Love In The Wild West

Chapter 8

Lila looked around the restaurant when she entered it. It was a lovely place that had a lot of charm to it, and she appreciated the fact that the owner of the restaurant was staying true to this roots. She loved the whole ambiance of the place, and at the same time she had to admit that the smell of the food was absolutely intoxicating.

She looked at Kurt and smiled. He smiled back at her and said, “I knew that you were going to like this place.”

“I love it!” said Lila.

A waiter came up to them and asked, “Would you like a table for two?”

“Yes,” said Kurt. “Something in a corner, something private.”

“Of course,” said the waiter. “Please follow me.”

Kurt and Lila followed the waiter to a more obscure location at the back of the restaurant. It was the kind of place that would allow them to have as much privacy as they wanted as they ate and talked and Lila was really glad about this. She felt a little self conscious at the moment because there were so many people that were looking at her. It was pretty clear that Kurt was well known in this town, and that everybody was curious about the woman that he had brought to dinner.

“So,” said Kurt once they settled down. “What would you like to eat?”

“I think that the t-bone steak would be my preference,” said Lila looking at the luxurious menu booklet. “You said that the steak here is really good, right?”

“Yes,” said Kurt. “You should really get a nice, tall beer with that. These guys really know how to make good beer, and they can offer you a nice pairing with your steak as well by recommending something that would suit the particular taste of the meat you are about to have.”

Kurt called the waiter over and placed an order for two t-bone steaks. He ordered his to be medium well done and she asked for a medium rare steak. The waiter nodded politely and then asked what they would like to drink with that.

“Well,” said Kurt, “I think I would like some wine, and my companion would like a beer. Can you recommend the particular vintage of wine that would suit my steak, and what beer my companion should drink?”

“For you, sir,” said the waiter, “I would recommend a 1989 Chateux Sauvignon. It’s a lovely vintage that would really bring out the flavor of your steak. As for the lady, I would recommend that you try a stout Indian Pale Ale to go with your steak. A more acidic variety, I believe, would be more suitable to your palate since you like your steak to be medium rare. Perhaps something German would be more suited to your palate…”

“Done,” said Lila smiling at the waiter. “Thank you, that was really helpful!”

“At your service, madame,” said the waiter, bowing his head and smiling at the compliment.

“I will bring your orders within forty minutes,” said the waiter, “please enjoy the ambiance, and I shall bring you some appetizers courtesy of the house. Would you like me to get you anything to drink before your meal gets here?”

Both Lila and Kurt said no and the waiter bowed his head and walked away to give his order to the kitchen. Lila looked at Kurt and said, “Wow, that guy really knew what he was talking about.”

“Yes he did,” said Kurt. “I really appreciate that the waiters here are so knowledgeable about stuff like this.”

“Does it really make a difference?” asked Lila. “All of these things, I mean. The fact that there are beers to go with certain kinds of food. Is this really a thing or have all of these expensive restaurants just made it up to make their places of business seem more exclusive somehow?”

“Oh no,” said Kurt. “This is actually valid. I think that the way it works is that certain kinds of alcohol enhance the flavors of certain foods in a way. Like my wine would bring out the juiciness of the steak.”

“What about beer?” asked Lila. “If you think that wine is such a good companion to the steak that you are having, why did you suggest beer for me?”

“Because I feel like it would suit your palette more,” said Kurt. “Beer has its own little benefit when it comes to steak. You see, wine can be defined as sour as well as bitter, whereas beer has a more distinctly bitter taste. The way that beer is made ends up giving it a very distinct malt and hops and barley flavor. These things come together when combined with your steak to give you a far more balanced and rounded experience. Its quite lovely, really, to eat a steak with a good beer. And the beer that the waiter recommended is absolutely exquisite, it’s going to give you something to look forward to. When you take a bite of your steak and then follow it up with some beer, you are going to start to taste something extraordinary. You are going to start feeling the taste of the beer fill up your mouth combined with the savory taste of the steak. This is the way that beer works with food. The acidity of the drink lifts the accents of the food that you are eating and allows you to enjoy a much fuller experience overall. I think that beer is a great combination with steak, but I also feel like wine is more my preference. I have a different palette, you see, and different preferences. However, I do think that you should try both. Have a bite of your steak with beer and then have some water. Follow this up with a bite of steak with wine. You will be able to tell the difference between the two methods of eating, and you will be able to decide for yourself whether you like it or not.”

“You seem to know a lot about this,” said Lila. “It’s quite impressive, really, it shows that you have focused a lot on this subject.”

“I have,” said Kurt. “I have grown up in a fairly rich family, and when you grow up in a rich family you tend to learn stuff like this. I really think that I am blessed to know things like this, it shows that I have lived a privileged life.”