“Never had them. I’m strictly a pancake kind of guy.”
“Do you eat Keto pancakes through the season?”
“That’s a thing?”
Her lips purse. “How often do you eat clean for sports?”
“I eat okay, but I really locked in this season because I want a spot with the NHL.”
“Did you live off burgers and fries when your mom doesn’t cook for you?”
“Busted.”
She smiles ruefully. “I’d live off pizza if I could.”
I groan. “I love pizza, but I can’t eat it!”
“Sure you can, just use a non-wheat crust and low fat cheese.”
“Isn’t that nasty, though?”
“I’ve never tried to make one, but I can experiment a little to see what one would taste like. As far as cheese…cheese is cheese. It tastes good no matter what.”
This is why I know she likes me. She wouldn’t be thinking about trying to find recipes that might taste good and still be healthy for me. Same as I’m always trying to feed her. It’s weird but it shows we both care. Mom always said food is a universal language and I guess she’s right.
“I would appreciate it, thanks.”
She looks around and I do as well, trying to figure out what she’s thinking. The place is a literal hole in the wall. A long counter with stools go from one end to the other with a small space at both ends for the staff to come in and out of. The floor is concrete and the booths are wood and the cushions a brown leather. The walls are a mint green and the place reeks of bacon. There’s barely enough room in here for the booths that line the wall opposite the counter and the few tables crammed together in the remaining space. It’s a miracle anyone can walk around.
“We had a place like this where I’m from. It’s probably twice as small as this. We had the counter stools only. No tables. The only thing they served was hot dogs, ice cream, and the best fries in six counties. I remember if you wanted coleslaw, you went there. They didn’t want to sell it because it was only for their hot dogs, but if you knew the owner, then they’d slide you a cup of it here or there.”
“Sounds like a greasy hole in the wall.”
“It is and I love it.” The smile that graces her lips is beautiful to behold. I think it’s the first real smile I’ve seen. I thought her smiles before were awesome, but this…this is like seeing into her soul.
“So, you like these kinds of places?”
“I love food, but I particularly love places like this that have better food than most restaurants.”
I file that away for future use. I’ll need to look up more places like this throughout the city.
“I have a sweet tooth much to my coach’s disgust. Give me sugar and I’m happy. Keep me completely away from it and I can turn into a grouchy monster.”
“Are you completely staying away from sugar?”
“I tried. I really did, but even Coach told me to eat a piece of candy.”
She frowns. “Don’t do that. There are ways to get your sugar fix without ruining your diet.”
“How so?”
“My best friend growing up was diabetic. Her mom made sure she didn’t miss out. There are ways to eat sugar without it being detrimental to your diet.”
“Chocolate?”
“Chocolate is a little harder, but it can be done.”
“Hmm…I’ll ask Mom to look into some diabetic friendly recipes that involve sugar.”
