wearing a T-shirt and black jeans holding a
take-out coffee cup. He was followed by several harried assistants on cell phones
and a group of unshaven cameramen and sound and light technicians.
The man in the T-shirt, who ignored The Boot Top’s staff until he’d walked around
the restaurant’s bar and dining areas, turned out to be the director, Noah Wiseman.
He stood the middle of the dining room in complete silence for several minutes, sipping
his coffee and studying the space. Then, he abruptly turned and strode back to the
entrance. He introduced himself to Olivia while examining her from head to toe. “You’ve
got a good look. Not sure that dress is going to work. We might have to shoot you
in the bar.” His eyes roved around the restaurant, assessing and eager, and his fingers
tapped an energetic rhythm against his takeout cup.
“Would you like to see the kitchen?” Olivia asked. “Michel has prepared a special
treat for you.”
Noah smiled at her like she was the village idiot. “I only eat raw foods, but I’m
sure the rest of the crew will be delighted.” His eyes glazed over and he began to
stroke his chin. “We’ll do your interview first, then Michel’s, then film some action
in the kitchen, and if there’s time, we’ll get some local color shots and . . .” His
fingers fell still. “There’s a lighthouse, right? People love lighthouses. And beach
scenes.” He looked over his shoulder. “Candice? My notes?”
A bony girl bustled forward and handed Noah a clipboard. He looked at it, flipped
a sheet over, and then handed it back to her and began to dictate a time line for
the day’s filming. Olivia listened patiently until the director began discussing the
rearrangement of the dining room in order to accommodate additional lighting. He pointed
at wall outlets and gestured across the carpet, and one of the male crewmembers came
forward with a trio of electric orange extension cords.
“Excuse me.” Olivia positioned herself directly in front of Noah. “While I’m honored
to have The Boot Top featured on
Talk of the Town
, this is still a place of business. You asked for us to carry on as if this were
any other day, and in order for us to do so, our customers and servers need to be
able to move about without fear of tripping. Why don’t you tell me how you’d like
to stage the dining room and we can work together to make everything flow smoothly?”
Candice’s mouth hung open in surprise but Noah didn’t seem to mind Olivia’s directness.
“Yes, let’s do it!” he said and gestured for Candice to hand Olivia his clipboard.
Instead of taking it, Olivia beckoned Noah to follow her. “Come to the bar. Gabe will
fix you a virgin Bloody Mary that adheres to your diet.”
Noah held out a warning finger. “Only if there’s no Worcestershire sauce and the horseradish
is fresh.” He pursed his lips. “Does he make a good Bloody Mary? Could help me get
over this jet lag.”
Olivia smiled knowingly. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
As it turned out, Gabe’s sister had gone on a raw-food diet six months after becoming
a vegan and he was thereby well versed in which ingredients were acceptable and which
were not. He presented Noah with the perfect Bloody Mary, and while the director was
sipping happily away, showed him The Boot Top’s wine list, pointing out all the choices
that were sulfite free.
“We need to shoot a segment of Gabe at work,” Noah said, turning to Olivia. “He oozes
charisma from every pore. What are the house cocktail specialties?”
“Right now we’re featuring The Boot Top Bellini and an Oyster Bay Breeze. I’ll let
Gabe tell you about them while I invite your crew to sample Michel’s fare. He came
in very early to make something special and I don’t want him to think his efforts
were wasted.”
In truth, she wanted him to be in a good mood for what looked to be
take-out coffee cup. He was followed by several harried assistants on cell phones
and a group of unshaven cameramen and sound and light technicians.
The man in the T-shirt, who ignored The Boot Top’s staff until he’d walked around
the restaurant’s bar and dining areas, turned out to be the director, Noah Wiseman.
He stood the middle of the dining room in complete silence for several minutes, sipping
his coffee and studying the space. Then, he abruptly turned and strode back to the
entrance. He introduced himself to Olivia while examining her from head to toe. “You’ve
got a good look. Not sure that dress is going to work. We might have to shoot you
in the bar.” His eyes roved around the restaurant, assessing and eager, and his fingers
tapped an energetic rhythm against his takeout cup.
“Would you like to see the kitchen?” Olivia asked. “Michel has prepared a special
treat for you.”
Noah smiled at her like she was the village idiot. “I only eat raw foods, but I’m
sure the rest of the crew will be delighted.” His eyes glazed over and he began to
stroke his chin. “We’ll do your interview first, then Michel’s, then film some action
in the kitchen, and if there’s time, we’ll get some local color shots and . . .” His
fingers fell still. “There’s a lighthouse, right? People love lighthouses. And beach
scenes.” He looked over his shoulder. “Candice? My notes?”
A bony girl bustled forward and handed Noah a clipboard. He looked at it, flipped
a sheet over, and then handed it back to her and began to dictate a time line for
the day’s filming. Olivia listened patiently until the director began discussing the
rearrangement of the dining room in order to accommodate additional lighting. He pointed
at wall outlets and gestured across the carpet, and one of the male crewmembers came
forward with a trio of electric orange extension cords.
“Excuse me.” Olivia positioned herself directly in front of Noah. “While I’m honored
to have The Boot Top featured on
Talk of the Town
, this is still a place of business. You asked for us to carry on as if this were
any other day, and in order for us to do so, our customers and servers need to be
able to move about without fear of tripping. Why don’t you tell me how you’d like
to stage the dining room and we can work together to make everything flow smoothly?”
Candice’s mouth hung open in surprise but Noah didn’t seem to mind Olivia’s directness.
“Yes, let’s do it!” he said and gestured for Candice to hand Olivia his clipboard.
Instead of taking it, Olivia beckoned Noah to follow her. “Come to the bar. Gabe will
fix you a virgin Bloody Mary that adheres to your diet.”
Noah held out a warning finger. “Only if there’s no Worcestershire sauce and the horseradish
is fresh.” He pursed his lips. “Does he make a good Bloody Mary? Could help me get
over this jet lag.”
Olivia smiled knowingly. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
As it turned out, Gabe’s sister had gone on a raw-food diet six months after becoming
a vegan and he was thereby well versed in which ingredients were acceptable and which
were not. He presented Noah with the perfect Bloody Mary, and while the director was
sipping happily away, showed him The Boot Top’s wine list, pointing out all the choices
that were sulfite free.
“We need to shoot a segment of Gabe at work,” Noah said, turning to Olivia. “He oozes
charisma from every pore. What are the house cocktail specialties?”
“Right now we’re featuring The Boot Top Bellini and an Oyster Bay Breeze. I’ll let
Gabe tell you about them while I invite your crew to sample Michel’s fare. He came
in very early to make something special and I don’t want him to think his efforts
were wasted.”
In truth, she wanted him to be in a good mood for what looked to be
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