Dinner At The Wells Street Cafe

Location: Breaking Bread Ministries/LaSalle Street Church

Date: Wednesday, August 05, 2015; 5:45-8:30 pm

I walked over from my office and saw that Marianne was already there along with some regulars like Joe, Hannah etc., though we seemed to be light today.  Marianne asked me to chop cucumbers for salad, but I saw that Joe was already on it.  So, Chef Dani borrowed me for another task.  There was a box of "Frozen Pretzel Rolls" and she asked me to lay them out in “2 inch pans” and then steam them for 15 minutes.  Simultaneously, I was to make “garlic butter” i.e. melt a huge slab of butter and then add garlic powder to it.  After that I was to drizzle it on the buns.  It seemed easy enough.

The box had 162 buns in it and I stacked them in 4 pans. I then inserted 2 pans at a time in the steamer, although it didn’t really take 15 minutes but more like 5 to 7.  I put the slab of butter in a tall bowl and melted it slowly, after which I added garlic and then poured it on the steamed pretzel rolls.  It smelled delicious and was soaked in the buttery goodness.  I put the pans in the warmer and then since I had some free time, I went to say hello to one of the guests.  He remembered me and my name, trying hard to pronounce it.  I sat down with him and said that I was really tired.  One of the other gentlemen on his table was wearing a Chicago hat with each letter made of mirrors - a “bling” hat if there ever was one.  My friend was showing off his sunglasses, which were designer, he pointed out.

The dessert looked good

I went back inside and since everyone was a regular, Marianne asked if there was any need for introductions.  Well, there was one new person after all and so she went over the inception of the program – 12 years in April – and how we should not give money to guests, quoting a book called “Toxic Charity”, which states that giving money is the worst that one can do.  For assignments I chose plating and we went out to hand out salads – in individual bowls.  The menu was rice, “Salisbury Steak and Gravy”, cabbage, rolls and an elegant looking “Pumpkin Pudding with Maple Syrup”, with a coating of “Raisin Cornflakes”. 

Tonight's plate

I helped take down the partition for “Spirit feeding, which was on rails and looked like the “El train” system in the “Loop”.  As I was doing that some ladies asked why there was a separation and I explained how ‘GCFD’ doesn’t like us to mix religion and food, lest it be perceived that you need to participate in these activities to get a meal.  I started plating and was placing the roll and pumpkin pudding on the plate before passing it over to the next person down the line.  Chef had asked us to put a “lean scoop” on the plate since we had just one tray of the pudding.  After the first round I went and asked my buddy how the meal had been.  He said that it had been excellent, especially my rolls.  I came back and tried a tiny bit of the roll and indeed it was delicious, though that nibble probably had more calories than my lunch!

The music was on, and the “Money” lady was singing with gusto.  “Seconds” started and we had a huge line, meaning that I was kept busy tallying.  Many people were coming back, though the pudding was not as popular as other things.  After a while I went over to help with the cleanup and stacked the chairs and put away the tables.  Before leaving, Marianne requested me to ask Wilson for some coffee and creamer since they were running out.  So I wrote to him and he asked questions like, “whole bean or ground or prepared”, “Powder creamer or real dairy” etc.  I told him “ground and powder” and he said that he would deliver some by next Wednesday.  Marianne said that she was really thankful for us and I left after what had been another good session.