The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[NuclearFairy]

Wind has calmed here. They were warning of red wind, from when Sahara sand gets blown here, but we seem to have escaped this year.

Question - is the phrase 'dark kitchen' commonly understood, or is it mostly an urban Brit thing? 'The Dark Kitchen' would be a potential title for an On the Job story, but not if it's unclear to most readers.

That's a new one to me. What's it mean?

 

[old_prof]

Question - is the phrase 'dark kitchen' commonly understood, or is it mostly an urban Brit thing? 'The Dark Kitchen' would be a potential title for an On the Job story, but not if it's unclear to most readers.

I've heard the term but I'm not quite sure what it means.

EDIT: And since Fairy doesn't know it either, it must not be just that I'm too old...

 

[NotWise]

Wind has calmed here. They were warning of red wind, from when Sahara sand gets blown here, but we seem to have escaped this year.

Question - is the phrase 'dark kitchen' commonly understood, or is it mostly an urban Brit thing? 'The Dark Kitchen' would be a potential title for an On the Job story, but not if it's unclear to most readers.

I'd never heard the term before. Gemini tells me that 'Ghost Kitchen' is more common in the US.

Given the title "The Dark Kitchen" I'd immediately think of a kitchen with bad lighting. "The Ghost Kitchen" wouldn't mean anything to me either. Either way, I could probably figure it out in context or the story setup.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I'd never heard the term before. Gemini tells me that 'Ghost Kitchen' is more common in the US.

Given the title "The Dark Kitchen" I'd immediately think of a kitchen with bad lighting. "The Ghost Kitchen" wouldn't mean anything to me either. Either way, I could probably figure it out in context or the story setup.

That's three of you with no idea - good to know.

Dark kitchens/ghost kitchens are when a takeaway/takeout place opens to provide delivery. They will claim online to be a typical business, often a franchise of a popular chain or a branch of a good restaurant, but are in fact just a kitchen, often in a unit on an industrial estate. The clue is that you can't collect your meal yourself, and often there will be multiple cuisines from 'different businesses' available from the same location, though you have to order them separately.

There will be a bunch of foreign-looking guys with mopeds or e-bikes chatting outside, waiting for orders. There's often rumours of the staff being illegal immigrants, possibly subject to modern slavery (and the gig-economy drivers also being illegal immigrants using someone else's account); sometimes that's even true.

New name needed for a story about the above - looks like White Knight, Dark Kitchen wouldn't work either. (Kudos to anyone familiar with the musical White Lines, Black Cadillac comes from).

The nearest sushi or pokebowl or Vietnamese food delivery to us is usually a dark kitchen, a new business with special offers springing up every month or so when we log into Deliveroo (like Doordash) looking for good deals. They last about 3 months before going bust.

 

[anthrodisiac]

That's three of you with no idea - good to know.

In case you want to add a fourth, I also have no idea what it meant. But I think we're all in the US, so take that as you will.

 

[MrPixel]

Yeah. I certainly appreciate the enlightenment.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I've heard of dark or ghost kitchens, particularly for higher class restaurants who don't want Uber eats riff raff hanging around.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Don't know why I bothered y'all with that, but I needed to get it out.

The best way to honour those we loved is by remembering them with pride. A touching story - thank you.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

Got some wind and rain overnight but no severe weather. Temperature is crashing right now and we are expecting snow flurries all day. However, it's been so warm that it isn't expected to accumulate.

I've got a fresh pot of coffee brewing and the teapot is hot for all who want a cuppa. There are snacks on the counter but the pi(e) is all gone. Someone (or something) left a lot of crumbs all over the counter.

I'll be over in the corner frustrated because I can't get any words down on paper. I went back and looked at my first story I published here and it read like crap. It's no wonder no one is reading my stories. I think I need an attitude adjustment ...

 

[sirhugs]

Got some wind and rain overnight but no severe weather. Temperature is crashing right now and we are expecting snow flurries all day. However, it's been so warm that it isn't expected to accumulate.

I've got a fresh pot of coffee brewing and the teapot is hot for all who want a cuppa. There are snacks on the counter but the pi(e) is all gone. Someone (or something) left a lot of crumbs all over the counter.

I'll be over in the corner frustrated because I can't get any words down on paper. I went back and looked at my first story I published here and it read like crap. It's no wonder no one is reading my stories. I think I need an attitude adjustment ...

"attitude adjustment" you say? Does that mean spankies?

 

[NotWise]

I'll be over in the corner frustrated because I can't get any words down on paper. I went back and looked at my first story I published here and it read like crap. It's no wonder no one is reading my stories. I think I need an attitude adjustment ...

For me, reading the first story is Eew-ew-ew. I don't do that, and I cringe a little when I see that someone's voted on it. That seems to happen most often when a reader favorites me then works back through my catalog. They have an opinion of my work before they get there, so it doesn't do all that much damage.

I have four old stories that get more attention than the others: one in Romance, two in T/I, and one in Mature. In all but the Romance, the stories get attention mostly because of their title and short description. That's especially true of the story in Mature. It's one of my lowest-scoring stories and in a fairly slow category, but the title "Naked House" grabs eyes.

 

[MrPixel]

My first story - six years ago - was thoroughly panned in an e-mail comment, and rightfully so. Biggest problem was shifting tenses. It was written over a handful of sessions spread over several weeks, so there was definitely a frame-of-mind problem. Score? Right in there with many of my non-series works. From that point on my usual methodology became re-reading from the top before resuming work so as to focus on the flow.

The bottom dwellers are mostly 750-word shorts. I should think about reassessing those, applying a theory a friend and I debated, that 750 stories are automatically penalized (discussed ad nauseum), our discussion being by how much. I postulated ~1.25 points, they were a little more methodical and determined it was by ~0.8.

I have one especially low-scoring entry - an incest piece deliberately written to poke those basement dwellers in the eye. It worked.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

"attitude adjustment" you say? Does that mean spankies?

It may have to come to that ...

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I've heard of dark or ghost kitchens, particularly for higher class restaurants who don't want Uber eats riff raff hanging around.

A few of those opened up, but mostly their food didn't travel well enough to be worth the price. Now restaurants make the delivery drivers hang out round the corner, if they don't have their own staff to do delivery.

I imagine opening a dark kitchen is only considered if actual takeaway places have higher rent and the kitchen is too cramped to easily increase the scale of output. Dense cities, in other words.

 

[_Lynn_]

I'll be over in the corner frustrated because I can't get any words down on paper. I went back and looked at my first story I published here and it read like crap. It's no wonder no one is reading my stories. I think I need an attitude adjustment ...

Maybe move out of the corner and find a spot with fresh scenery.

 

[anthrodisiac]

I'll be over in the corner frustrated because I can't get any words down on paper. I went back and looked at my first story I published here and it read like crap. It's no wonder no one is reading my stories. I think I need an attitude adjustment ...

My first story on here was... not great. Under a different name, published one story, didn't really take to it, and didn't write erotica for another 13 years. Plus, it was human on human. Gross

I shudder to think what looking at the very first things I tried to write were. Actually, I don't have to think, I remembered I went back and read some stuff from the early 2000s and fuck me, they were garbage. Ideas were good, but execution was trash. Abysmal. Stiff, poor grammar, so much tell instead of show. But that was 20+ years ago, and I wouldn't think to judge my current work as if it were anything like my first works.

You have over 50 stories under your belt now, you've grown and matured as a writer, and are all the better for it! And you have pretty decent reading numbers and engagement. Not sure what LS numbers normally are, but even if yours don't match up to the higher-tier stories, you oughtn't compare yourself to others. A lot of your works have 5-digit views and lots of favorites, and you have almost 600 followers, and that's pretty good in my book!

So don't compare yourself to that awkaward writer from years ago. You're you, now, and that's a different person, a different writer. You've written words that have moved people. I went and read some of the comments on a couple stories, and you seem like you've made quite an impact. Never forget that, for one bright moment, you touched someone's heart and made them feel something. You transported them into a world of your devising and wrapped them in beauty. Never, ever discount that. Even if you don't feel like a good writer, there are clearly many, many people who enjoy your works. That's what's important.

We all get blocked from time to time, and it erodes our confidence in our abilities. Currently there myself, and prior to now spent six years writing maybe 1000 words total? No drive, thought I was washed up, that I'd never write again. Good 17-year run, all done, bye bye, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. But I found something worth writing about here. Writer's blocks are rarely permanent, you'll find your muse again. There are a lot of ways to try to jump-start the process. I detailed some of them for StrentWriter here https://forum.literotica.com/thread...story-a-support-thread.1648126/post-102541737, with a follow up right after for a bit of extra suggestions. Maybe some of those will help.

Now, I want you to sit down and tell your self-doubt to fuck off. And if you need someone else to do it with you...

CK's self-doubt, fuck right on off! I got polar bears and I'm not afraid to use 'em

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Maybe move out of the corner and find a spot with fresh scenery.

NuhUh!!!

There are those ... 'people' ... things out there.

 

[MrPixel]

A few of those opened up, but mostly their food didn't travel well enough to be worth the price.

Sometimes I wonder if anybody's is. During the pandemic and drive-through only, I'd pickup a Wendy's order for the two of us. In the five minutes (...seriously. Small town...) it took to get it home, the sandwich bun was soggy, the salad lettuce limp, the fries tepid and soggy, and the frosty essentially chocolate soup.

We'd fish the order out of the bags, look at each other and call out "Thermal Equilibrium!" That's become a catchphrase around here.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Sometimes I wonder if anybody's is. During the pandemic and drive-through only, I'd pickup a Wendy's order for the two of us. In the five minutes (...seriously. Small town...) it took to get it home, the sandwich bun was soggy, the salad lettuce limp, the fries tepid and soggy, and the frosty essentially chocolate soup.

We'd fish the order out of the bags, look at each other and call out "Thermal Equilibrium!" That's become a catchphrase around here.

I do wonder why anyone orders burgers - chips never travel well. Nor crunchy veg next to a hot burger. If you want food delivered hot to you, go for something that survives a journey and can be easily microwaved. Curry or Chinese.

There's a reason small towns here only have the Chinese takeaway, the Indian restaurant, and the chippy where you have to go there to get your fish and chips. Kebabs and chicken shops don't do delivery, and cheap burger chains like McDonalds are losing customers at a rate of knots because the delivery food is terrible but if you go there you have to wait ages (it's not fast food any more because the Deliveroo orders get priority) and then the venue isn't comfortable to sit and eat in because they decided hostile architecture and getting the teenagers to fuck off was the way to go. So there's a whole generation who don't associate McDonalds with a treat and wouldn't take their kids to one.

Creams, Kaspas and other dessert cafes are both filling that niche and being where teenagers hang out, now they aren't allowed to sit in the back of pubs nursing half a cider all night. Though now gyms are taking over as the cool hangout for the young, especially young men.

Wendy's has tried to reopen a few branches here. They used to have one next to Kings Cross station, open after pub kicking out time. On a Friday night there'd be me and other queers waiting for our mates to go to Popstarz, various heroin addicts, prostitutes, pimps, and the odd delayed commuter. Entertainment always ensued.

 

[NotWise]

Sometimes I wonder if anybody's is. During the pandemic and drive-through only, I'd pickup a Wendy's order for the two of us. In the five minutes (...seriously. Small town...) it took to get it home, the sandwich bun was soggy, the salad lettuce limp, the fries tepid and soggy, and the frosty essentially chocolate soup.

We'd fish the order out of the bags, look at each other and call out "Thermal Equilibrium!" That's become a catchphrase around here.

You could always take the frosty and the soda out of the bag with the burger and fries, and order burgers without all the wet slop on them. Our closest Wendy's is at about ten minutes away in good traffic. We don't buy frosties or sodas, and we keep the burgers simple. Worked for us.

We started ordering from a local chain that packages their meals in styrofoam trays. The buns aren't squished and everything keeps better--and they're farther away than the Wendy's. Downside is the amount of un-recycleable garbage.

Haven't eaten anything from McDonalds since I was in High School, 55 years ago. I got roped into a coffee from McDonalds some time in the '90s, but I survived.

 

[MrPixel]

Truthfully, we gave up on Wendy's altogether around three years ago. Ours is next to a big park, and parents would bring their rowdied-up charges into the dining room to continue their jungle-gym acrobatics on the furniture. I think I wrote about it up-thread. Been doing mid-market sit-down since, rotating through five places.

It also doesn't hurt that I've sworn off fast-food completely.* Too much sugar underpinning their recipes, and I am trying to keep the T2D in check.**

* - Lapsed yesterday driving home from a hobby meet two hours way. McD's was the only place en route, so I tried "The Big Arch" they've been pushing lately. Don't bother. It's just a bigger BigMac, using two patties of Quarter Pounder meat. Sauce is supposedly different, but I couldn't tell, basically just mayo, ketchup, salt, and unidentifiable spice/herb.

** - Frozen margaritas are designated a permitted indulgence. Or else.

 

[AloneTooLong]

All clear. Faded quite a bit just before crossing the county line, which is kind of the pattern for us. Heavy rain at the moment, we got maybe a minute of heavy winds but nothing over 40. NWS says snow after midnight, maybe 1/2".

Puppy never moved from his designated spot on the sofa. "What are you guys all in a tizzy about?" and put his head back down on the cushion. His closet full of pillows was on standby just in case.

Grandson is a K-9 officer; his previous dogs were German Shepherd and Malinois--high energy, run down the bad guy, bite the bad guy. His current dog is a 'reject' from K-9 training; she trembles and hides at any loud noise, such as gunfire, thunder, etc--BUT she is a find/recover/cadaver dog; an English Springer Spaniel that spent ten days in the Hill Country last summer searching for bodies.

She currently is getting ready to give birth to (at the moment) an unknown number of puppies; all already are 'spoken' for and the next 2-3 months will probably be 'interesting'. This is her first litter. Hopefully, the puppies won't hide and tremble at the sound on thunder!

 

[sirhugs]

Truthfully, we gave up on Wendy's altogether around three years ago. Ours is next to a big park, and parents would bring their rowdied-up charges into the dining room to continue their jungle-gym acrobatics on the furniture. I think I wrote about it up-thread. Been doing mid-market sit-down since, rotating through five places.

It also doesn't hurt that I've sworn off fast-food completely.* Too much sugar underpinning their recipes, and I am trying to keep the T2D in check.**

* - Lapsed yesterday driving home from a hobby meet two hours way. McD's was the only place en route, so I tried "The Big Arch" they've been pushing lately. Don't bother. It's just a bigger BigMac, using two patties of Quarter Pounder meat. Sauce is supposedly different, but I couldn't tell, basically just mayo, ketchup, salt, and unidentifiable spice/herb.

** - Frozen margaritas are designated a permitted indulgence. Or else.

If only Mickey D served margaritas

 

[sirhugs]

No recent visits here by the plot bunnies, but I have been inspired the last couple of days to add a few hundred more words to the never ending WIP. I think that the end might be poking over the horizon like an early moring sun.
hopefully, this doesn't jinx me.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

It's cold outside and the high won't even reach 32 today. The wind is putting the windchill into the teens. We only got a coating of snow with more coming tomorrow morning before it gets into the 40s. My BP was down today and I'm feeling better about myself.

There's a fresh pot of coffee brewing and the teapot is steaming. There are snacks on the counter along with a fresh-out-of-the-oven cornbread. Since it's St. Patrick's day, I used green food dye on the cornbread.

I'll be over in the other corner working on my story. I actually wrote most of a scene this morning so the change in scenery worked. Maybe I'll be able to keep it up. I'm encouraged that I can still put words to paper.