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Midnight Snack: Meals From the Nightward
BrickSwitch Pizza
By Anna Okkes
🤯 Okay, readers, I’m so excited! This week I had the pleasure of eating at a rare Nightward darling that, up to this point, I’d only dreamed of reviewing.
Veedat met me on the crusty metal fire escape that clings to the back of my apartment building. This is our system to keep my parents from getting suspicious. To my surprise, Kami was behind him. I looked down into the alley and saw Driver leaning against the car, the engine running.
“You like pizza?” Kami asked brightly.
She shouldered past Veedat at the sill, stepped in, and plopped down on my couch. Kami’s excitement gave it away. Our eyes met, and she nodded, confirming my suspicion. (See FN1.)
“Yeeeees,” I replied tentatively, stretching the answer into a question.
“Is Ms. Anna Okkes ready to try BrickSwitch Pizza?” she exclaimed.
I squealed.
Driving south through the Nightward, we were forced to pass through some sort of checkpoint.
“Damn,” said Driver. “It’s the Wardens.” He set his cap lower on his head. We passed by with no incident, but not before I caught a glimpse of the Nightward’s clandestine officers of the peace: the Wardens.
The less I say, the better… Let’s change the subject.
This week’s article is brought to you by HelloFresh. For those of you who work throughout the night and come home early in the morning, it can be hard to do the necessary meal prep. HelloFresh delivers nutritionist-approved meals to your door the day before, so you don’t have to brave the daylight in search of food.
Thats not all! The folks at HF have curated a list of meals inspired by Nightward chefs! Some meals include:
Herb-Crusted Cave Carp with Saffron Rice
Glowing Glass Noddle Japchae (see fn2)
Candied Batwing Beignets (contains no actual bat wings… probably)
Every meal arrives pre-portioned and easy to prepare— Perfect for a serious boots-on-the-ground reporter like myself. Fans of Midnight Snack get 10 percent off their first month’s subscription. Now, back to the action.
We parked in the abandoned parking lot of a ramshackle Waffle House. The neon sign was in disrepair. The W was burned out so that it read Affle House.
I shot Veedat a look.
Kami and Driver led us back to the kitchen and into the deep freeze. My anxiety rose. I inhaled frigid air and reached for V’s hand. We delved deeper until the cold and hum of freezer fans subsided, giving way to the warm, recognizable murmurs and clinking of cutlery. Restaurant sounds.
Out the other side, we walked into a low-lit room. Edison bulbs cast a comforting glow over a low order counter. A cutesy, bandana-clad Nocturnal with blue eye shadow addressed us.
“BrickSwitch Pizza. What’ll you have?”
I mean, I’d done my research. I had to try the seahorse pizza, right (see fn3)? After ordering, the girl behind the counter flicked hair from her shoulder and asked:
“Do you want that for here or to go?”
I looked to Driver for guidance. He glanced at Kami. She grinned and said:
“You’re going to want to take it to go.”
The next thing I knew, we were stepping into a clear fiberglass bubble anchored to a dock on the banks of the Wabash River. The most disorienting feature of my rare surroundings was the buildings. BrickSwitch Pizza was apparently located off the docks of Brickside Borough, fifteen miles upriver from the Ward.
How did we get here? Was the deep freezer some kind of tunnel... portal?
Unmoored, we floated down the Wabash in our egg-shaped boat. I lifted the lid of the pizza box, and intoxicating aromas attacked my senses. The crust was sublime, the sauce more than I expected, but the crown jewel of this pie was, of course, the seahorses that blinked back at me like jewels in the crown of this culinary treasure.
The seahorse was salty and sour, kind of like tropical Tajín, and squishy like a gummy bear.
Everything sparkled: the seahorses, the shimmering surface of the river, the fairy lights that sent multicolored fractals into our eyes.
Full to bursting, we kicked our feet up and watched the city float by. It was the best pizza and the best night I’ve ever had in my life.
I’m typing this article at that time of night when sleepers’ dreams either break bad or turn good. Tonight, this foodie is happy to report that sometimes even our most outlandish dreams can come true.
Yours always,
Anna Okkes
FN1: Kami and I have been texting. We actually have a lot in common.
FN2: Japchae is a popular Korean stir-fried noodle dish made with chewy, translucent glass noodles (dangmyeon) from sweet potato starch, mixed with colorful vegetables like spinach, carrots, and mushrooms, and often marinated beef, all seasoned with a savory-sweet soy sauce and sesame oil dressing.
FN3: While seahorse is edible and has been used for medicine, there are a couple reasons you probably shouldn’t try it. First seahorses are protected by many conservation rights, they are boney and have little nutritional value, and they may contain heaven metals such as arsenic!