The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-03-13
Restaurant and Hotel Living I'm New
York, Paris and London.

Restaurant and Hotel Living in New
York, Paris and London.
A few years ago, the old American
hotel system of the table d'hote was
general, and we might say almost
universal, in this metropolis. It is
still so in the provincial cities and
towns. But there has been o great
change. The refined, educated and
wealthy classes, both visitors and
residents in the city, who do not wish
to keep house, now prefer the restau-
rant plan. Some good hotels in the
old style still flourish, it is true; but
the new are fast superseding them.
We think this shows better taste. The
only objection we know of to it-and
that naturally would come from the
ladies-is, that this excellent way of
living is calculated to make bachelors
contented with life Of bless
edness. However, this need not be,
for our restaurant-hotels are us COM
Portable for families as for single per-
sons. The old system of hotel living
has good deal Of tho mess-tablo
character in it. The hungry expect
ant guests stand watching the opening
of the dining-room and signal for
operations, then rush in eagerly and
gobble up their dinner hastily. There
IS always the same everlasting bill of
fare, except that for the sake of va
riety the order of the dishes named is
changed sometimes. Every dish has
taste of every other, as if they had
acquired an affinity by standing long
and through proximity to each other
in the kitchen. They certainly all
smell alike. Then the noise among
the w-c;terrs and the clatter on the
table, the crowded and mixed condi-
ton of things on the table, and the
jammed condition in which one has
TO sit, with scarcely room to stir the
arms, are features of the table d'hotc
not at all comfortable. We admit
that to some of our best hotels on this
plan these remarks are not so appi-
cable; but the general character is the
same everywhere. We say nothing
about the enormous charges of SIS or
moro a day for little crib on the
sixth story; we refer only to the mat
ter of eating.
Compare this with the system that
has been coming into fashion for the
last few years, and that has now be-
come quite fashionable-th elegant
restaurant mode of living the
superior taste and advantages of the
latter will be admitted at once. Take,
for example, the Brevoort House,
Delmonico's, the Maison Doree, Hof-
man House, Albemarle and others
that might be named, and where in
the world can one live better or more
elegantly? We have the best mar
ket, and one in which everything can
be obtained; the richest wines can be
procured here, and the very first
French cooks are to be found at the
places referred to. A gentleman or
family may live at whatever rate their
taste and purse prescribe A person
can live as cheaply, or, perhaps, for
less than under the old system, if his
tastes be moderate, and more COM
fortably; Or he can live as extrava-
gantly as he may please. Then what
charming places they are for dinner
party, or for a petit soupea' after leav-
ing the places of amusement. New
York, which is making such strides
IN everything as Il great metropolitan
city, now combines the best features
of hotel and restaurant life in Paris
and London. The heavy, solemn,
and what we would call the strong
appetite system of London does not
prevail here, while we use as many
Of the elements of good living as the
English. We have the lightness,
elegance, charm and finished cooking
of the best restaurants in Paris, with
moro substance, more iberality, and
less that is mean, trifing or merely
fanciful. In fact, we combine the
best features of hotel-restaurant iv-
ing of the two great cities of Europe,
without adopting their worst. There
is no place in the world where per-
son or family can live better or more
elegantly than in New York.
Nen Yorh; Herald