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"I forgot to mention the friendly service" Gaskill smiled

Ragsdale warily dipped a spoon into his soup, suspicion lining his face He slowly sipped the contents of his spoon as if judging a wine tasting Then he looked across the booth idening eyes "Good heavens Sherry and pearl onions, garlic cloves, rosemary, and three different kinds of mushrooms This is delicious" He peered at Gaskill's plate "What did you order, chicken?"

Gaskill tilted his plate so Ragsdale could see it "You're close The house specialty Broiled ur with currants, scallions, puree of roasted carrots, and leeks with ginger"

Ragsdale looked as if his wife had presented him with triplets "You conned me"

Gaskill appeared hurt "I thought you wanted a good place to eat"

"This is fantastic But where are the crowds? They should be lined up outside"

"The owner and chef, who by the way used to be at the Ritz in London, closes his kitchen on Mondays"

"But why did he open just for us?" Ragsdale asked in awe

"I recovered his collection ofutensils after they were stolen froled into Miami"

The waitress returned and thrust a bottle in front of Ragsdale's face so he could read the label "Here you go, honey, Chateau Chantilly 1878 You got good taste, but are you ht thousand bucks for the bottle?"

Ragsdale stared at the dusty bottle and faded label and went absolutely nuood California cabernet will be fine," he choked out

"Tell you what, honey How about a nice e Say around thirty bucks"

Ragsdale nodded in dumb assent "I don't believe this"

"I think what really appeals toto savor a bit of quail, "is its incongruity Who would ever expect to find gourmet food and wine like this in a diner?"

"It's a world apart all right"