Seneca Rebel

THE RESTAURANT DISTRICT was a dreamlike version of a place I remember visiting as a kid. The sun beat down on me, interrupted only by rustling leaves from tall oak trees. I looked up, squinting to see how this could possibly be. The soft, cornflower blue sky blew me a kiss as a sweet floral breeze swept my hair across my face, tickling my nose. It reminded me of the outdoor mall near the beach in Santa Monica. Birds chirping, kids laughing, babies crying. All kinds of people and every kind of food. I heard murmurs of different languages– Mandarin, Spanish, Russian... Incredibly, I almost forgot I was with Dom, my attention was so absorbed by all the mouthwatering aromas around us. Dom didn’t seem as mesmerized by this place as I was. He cut into a doorway and I followed, looking back over my shoulder.

We were at a sushi spot that he said he went to every weekend. We sat at the sushi bar. I thought it was funny that we were having sushi for breakfast, but fresh, edible, wild fish had not been available in my lifetime, so this was a mouthwatering treat.

Salmon, halibut, cod, and assorted rare fish and seafood were transported here on BoomJets from places that had the remaining clean water on the planet. They had also been testing new ways to replicate wild breeding here. Senecans were the only population with the privilege to enjoy these delicacies as regular eating habits. I could seriously get used to this.

Our first time eating together wasn’t as carefree and lighthearted as my lunches and brunches with Reba. I didn’t ask a lot of questions, but when I did, Dom answered with a question in return. He was obviously still vetting me. Could I be trusted and what was my motivation? Not the typical form of assessment I was used to from my peers. Usually it was questions about what musicians I like or if I got invited to some popular kid’s party last Saturday night.

This morning I learned one thing about Dom. He was fluent in Japanese, and best buds with this restaurant’s 28-year-old sushi chef, Ty. Ty had been recruited to Seneca because he had started a highly addictive sushi franchise that spread across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. It was literally the fastest growing food chain in world history. Addiction was an understatement. Ty knew exactly what Dom liked, so I went ahead and tried it all. No exaggeration, these were hands down the most explosive bites of food I’d ever tasted. Dom slowly savored each bite as he explained to me that in Seneca Ty was pushing the envelope of sushi preparation in a way he never could in the Aboves. He took the most ideal, fresh cuts of fish, and through the use of

Rayya Deeb

nanocapsules, he matched them with flavors of the customer’s choosing. Ty’s menu had everything from kumquat to truffle, which was injected into the fish for a timed release to deliver an eruption of flavor in your mouth at just the right moment. There was no question about it– I would be back for the jalapeno limeinfused halibut cheek.

Ty spoke English pretty well. When he and Dom flipped to Japanese, I sensed that they were talking about me. It seemed to be in a good way, though.

“You will take Dom to see the sun today. No wonder he likes you.”

Please don’t blush. Please don’t blush, please, please, please... I took a huge gulp of water. Dom didn’t notice– he was meticulously cleaning his vintage wooden chopsticks, which he obviously cherished like I did my vinyl LPs.

Dom grinned. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Ty.”

“Enjoy for me too. Maybe next time I be your guest?”

“Whoa there, buddy. This is my gig!”

Finally, things were lightening up around the dark and mysterious Dominic Ambrosia. It was nice to see him become a little possessive about his guest spot on my Great Falls Park excursion. Whether it was because of the sun, or because of me, it’s where he wanted to be and that was all that mattered.

We left our sushi breakfast feeling incredibly good. I could see why this was Dom’s favorite eating establishment in Seneca. Ty was cool, and his otherworldly food increased his cool factor tenfold. I’d definitely be back... but first I had to take Dom for chilaquiles.