"Why did it have to snow tonight?! We're stuck in this hospital...when we should be following that…read moremonster's trail," Roberto DaCosta (Sunspot) shook with anger as he expressed a desire to seek revenge against who or what attacked their teammate, Danielle Moonstar, leaving her on an operating table on the brink of death.
"Waste o' time, Bobby, you won't find the critter there," Sam Guthrie (Cannonball), the oldest of the teenagers that make up the New Mutants, responded, "It'll be here."
"What are you talking about, Sam? Explain yourself!"
"Stands t' reason, ever since we've known her, Dani's had a special fear of a spirit bear she said murdered her parents. None of us really really gave the story much credit, after all who believes in magic?" Sam paused oh so slightly before continuing. " 'Cept Illyana's a real witch, an' we fought demons and sorceresses. Maybe Dani wasn't kidding."
Sam shifted his tone to reveal his evidence. "Illyana tells me Dani spent the last week or so in the Danger Room fighting bears! T'night, she walked out into a [winter] storm, alone, armed with a bow an' arrows an' wearing war paint! And got mauled. We were wrong t' doubt her. We should'a listened, we should'a seen the signs."
Whenever my wife and I visit a restaurant or bar for the first time, whether we are there by ourselves or--in this case--treated to a meal by our favorite neighbors--I can count on her to sort through, heed, and pick up on every nuance in every aspect of culinary service that is there to be sensed. In this case, at the Dockside Restaurant & Sports Bar at 421 Deale Road in Maryland, the food was mostly wonderful, and the prices were more than reasonable for this economy.
What prevents Dockside from receiving at least four stars was primarily the service. Two orders of fries, one sweet potato and one regular, weren't hot; and although our waitress reluctantly brought one of the orders back to exchange it for a new batch, the fries didn't taste any warmer. Our other host ordered his crabcake lightly-fried, only for it to be brought out broiled. He still enjoyed it, but it wasn't exactly what he wanted or ordered. By the end of the meal, it became obvious that, if we return, we need to ask for Sarah, who, although she was tending the bar and wasn't even our waitress, still brought one of our neighbors a fresh cup of Pepsi Zero that she could take on our return trip home. Sarah also exhibited a great sense of humor, an attentiveness and an attention to detail, and, most importantly, remembered with pleasure our hosts, who have dined there frequently.
Apart from the pumpkin cheesecake, which was so infused with nutmeg and pumpkin spice that even Linus from Peanuts couldn't have tasted the pumpkin, and the lukewarm fries, our meals were terrific. I devoured the perfectly-seasoned shrimp from the fried shrimp platter; everyone loved their onion rings and their cream of crab and Maryland crab soups; and we all agreed that the crabcakes, boiled and fried, were scrumptious.