The Purple Bowl

The Purple Bowl
This is a very nice place in a very bad part of town. This is where the upper echelons of the Shadow Class (criminal society) dine. An occasional noble or merchant might find their way here, either on a dare or for a secretive meeting. The fare is fine. The fare is also prohibitively expensive for the neighborhood, it is even expensive for most of the city, yet the place is well patroned. Note: the house sauce is Xoct sauce 308 (more accurately Xoct's Sauce).

The proprietor, Valgelous the Chef, once sold food to the Nobles and the Rich. He was the Chef for a number of finer establishments, catered parties, and was even the Prince's personal chef for a time. But the mighty often fall. After a series of 'indiscrete incidents' ruined his name, he found he was no longer in demand by the rich and famous. So he began to provide food for the rich and infamous. 'Gold is still Gold, no matter the source', he has been heard to say. He opened the Purple Bowl in a less reputable part of town. The criminal and secretive classes have treated him very well. He also knows they are not the hypocites the Rich and Nobles are. They are honest thieves, rather than lying self important brigands with a veneer of respectability.

The Purple Bowl appears to be a grungy tavern in a less that savory part of town. Once you get past the grungy bouncers in the antechamber, it opens up to a very nice dining establishment. It is not quite equal to the Noble clubs and salons, but it is ranking. The lighting is dim. The booths are high backed and very deep (allowing for some shadows). They provide discrete dinning. They are also bolstered with fabric to deafen the sound. It is quite quiet here.

The food is exceptional. The house sauce is Xoct's Sauce. The wine list is not quite to Valgelous's standard, but he is working on it.

He does 'support the community'. Though he demands that his clients be clean and well dressed (as well dressed as they can be), nobody is turned away. ('No pretenses of nobility here. People are what they are.') The lower and middle echelons of the shadow class can dine here as well (as well as middle classes who have the cash); there are simpler and cheaper menu items here. (The current bowl d'noir is The Bounder's Special which consists of a bowl of noodles, rice batter fried chicken, and Xoct Sauce. Note: Bounder is the current slang for a cat burglar. It comes from bounding from roof to roof. ) Even the beggers and street kids can get a hand out from the back door.

Oh yes, the dinnerware is a near royal purple with a very thin gold ring trim. As are all the cups. One should not steal from here, as those in power over criminals will become slightly upset.

Note: Regular clients can purchase small bottles of the Xoct sauce (as they call it here) that they are making locally.