June 8, 2014

  • Flip's Meatloaf

    No one would ever accuse Flip DeGaetano of being a gourmet. His tiny store was a reverse of what any good kitchen should look like. His hotplate grill always resulted in a sandwich that contained bits and pieces of the previous sandwich. It might even taste of egg or bacon. Anything from that grill would surely be loaded with a generous amount of grease. About the only thing that Flip did not prepare in-house was his meatloaf. Once or twice a week Flip would bring this in from home. It was of his own making and he used his own recipe, one he jealously guarded.
    Buddy Taub ordered it regularly and always made a point to ask for it on a fresh roll. This was, of course, a request that Flip ignored all the time. Day old bread was always cheaper to buy. There was always a back and forth about this, but Buddy usually gave in and ate what was served. He had to. More often than not Buddy ate on the cuff, paying only when he was lucky at the OTB parlor or on a day when something was left from his meager paycheck.
    Another customer of Flip's, Mr. Twin, ordered a whole loaf for take-out once a week. He'd order it the day before and pay up front. This was the kind of customer who made Flip quite happy. Mr. Twin not only bought the meatloaf he praised it.
    "It's the best darn meatloaf I've ever bought", he'd tell Flip. "Skippy just loves it". Flip was never one for small talk so he did not even ask who "Skippy" was.
    It would be the same thing, week after week and month after month. Mr. Twin regularly bought an entire loaf just for himself and at sandwich style prices. Flip charged him for the equivalent of 10 sandwiches, as it was how many he calculated he could make from one loaf. This was a great profit as Flip saved the cost of the day-old bread.
    Time and again Mr. Twin would pickup his meatloaf and praise it on the way out. "Skippy adds his thanks" or "Skippy appreciates your hard work". It was always something like that.
    All it took to undo this joyous moment was the singular remark of Buddy Taub. Buddy had eaten the meatloaf for years as well. He just couldn't figure out why anyone in their right mind and money in their pocket would buy Flip's cooking…and worse, praise it. He had finally heard enough to cause him to chime in one day.
    "Ah, Mr. Twin. Just who is Skippy anway? I've never seen you come in with any family. Is it your wife? Your son?"
    "No…no…no. Skippy is my schnauser. He is very, very fussy. He won't eat just anything, but he does love the meatloaf."