Exposed as the girl who was invited "to become an apprentice, memory intact," after having cast forbidden, life-changing, spells, Coco, the protagonist of Kamome Shirahama's Witch Hat Atelier Volume 1, is duped by Agott, another apprentice much further along in her magical studies, into taking her first test: to "reach the highest peak of the [floating] Dadah Range, and [pluck from] the Diadem Herb that flourishes there." Surprising herself first, and, eventually, her peers, and even Master Qifrey, Coco calls upon her own self-taught skills as an artist and passes the test.
But what if Coco's classmate Agott hadn't set her up to fail? What if, instead, Agott had taken her own charge from Qifrey less competitively and more charitably, with the kindness and grace one would expect from someone in a service role? If there were such a thing as a Witch Hat Atelier culinary multiverse, Agott could have learned kindness, enthusiasm, and expertise from the wonderful staff and ownership of the Panda Express at 6050 Greenbelt Rd, not far from Beltway Plaza, in Greenbelt, Maryland.
I was fortunate to have been sent there by my wife during its grand opening. Never having disclosed that I was a Yelp Elite member, I was offered a T-shirt and given a miniature, stuffed, panda and some fortune cookies. A staff member in an adult-sized panda costume was welcoming everyone, while simultaneously keeping silent and honoring the illusion that they really could be a panda to a young child who might not know better.
My wife ordered the new Dynamite Sweet & Sour Chicken (with additional Buldak sauce for good measure); and I ordered the Honey Walnut Shrimp. On our next visit, she kept her order the same; and I switched to their fantastic Kung Pao Chicken. Although I was disappointed that they no longer carry the Sweet Fire Chicken Breast, which used to be one of my wife's and my favorites, I recognize that decision was made at the national and not the franchisee level. This has quickly become our preferred location for Panda Express. read more