it before next week. Lion-o made a note to do that before next week's shift so he could at least understand what everyone was talking about.

Today's Specials
Portobello Burgers with Pesto, Provolone and Roasted Peppers
Grilled Chive Potatoes
Sticky Toffee Banana Pudding

Lion-o volunteered to tend to the planters today. He was fascinated by the tiny little green peppers. He'd never seen ones that small before, but they appeared to be fully ripe and ready for harvest. It wasn't until Lion-o bit into one that he realized it was a jalapeno, not a green pepper.

He should have just stuck with hating all green vegetables.

Today's Specials
Jalapeno Poppers
Pork Chile Verde with Red Chile Salsa
Chocolate Chile Bread Pudding

It was still cold outside, though it wasn't as bad as yesterday. Lion-o was glad to see that the streets were clear enough to travel and that the diner had power. He had a feeling that people would really want hot food today.

Today's Specials
Southeast Asian Beef Rice-Noodle Soup
Pork Meatball Banh Mi
Coconut Milk Sticky Rice With Mangoes

It felt good to be back at work, though Lion-o was slightly disturbed to hear how much the kitchen staff had missed him. They had come a long way from the days when they thought Lion-o was there to eat them.

Today's Specials
Greek Burger with Arugula, Tomatoes and Feta
Fried Baby Zucchini with Cheese-Stuffed Blossoms
Five-Spice Roasted Pears with Sesame Seeds

Lion-o had a question for one of the guys in the kitchen, so he headed there as soon as he arrived at the diner. However, he completely forgot his question when he found everyone but the busboy had frosting on their faces. So Lion-o turned around, headed out of the kitchen, and got to work filling the napkin dispensers.

Today's Specials
Carrot Cupcakes with Orange Icing
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Creamy Vanilla Icing
Coconut Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

The kitchen staff seemed really sleepy all day. The bus boy told Lion-o about how they had been up all night. It seemed odd to Lion-o. He wasn't sure why people would be partying on a Tuesday night, and it didn't seem like any of the people he talked to had fun at their party.

Today's Special
Bacon Swiss Burgers with Tomato and Avocado
Twelve-Layer Mocha Cake

Lion-o was inspecting the hydroponic planters, which were still producing way too many vegetables for his tastes, when a man with a heavy German accent entered the diner. He told Lion-o he had too much time on his hands and tried to give him more green plants.

"No, I don't want them. There's too much green stuff in my food already," Lion-o protested. The strange man mumbled something, handed him the plants, and ran.

With a sigh, Lion-o went back to the cook. "Can I trade these to you for a cheeseburger?" he asked.

Today's Specials
Grilled Turkey with Toasted Fennel and Coriander and Thyme Gravy
Baked Onions with Thyme

Just before he left for work, Lion-o had received a series of communications from the Thundercats. He was frowning as he went through each one. Apparently they had all gotten the invitations to Parents Weekend, but Tygra was really busy with mapping the new planet, and he had WileyKat and WileyKit working with him. Tygra had assumed that Cheetara would go, but Cheetara was about to travel to the Tree-Top Kingdom to help the Warrior Maidens with their security systems. Cheetara assumed that Panthro would go, but Panthro was busy with improvements to the Cat's Lair. He assumed that Snarf would go, except Snarf was staying with the Ro-Bear Berbils to help with their harvest. Besides, Snarf had assumed that Tygra would go. In the end, none of the Thundercats were coming for Parents Weekend.

"It's really no big deal," Lion-o told the bus boy. "I mean, it's not like any of them were my parents." And if he kept repeating that, maybe he'd start to believe it.

Today's Specials
Buffalo Burgers with Pickled Onions and Smoky Red Pepper Sauce
Spiced Pumpkin Layer Cake