The voice was right, Hannah concluded, remembering the last time Georgina had asked her if she wanted onion rings or fries with her burger. Her memory for faces might be faulty and of course the uniform was different, but her initial assumption was correct. “You’re still working at the Corner Tavern, aren’t you?”
“Yes, on the weekends,” Georgina confirmed it. “What would you and your mother like to have for lunch, Hannah?”
“I’ll have the Cobb Salad,” Delores said, “and could you put the dressing on the side, Georgina?”
“I sure can. Do you want the salad mixed together in the kitchen, or do you want it with the meat, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, sliced avocados, and chopped tomatoes arranged in nice little ribbons on the top of the lettuce?”
“They can toss it in the kitchen,” Delores told her. “I’ve seen it the other way and it’s really pretty, but I always make a mess when I toss it at the table myself.”
Georgina gave a little laugh. “Don’t feel alone. A lot of people order the pretty version the first time around, but after they discover how full that bowl is, they decide to have it tossed in the kitchen. Anything to drink with that, Delores?”
“Mango iced tea. I had some sent up to me last week and it was delicious!”
“It’s one of my favorites, too.” Georgina made a note on her order pad and then she turned to Hannah. “How about you, Hannah?”
Hannah motioned her a little closer. “Are the burgers as good as they are at the Corner Tavern?”
“Well . . .” Georgina paused to glance around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. “In a word? That would be a big no! They’re not nearly as juicy and the fry cook doesn’t seem to know how to fix them any way except well done. And the fries that come with them aren’t very good either.”
“Then what else would you suggest?” Hannah asked.
“Nothing deep fried and that leaves sandwiches. We’ve got a really good Turkey Stack on whole wheat.”
“What’s in a Turkey Stack?” Hannah asked her.
“Two slices of roast turkey. We roast it fresh every day from a turkey grown right here in the turkey barns outside of Lake Eden. You know it’s fresh because it’s home-killed meat.”
Hannah gave an involuntary shudder. She knew where the meat she ate came from, but she really didn’t like to think about how it got from the farm to the meat counter in Florence’s Red Owl Grocery. “What else besides roast turkey?”
“I’ll explain the whole thing. I watched the sandwich guy make one yesterday. As a matter of fact, that’s what I had for lunch. He starts with two slices of whole wheat bread. We get it from a bakery in The Cities that delivers every day.”
Hannah found herself wondering if that bakery was where Michelle got the wonderful rye bread she bought, but she didn’t ask. Right now she was more interested in how the sandwich she’d already decided to order was made. “Two slices of whole wheat bread,” she repeated. “What’s next, Georgina?”
“He spreads both slices of bread with a mixture of mayo and stone ground mustard. Then he sets one to the side and assembles the sandwich on the other slice. First, he puts on a slice of Emmentaler.”
“What’s that?” Delores asked her.
“Swiss cheese. The sandwich guy says it’s the best Swiss cheese you can buy. I think he said it comes from Emmental, a town in Switzerland.” Georgina turned back to Hannah. “Then he puts one slice of roast turkey on top of the cheese. And that gets topped with whole berry cranberry sauce that we make right here.”
Hannah began to smile. “So far it sounds great. What goes on top of the cranberry sauce?”
“Another slice of roast turkey. And on top of that turkey is a little layer of coleslaw, not enough to make it really wet, but enough to add a good crunch.”
“Coleslaw!” Delores repeated, sounding a bit shocked.
“It’s really not that unusual,” Hannah told her mother. “The deli down the block from Michelle’s house uses coleslaw on top of their corned beef sandwiches.”
“Do they now?” Georgina sounded as if she’d just discovered the key to something that had been puzzling her. “So that’s where he got it!”
“He who?” Delores asked.
Hannah bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Her mother almost always used impeccable grammar and the question, He who? coming from her mother’s mouth was hilarious.
“I’m talking about the sandwich guy. And now I know why he puts on coleslaw. He told me he used to work in St. Paul and I’ll bet he worked at that deli!”
“That could be,” Hannah agreed with a smile, although she suspected that more than one deli made their sandwiches with coleslaw. “Is that it for the sandwich, Georgina?”
“Almost. He puts on another slice of Swiss cheese. He told me that the cheese acts like a moisture barrier so he puts that on top of the stack. And then he picks up the other slice of bread that’s already spread with the mayo and mustard, and slaps it on top. That’s the whole sandwich. To cut it, he pushes it down on top so it won’t fall apart when he slices it. And he serves it with a cup of our Special Corn Chowder.”
“Special Corn Chowder?” Delores looked interested. “What makes your corn chowder special?”
“There’s nothing special about the chowder itself. It’s so easy to make, I even do it at home when my grandkids come over for lunch. The special part is a little dollop of jalape?o jelly on the top of the bowl with a half dozen or so pieces of salted popcorn sprinkled over it.”
“Good heavens!” Delores exclaimed. “I’m not sure if that sounds appetizing or not, but it certainly does sound intriguing.” She turned to look at Hannah. “I’ve never heard of anyone serving corn chowder like that before, have you?”
“Never, but I think we owe it to the Red Velvet Lounge to try some. I’ll have the Turkey Stack, Georgina, with mango iced tea and a cup of your Special Corn Chowder.” She turned to Delores. “You can taste mine if you want to, Mother.”