The B12 (XII) Forum, home of the 'Front Porch, y'all' at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

For the three months I was living/working in Nantes, I ate quite a few meals at the hotel, especially on weekdays because often I was too tired to go out and find a restaurant.  After the first few weeks, the regular bartender Philippe, started inviting me to eat with the hotel staff.  They always ate early (7 or so) in the main dining room, before any guests would come down to eat.  So a couple of times per week, I'd eat with them.  And because they were comp meals for the staff, served family style, Philippe never charged me.  He claimed he had no way to do it, no code for it, but I think he just didn't want to bother.

But what I COULD do, what he COULD charge me for, was wine.  So I always ordered a few bottles of whatever the staff told me they wanted that day.  And even their best wines were priced reasonably enough that I could buy several bottles and still be within my corporate per diem meal limits.  They started to really look forward to the days I'd eat with them, and I did, too. 

I love it when employers put you in situations that practically beg you to find ways to indulge yourself.  

I never got food/beer, but for a while in College Station I subleased my cousin's apartment, which was some sort of student-rate complex and super cheap compared to our standard comp rate for hotel/RV-accommodation.  I thought hey, I'll save the client money and they'll be happy.  The next time I turned in my billing the crew chief called me in his office and said I could not bill that way.  He made me get a receipt book and handwrite my own receipts for the standard rate to turn in.  I said that was way more money than I was paying, he said then put the difference in your pocket and shut up.  It was about an extra $500 per month.  Best of all, it was mostly during summer months when the apartment roommates had all moved out and I had the place all to myself.  I got paid $500/mo to stay in a nice furnished apartment.  

That, and the Aggie girls who seemed to be starved for a male with some testosterone, and.....well, I forget exactly what it is that I don't like about Aggies so much, and the town they come from.  

I was also just out of college, and if it was considered creeping.....lol don't care.  

A coworker told me when he traveled, he'd go to Kroger and get a salad or whatever for dinner, and a nice bottle of wine.  We had a per diem of $25 per meal, which was an IRS thing back then, and pretty generous in most locales.  You could get a loaded salad easily for $5.

Above $25, we had to show a receipt, which was not a big thing.

I did that a few times.  Would love to have that situation above in France some time.

It didn't hurt that the waitresses and front desk staff girls were all super-cute.  I especially liked the young, sultry blonde Veronique.

(I was only 23 so I wasn't creeping, she was at least 20 or 21 herself)

I'm not aware that creeping or being creepy has an age component

Every year's version is a little different, last year's was fantastic.  Looks like I'm headed to the brewery tomorrow to check it out...

Chocolate .... beer?

No, chocolate is actually added to the beer.

Ha.

I don't mind a mild hint of chocolate, but not too much in my beer

You might not even taste it as chocolate, it might bring something else entirely to mind, for you.  But that's a pretty common descriptor that is used when talking about dark beers, due to the heavy roasting of the malt.   Stouts, porters, dark Czech lagers, schwarzbiers-- all of them are often described as having hints of chocolate notes.

It's not unlike wines when they are described as charcoal or cigar box or toasty-- it's an attempt to describe the subtle, complex flavors that are coming through as a result of the tannins, or the oak barrels, or whatever else has imparted flavor to the wine.