Poem: "The Melting Pot"
Nov. 24th, 2021 02:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the September 7, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from technoshaman. It also fills the "Cooking with Love" square in my 9-1-21 card for the Platonic Love Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with ng_moonmoth. It belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
Warning: This poem contains graphic descriptions of delicious Syrian foods that you may or may not be able to obtain.
"The Melting Pot"
[Monday, July 11, 2016]
Ramon Temple leaned on
the counter, watching Kardal
make koobideh kebabs.
"As long as I'm here, is there
any chance your food truck is free
next weekend?" said Ramon. "We
had a member slated to cook goat
for our Small Ruminant Convention,
but she can't make the event."
"I'm sorry, but I'm booked
solid all month," Kardal said
as he put the finished kebabs
onto a bed of yellow rice.
"Damn," said Ramon. "We
really need someone to show
how delicious goat meat tastes."
"Well, I can ask my employees
if anyone wants some extra hours,"
Kardal offered. "I might be able
to find you a cook, if you can
provide a way to grill kebabs."
"I'm sure we can rent a food cart
or something," Ramon replied.
"Man, you need a restaurant.
Everyone wants a piece of you."
"I would like a restaurant, but I
can't afford it yet," Kardal said as
he scooped salad onto the plate. "I
just finished paying off the food truck,
and I only managed that so soon
because people give generous tips."
"The Business Incubator could assist,"
Ramon said. "We help people find
suitable properties for their work."
"I'll think about it," Kardal agreed,
and then rang up the order.
[Monday, July 18, 2016]
Kardal had managed to send
one of his employees to cover
the Small Ruminant Convention.
It made him realize that he had
almost enough people to run
the food truck without him. All
he needed to do was promote
someone to manager and hire
a novice for prep and service.
So Kardal went over to visit
the Business Incubator and
talk with people about ideas.
Kardal wasn't a member,
but Ramon had invited him,
so he could drop by and see
if it was actually worth joining.
The incubator had moved
from the Sunrise Strip Mall to
a big brick building that used to be
the old Rutledge Clothworks Factory.
The Concourse had a reception area
that let into a big open space which had
conversation niches, tables and chairs,
and even couches in one part where
people could gather to share ideas.
There Kardal found not only Ramon
but also Labib Abdel and Oscar Paton.
"Kardal!" Labib said happily, waving
him over. "What brings you here?"
"I invited him," Ramon said before
Kardal could reply. "I'm trying to talk
him into launching a restaurant."
"I am heartily in favor of that,"
Oscar said. "I really miss
the cherry things you made."
"I'm glad you remember them
fondly," said Kardal as he sat
down with the others. "I'm sorry
that they don't work in a food truck."
"Yeah, and nobody else over at
Mandy's Diner can make them
right now," Oscar grumbled.
"You sucked out the talent."
"No, we just trade employees,"
said Kardal. "We don't mind
training novices. What matters
is that people have work and
can find a place they like."
"Well said," Ramon agreed.
"Now about that restaurant?"
He was like a bulldog with an idea,
but that wasn't a bad thing for
a man of business like Ramon.
"I realized that I almost have
enough employees to run
the food truck without me,"
Kardal said. "I've always
wanted to run a restaurant,
but I don't have the money."
"Do you have the skills
to do it?" Labib asked.
"Most of them, I think,"
said Kardal. "As soon as
I paid off the food truck, I
started taking online classes
in restaurant management.
Some is new information,
but a lot it I already know."
"It's still good to have --
what are you getting with it,
a certificate? Degree?"
Oscar said to Kardal.
"Once I finish the program,
then I'll come away from it with a
Restaurant Management Certificate,"
said Kardal. "I hope it will help me
understand how to do things right."
He called up the Ed2Go website
on his smartphone and showed
everyone what he was taking.
Ramon nodded. "That covers
the legal stuff that you'll need
to know," he said. "You already
know more about Syrian food
than anyone else in town!"
"Oh, the old women know
much more," Kardal demurred.
"Yeah, well, they're not running
restaurants," Oscar pointed out.
"You're the one feeding us!"
Kardal couldn't argue with that.
"What kind of location would
you like for your restaurant?"
Labib asked him next.
"Whatever I can afford,"
Kardal said. "That's
probably not very much."
Ramon bounded over to
a spinner rack of resources
and came back with flyers on
different types of fundraising.
"You could presell food, run
a crowdfunding campaign, or
all kinds of things," he said.
Kardal pulled out his wallet
and bought a membership
in the Business Incubator.
It had just proved its use.
"I'd totally chip in for that,"
Oscar said. "Plus there's
that new Muslim bank, uh,
I forget what it's called --"
"The Rutledge Wafira Bank,"
Labib supplied. "It offers
a full range of halal services."
"Thanks," Kardal said, writing
down the name. He'd heard
about the new business but
not what it was called yet.
Labib gave him the address,
too, then added, "They also
have a zakat office. You may
want to think about offering
meal tokens at the restaurant."
"I'd have room for it," Kardal said.
"So far, I've just been letting people
barter for meals, and occasionally
giving free food to the needy."
"So, location, assuming you
can raise a reasonable amount
of seed money?" Labib said.
"Downtown, I think," said Kardal.
"They have lots of nice buildings
that don't cost too much money."
Ramon perked up again. "Oh hey,
there's a whole revitalization program
for that area," he said. "You should
qualify for assistance if you want
to start a new business there."
He wrote someone's name
and contact information on
a card and handed it over.
Kardal thanked him and
pocketed it, another tip that
he never would have found
without the Business Incubator.
"Have you thought about the menu?"
Oscar said. "I'd love to try more of
the Syrian stuff, but you might want
to offer something ... uh, more familiar,
for the people who get dragged in."
"Dragged in?" Kardal exclaimed.
"Nobody is getting dragged!"
"A euphemism," Labib said,
smoothing a hand through
the air. "Oscar means that
people might go along with
someone else instead of
choosing the restaurant."
"Ah," Kardal said. "They
might not like the food."
"If a menu offers at least
a few familiar things, then
they're less likely to walk out,
and they might even sample
something new," Oscar said.
"That's what I do, anyway."
"You could even mix and
match things," said Labib.
"My daughters both adore
chicken nuggets, but dip
them in hummus or tahini."
Kardal had tried fried chicken
and loved it -- Berna Habib was
offering halal chickens now --
but he hadn't thought to try
combining it with Syrian foods.
"That's a good idea," he said.
"What would you recommend?"
"Hamburgers, chicken nuggets,
maybe a vegetable like French fries
or mashed potatoes," said Oscar.
Kardal wrote down those ideas.
He thought they should work; you
could pour Syrian toppings over them
just like the foods he already had.
"There's one thing I've been wanting
to offer, but it won't fit in the truck,"
said Kardal. "Someone made
seven-layer dip for a game night,
and I did a Syrian version -- but it
has to be made fresh, it won't keep.
I figured I could put it in little cups
for people to eat with pita chips."
"Oh, get that in my mouth
right now," Oscar exclaimed.
"Will a fusion approach work
with halal rules?" Ramon asked.
"It will as long as I can find
halal sources for ingredients,"
Kardal said. "I'll check into
those resources when I get
farther along in the process."
"Syria is a melting pot," Labib said.
"It existed like this, like it is today
because it is a melting pot with
multifarious cultures for centuries,
before and after Christianity, before
and after Islam. It's why you see
some of the same foods appear
all around the Middle East."
"That's it!" Kardal exclaimed.
"That is what I want to name
my restaurant: The Melting Pot."
Oscar threw back his head and
laughed. "Oh man, I gotta show you
a kid's book from the local library.
There's a song on V'You too."
"What could you make in
a restaurant that you couldn't
make in a food truck?" Labib said.
"Rutledge has a few fancy places
to eat, but not many. Special treats
would help your restaurant stand out."
"Plenty of things," Kardal said. "I've
wanted to offer more special diet items --
vegetarian, gluten-free, that sort of thing --
but I didn't have the room to stock those.
That would earn me more points with
the Eat Wisely Rutledge program."
"Well, that would widen the number
of people who could eat there safely,"
Ramon said. "It's not fancy, though."
"I'd love to do sayadieh, that's
a spicy fish dish and Vermont gets
great fish," said Kardal. "Borak zaitoon,
tiny pies stuffed with olives -- people
already love the im'warah b'sbanech,
the phyllo pies with spinach filling."
"You'll need more meat to keep
Americans happy," said Oscar.
"I've been thinking about that too,"
said Kardal. "There's sharhat mtafay,
thin steaks quenched in a sauce of
lemon and garlic. I'd like to offer
a goat roast, if I can get enough."
"I'd be willing to donate some goats,"
said Ramon. "I never sell all of them
that are market-ready, even now.
A restaurant serving goat would
be a great thing for my farm."
"I am deeply grateful," said Kardal.
"If you can get me the goats, I can
make delicious dishes with them."
He thought for a moment. "Some of
those are not hard to make. I could
give you recipes for your customers."
"This incubator thing is absolutely
the best idea ever," said Oscar.
"We get so much more done
together than we could alone."
"Then you'll be happy to hear
that I'm also adding a variety
of new desserts," said Kardal.
"Booza is a chewy ice cream,
and there are stuffed pastries
that are more fiddly to make."
"Shut up and take my money,"
Oscar said. He had a sweet tooth.
"I also want to bring back all of
the dishes I used to make for
Mandy's Diner," said Kardal.
"The cherry things?" Oscar said,
almost bouncing in his seat.
"Kebab karaz, yes," said Kardal.
"Also the mashi, stuffed vegetables,
and a couple of different desserts."
"It sounds like you're covering
both lunch and supper," said Labib.
"That's the idea," said Kardal. "I
may offer some things all day and
others only for one meal, depending
on how complicated they are to make."
"A meat and cheese plate would
go over well," Ramon suggested.
"Maybe goat and sheep cheeses."
"I thought so too," said Kardal.
"I'm hoping to find a regular source
for Syrian cheeses, but so far I've
had no luck with that search."
Oscar turned to Ramon. "Didn't
we have someone interested
in making cheese with goat
and sheep milk?" he asked.
"Yeah, Berivan Kul, but she's
skittish and still learning English,"
said Ramon. "I don't know if
that'll actually come together."
"It's gotta have a better chance
if she has a restaurant already
wanting to buy some than if she
doesn't," Oscar said. "Talk to her
again and maybe send her to Kardal."
"I'll pass the word, if that's okay
with you, Kardal?" said Ramon.
"Yes, please," said Kardal. "I can
use all the help I can get for this."
"Well, that's what the incubator
is for," said Oscar. "We bring
people together and make things
happen that wouldn't work otherwise."
"Yes," said Kardal. "I'm glad I joined."
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character and content notes will appear separately.
technoshaman. It also fills the "Cooking with Love" square in my 9-1-21 card for the Platonic Love Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with ng_moonmoth. It belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.Warning: This poem contains graphic descriptions of delicious Syrian foods that you may or may not be able to obtain.
"The Melting Pot"
[Monday, July 11, 2016]
Ramon Temple leaned on
the counter, watching Kardal
make koobideh kebabs.
"As long as I'm here, is there
any chance your food truck is free
next weekend?" said Ramon. "We
had a member slated to cook goat
for our Small Ruminant Convention,
but she can't make the event."
"I'm sorry, but I'm booked
solid all month," Kardal said
as he put the finished kebabs
onto a bed of yellow rice.
"Damn," said Ramon. "We
really need someone to show
how delicious goat meat tastes."
"Well, I can ask my employees
if anyone wants some extra hours,"
Kardal offered. "I might be able
to find you a cook, if you can
provide a way to grill kebabs."
"I'm sure we can rent a food cart
or something," Ramon replied.
"Man, you need a restaurant.
Everyone wants a piece of you."
"I would like a restaurant, but I
can't afford it yet," Kardal said as
he scooped salad onto the plate. "I
just finished paying off the food truck,
and I only managed that so soon
because people give generous tips."
"The Business Incubator could assist,"
Ramon said. "We help people find
suitable properties for their work."
"I'll think about it," Kardal agreed,
and then rang up the order.
[Monday, July 18, 2016]
Kardal had managed to send
one of his employees to cover
the Small Ruminant Convention.
It made him realize that he had
almost enough people to run
the food truck without him. All
he needed to do was promote
someone to manager and hire
a novice for prep and service.
So Kardal went over to visit
the Business Incubator and
talk with people about ideas.
Kardal wasn't a member,
but Ramon had invited him,
so he could drop by and see
if it was actually worth joining.
The incubator had moved
from the Sunrise Strip Mall to
a big brick building that used to be
the old Rutledge Clothworks Factory.
The Concourse had a reception area
that let into a big open space which had
conversation niches, tables and chairs,
and even couches in one part where
people could gather to share ideas.
There Kardal found not only Ramon
but also Labib Abdel and Oscar Paton.
"Kardal!" Labib said happily, waving
him over. "What brings you here?"
"I invited him," Ramon said before
Kardal could reply. "I'm trying to talk
him into launching a restaurant."
"I am heartily in favor of that,"
Oscar said. "I really miss
the cherry things you made."
"I'm glad you remember them
fondly," said Kardal as he sat
down with the others. "I'm sorry
that they don't work in a food truck."
"Yeah, and nobody else over at
Mandy's Diner can make them
right now," Oscar grumbled.
"You sucked out the talent."
"No, we just trade employees,"
said Kardal. "We don't mind
training novices. What matters
is that people have work and
can find a place they like."
"Well said," Ramon agreed.
"Now about that restaurant?"
He was like a bulldog with an idea,
but that wasn't a bad thing for
a man of business like Ramon.
"I realized that I almost have
enough employees to run
the food truck without me,"
Kardal said. "I've always
wanted to run a restaurant,
but I don't have the money."
"Do you have the skills
to do it?" Labib asked.
"Most of them, I think,"
said Kardal. "As soon as
I paid off the food truck, I
started taking online classes
in restaurant management.
Some is new information,
but a lot it I already know."
"It's still good to have --
what are you getting with it,
a certificate? Degree?"
Oscar said to Kardal.
"Once I finish the program,
then I'll come away from it with a
Restaurant Management Certificate,"
said Kardal. "I hope it will help me
understand how to do things right."
He called up the Ed2Go website
on his smartphone and showed
everyone what he was taking.
Ramon nodded. "That covers
the legal stuff that you'll need
to know," he said. "You already
know more about Syrian food
than anyone else in town!"
"Oh, the old women know
much more," Kardal demurred.
"Yeah, well, they're not running
restaurants," Oscar pointed out.
"You're the one feeding us!"
Kardal couldn't argue with that.
"What kind of location would
you like for your restaurant?"
Labib asked him next.
"Whatever I can afford,"
Kardal said. "That's
probably not very much."
Ramon bounded over to
a spinner rack of resources
and came back with flyers on
different types of fundraising.
"You could presell food, run
a crowdfunding campaign, or
all kinds of things," he said.
Kardal pulled out his wallet
and bought a membership
in the Business Incubator.
It had just proved its use.
"I'd totally chip in for that,"
Oscar said. "Plus there's
that new Muslim bank, uh,
I forget what it's called --"
"The Rutledge Wafira Bank,"
Labib supplied. "It offers
a full range of halal services."
"Thanks," Kardal said, writing
down the name. He'd heard
about the new business but
not what it was called yet.
Labib gave him the address,
too, then added, "They also
have a zakat office. You may
want to think about offering
meal tokens at the restaurant."
"I'd have room for it," Kardal said.
"So far, I've just been letting people
barter for meals, and occasionally
giving free food to the needy."
"So, location, assuming you
can raise a reasonable amount
of seed money?" Labib said.
"Downtown, I think," said Kardal.
"They have lots of nice buildings
that don't cost too much money."
Ramon perked up again. "Oh hey,
there's a whole revitalization program
for that area," he said. "You should
qualify for assistance if you want
to start a new business there."
He wrote someone's name
and contact information on
a card and handed it over.
Kardal thanked him and
pocketed it, another tip that
he never would have found
without the Business Incubator.
"Have you thought about the menu?"
Oscar said. "I'd love to try more of
the Syrian stuff, but you might want
to offer something ... uh, more familiar,
for the people who get dragged in."
"Dragged in?" Kardal exclaimed.
"Nobody is getting dragged!"
"A euphemism," Labib said,
smoothing a hand through
the air. "Oscar means that
people might go along with
someone else instead of
choosing the restaurant."
"Ah," Kardal said. "They
might not like the food."
"If a menu offers at least
a few familiar things, then
they're less likely to walk out,
and they might even sample
something new," Oscar said.
"That's what I do, anyway."
"You could even mix and
match things," said Labib.
"My daughters both adore
chicken nuggets, but dip
them in hummus or tahini."
Kardal had tried fried chicken
and loved it -- Berna Habib was
offering halal chickens now --
but he hadn't thought to try
combining it with Syrian foods.
"That's a good idea," he said.
"What would you recommend?"
"Hamburgers, chicken nuggets,
maybe a vegetable like French fries
or mashed potatoes," said Oscar.
Kardal wrote down those ideas.
He thought they should work; you
could pour Syrian toppings over them
just like the foods he already had.
"There's one thing I've been wanting
to offer, but it won't fit in the truck,"
said Kardal. "Someone made
seven-layer dip for a game night,
and I did a Syrian version -- but it
has to be made fresh, it won't keep.
I figured I could put it in little cups
for people to eat with pita chips."
"Oh, get that in my mouth
right now," Oscar exclaimed.
"Will a fusion approach work
with halal rules?" Ramon asked.
"It will as long as I can find
halal sources for ingredients,"
Kardal said. "I'll check into
those resources when I get
farther along in the process."
"Syria is a melting pot," Labib said.
"It existed like this, like it is today
because it is a melting pot with
multifarious cultures for centuries,
before and after Christianity, before
and after Islam. It's why you see
some of the same foods appear
all around the Middle East."
"That's it!" Kardal exclaimed.
"That is what I want to name
my restaurant: The Melting Pot."
Oscar threw back his head and
laughed. "Oh man, I gotta show you
a kid's book from the local library.
There's a song on V'You too."
"What could you make in
a restaurant that you couldn't
make in a food truck?" Labib said.
"Rutledge has a few fancy places
to eat, but not many. Special treats
would help your restaurant stand out."
"Plenty of things," Kardal said. "I've
wanted to offer more special diet items --
vegetarian, gluten-free, that sort of thing --
but I didn't have the room to stock those.
That would earn me more points with
the Eat Wisely Rutledge program."
"Well, that would widen the number
of people who could eat there safely,"
Ramon said. "It's not fancy, though."
"I'd love to do sayadieh, that's
a spicy fish dish and Vermont gets
great fish," said Kardal. "Borak zaitoon,
tiny pies stuffed with olives -- people
already love the im'warah b'sbanech,
the phyllo pies with spinach filling."
"You'll need more meat to keep
Americans happy," said Oscar.
"I've been thinking about that too,"
said Kardal. "There's sharhat mtafay,
thin steaks quenched in a sauce of
lemon and garlic. I'd like to offer
a goat roast, if I can get enough."
"I'd be willing to donate some goats,"
said Ramon. "I never sell all of them
that are market-ready, even now.
A restaurant serving goat would
be a great thing for my farm."
"I am deeply grateful," said Kardal.
"If you can get me the goats, I can
make delicious dishes with them."
He thought for a moment. "Some of
those are not hard to make. I could
give you recipes for your customers."
"This incubator thing is absolutely
the best idea ever," said Oscar.
"We get so much more done
together than we could alone."
"Then you'll be happy to hear
that I'm also adding a variety
of new desserts," said Kardal.
"Booza is a chewy ice cream,
and there are stuffed pastries
that are more fiddly to make."
"Shut up and take my money,"
Oscar said. He had a sweet tooth.
"I also want to bring back all of
the dishes I used to make for
Mandy's Diner," said Kardal.
"The cherry things?" Oscar said,
almost bouncing in his seat.
"Kebab karaz, yes," said Kardal.
"Also the mashi, stuffed vegetables,
and a couple of different desserts."
"It sounds like you're covering
both lunch and supper," said Labib.
"That's the idea," said Kardal. "I
may offer some things all day and
others only for one meal, depending
on how complicated they are to make."
"A meat and cheese plate would
go over well," Ramon suggested.
"Maybe goat and sheep cheeses."
"I thought so too," said Kardal.
"I'm hoping to find a regular source
for Syrian cheeses, but so far I've
had no luck with that search."
Oscar turned to Ramon. "Didn't
we have someone interested
in making cheese with goat
and sheep milk?" he asked.
"Yeah, Berivan Kul, but she's
skittish and still learning English,"
said Ramon. "I don't know if
that'll actually come together."
"It's gotta have a better chance
if she has a restaurant already
wanting to buy some than if she
doesn't," Oscar said. "Talk to her
again and maybe send her to Kardal."
"I'll pass the word, if that's okay
with you, Kardal?" said Ramon.
"Yes, please," said Kardal. "I can
use all the help I can get for this."
"Well, that's what the incubator
is for," said Oscar. "We bring
people together and make things
happen that wouldn't work otherwise."
"Yes," said Kardal. "I'm glad I joined."
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character and content notes will appear separately.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-24 06:21 pm (UTC)Thoughts
Date: 2021-11-24 09:06 pm (UTC)Should I put a warning on the poem about that?
>> Seriously, now I want to visit this restaurant. Heck, I want to visit Kardal's food truck every time it appears in a poem. <<
Yeah, me too. I love a lot of Middle Eastern food.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-11-25 03:20 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-11-25 03:26 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-11-25 04:40 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-11-25 04:54 am (UTC)Yeah, me too. And then starve to death between 20 bales of hay, LOL.
>> I'd bring at least one niece along, possibly both (they're hummus fans), and definitely a friend who grew up in the Detroit suburbs and thus is used to really excellent Middle Eastern food. <<
Kardal does great things with hummus. It's easy to make at home, though, and you can add any flavorings you want.
When we eat at Naf Naf, I always make a hummus buster out of the leftovers.