Page 89 of Dad Next Door
“Nick’s boyfriend knows the owner and got us bumped to the top of the list.” He pulled the door open.
“Evan?”
He nodded and followed me inside the dark restaurant. “Yup. He knows pretty much everyone. And if he doesn’t, he knows someone who does.”
“Welcome to Kristof’s,” a perky hostess said from behind her podium. “Can I have your names?”
“Quinn Reynolds and Tristan Winters.”
She looked down at her tablet, then beamed another smile at us. “Right this way.”
We followed her down a short hallway that separated the dining area from the entrance, then into a dim dining room. Bypassing the already crowded tables, the hostess brought us to a back room that had a handful of private booths in it.
“Here we are.” She brought us to a booth in the back corner and waited as we sat. “Your host tonight is Anthony.” She handed us each a tablet. “If you could take a moment and choose your menu, he’ll be by with your drinks and an introduction when you’re ready.”
She gave us another beaming smile, then left us with our menus.
Woodenly, I pressed the home button on the tablet to wake it up.
“You okay?” Quinn asked. “You seem off.”
“Yeah. Just a bit in shock. I never thought I’d actually get to eat here, and now I’m here.”
He grinned. “I’m glad I could make it happen for you. And I can’t think of anything more fun than coming to a molecular gastronomy restaurant with a scientist.” He wiggled his tablet. “Do you know which menu you’d like? Unfortunately they need a month’s notice for the custom menu, otherwise I could have given you the full experience.”
Kristof’s was famous not only for their innovation in molecular gastronomy but also because they offered a fully immersive option where the table was assigned a host, or server, who explained the creation process and inspiration for each dish as they brought them out. And instead of getting a few small plates of food, you were brought dozens of bite-sized portions that were all different but built on each other to create a cohesive meal. They also had an à la carte menu that was wildly popular and only hosted a handful of immersive experiences each night.
Another thing the restaurant was famous for was how the menus changed nightly and were based on the ingredients the chefs had on hand that day, so no two visits were ever the same.
Getting a table for their main dining room was hard enough, but it was nearly impossible to get on the list for the immersive experience if you didn’t have connections.
After perusing the three available menus, we settled on our choices.
Less than a minute after we put our tablets down, a waiter in a dark suit came to our table with a bottle of wine.
“Thank you for choosing to dine at Kristof’s. My name is Anthony,” he said, expertly pouring out our drinks. “I’ll be your host tonight. Please feel free to ask any questions about the food, the preparation, or anything else during the presentation.”
“Are you sure you want that?” Quinn asked teasingly. “My boyfriend is a scientist.”
I flushed hot at Quinn’s words, but Anthony grinned as he looked between us. “Of course. Some of my best services have been with scientists. Would you like a moment with your drinks, or are we ready for the first course?”
“Ready?” Quinn flicked his gaze to me.
I nodded.
“Excellent.” Anthony gathered our tablets. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
“You doing okay?” Quinn asked when we were alone again.
“Yeah. Just processing. I’m still in shock that we’re here, in the private room. I heard it’s basically impossible to get a reservation for the immersive experience without connections.”
“It is, but Evan was happy to pull some strings for us.”
“And you said this is part one?” I asked, still a little dazed at how much time and effort Quinn had put into our date.
“Yup.” He picked up his wine and took a small sip. “As long as the kitchen isn’t slow. I planned things so we’d have enough time to get to our next destination, but I have a backup plan just in case.”
“Are you sure? I mean, this is already so much.”