Cyberpunk: 2075

Karl, who left Arasaka Academy, didn't go far when he saw a restaurant on the roadside. After thinking about the time, Karl decided to have lunch at this restaurant today.

This restaurant in the city center is not big, covering an area of ​​about fifty square meters. There are four customers scattered around the store, and there are not many clerks in the store. Between the busy chefs and chefs behind the counter, Counting the waiters walking around, there were only two people.

"Welcome, guests, you can sit wherever you like. If you need to order, just call me."

The busy male waiter stopped temporarily to greet Karl, and pointed to the empty seats in the store.

"Okay, I'll call you if you want to order."

Karl looked at the waiter who was walking around in a hurry after getting his response. He didn't quite understand why the waiter could be so busy when there were so few customers in the store.

Even if there is only one person, it shouldn't be a problem.

According to Karl's understanding of the catering industry, the number of guests that a waiter can serve at the same time is about 4-6, and a skilled waiter can increase this number to ten people. The guests in this store include those who have just come in. There are only five of us, so even if this waiter is a novice, he should be able to handle it, right?

Moreover, the data that Carl compared was from his previous era. Most of the meals in catering stores in 2075 were composed of pre-made and semi-finished products. These were heated in a microwave and then combined. Just mix and match stuff together, why are you so busy?

Just when Karl was sitting down and thinking this, he heard a very obvious sound of frying.

With that 'sizzling' moment, the aroma diffused by the grease drifted to Karl's nose along with the slowly blowing air-conditioned wind in the store.

Carl sniffed it, and then his eyes lit up.

‘This shop is worthy of being in the city center. It actually cooks honestly, and the oil is of such high quality! ’

Karl already had the answer in his mind.

'butter. ’

It's butter, real butter, not the artificial kind, it's a solid fat made from real milk.

Why Carl knew so surely was, of course, because he used to fry steaks himself, and all he chose was butter.

He still remembered what he had read in a kitchen book about frying steak in butter. That was, the butter should not be completely melted before adding the steak, because the melting point of butter was relatively low and it would easily leave charred marks on the steak. You have to watch the timing right. When the butter is half melted, use a fork to stir up the butter, then add the steak and start frying.

Although Karl cooked the steak a little poorly and the degree of cooking was different every time, he still firmly remembered the smell of butter. It was different from margarine. He only needed to smell it to tell the difference. .

Food made with real butter makes people wonder what it is.

Karl sat on the chair and glanced at the table, but did not find the ordering procedure on it.

No wonder I called him when I wanted to place an order. This store was so old-school that it didn’t even have an ordering procedure. This was something that wasn’t common in the city center of my time.

but....

You didn't even give me a menu...

How do I know what I want to eat.

Butter is generally used in Western cuisine. Karl can guess what this store probably sells, but there are so many types of Western food, who knows whether it is British, French, or Italian.

If it's a French restaurant or an Italian restaurant, it's naturally best, but if it's British food... that's actually okay.

Compared with the unpalatable food in Night City, Karl felt that he had often heard other people's "starry sky pie" in the past, and it always seemed so delicious.

Karl knew that it was impossible for him to eat real meat in this kind of city center, but they used real butter... You can always look forward to vegetarian food, right?

When the thoughts in Carl's mind were spinning violently, the busy waiter realized that he had not put a menu in front of Carl. He quickly apologized and put a menu made of a material between plastic and paper. Sent over.

When Karl opened the menu and looked at it, he was pleasantly surprised.

‘Won the prize! ’

Although it is not French food or Italian food, which can be ranked first or second in Europe, it is not British food after all.

This restaurant is a Spanish restaurant.

The status of Spanish cuisine in Karl's mind is only lower than that of French and Italian cuisine.

‘Hehehehehe~’

If it's delicious, I'll have to invite Oliver and Jack to eat it together next time.

Karl looked at the food on the menu. Every item was expensive, and the cheapest one was over 70 euros.

Considering this is in the city center and the store uses real butter, maybe the price is a bargain.

The first thing Karl's eyes set on must be paella, which is known as one of the three famous dishes of Western food, alongside pasta and French escargots. However, after taking a look at the meat marked on the menu, Karl decisively rejected it. Got this famous dish.

Synthetic squid, synthetic oysters, synthetic shrimps, what are these? Are they what normal people should eat?

It seems that the meat and vegetables are not touched at all.

After Karl's eyes glanced around, he quickly focused on the food he could accept.

Potato omelette, 70 euros, labeled, synthetic eggs, potato starch.

Carl had tried synthetic eggs, and they tasted OK. Although they had a strange chemical smell, it was acceptable. This dish was a must-order. Two servings first, and then...

Cream of mushroom soup, 150 Euros, marked, real cream, mushrooms from the cultivation room, with a 200-gram piece of wheat white bread.

Real cream!

No wonder they dared to sell it for 150 Euros.

There was nothing strange about mushrooms from the cultivation room. Most of the raw materials of synthetic vegetables were algae, and in the humid cultivation environment of algae, it was natural for some mushrooms to grow and become a bonus for the company to make money. As for mushrooms grown in this environment, Carl's attitude was... as long as they didn't kill people.

Carl called the waiter, and after explaining his needs, he bought a can of sweet tea from the only non-old-fashioned vending machine in the store. Then, he noticed a new customer coming into the store.

The new guest was a woman in her twenties with red eyeshadow on her face and short white hair wearing a waist-baring outfit. She looked pretty, but her expression was very cold, as if everyone owed her money.

Carl just glanced at her and then looked away.

I don't know her.

Then there's no need to care.

In 2075, where plastic surgery is allowed, Carl has seen many beautiful guys. He had hugged a guy who was original and had not undergone any modification a few days ago. Such a woman was not worth Carl's lingering glance.

Compared to looking at beautiful women, he was more looking forward to his cream of mushroom soup and potato omelette.

How delicious would it be? Should I make a reservation now and bring some to Jack, Oliver and Lao Wei in the evening...