Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1871-03-22
SAN FRANCISCO LETTER
(rRox OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENCE
THE RRsTAURANTS OF SAN
FRANCISCO.
PEREaRINATIoN THE LAST.


SAN FRANCISCO, March 20, 1871.
Dupont street lays no claim to the
SAVIOR Of sanctity. It Is by no means n
choice thoroughfare. 1t Is not exactly
the locality that a moral father of n
family would explore If OIL n house.
hunting expedition. III fact, Dupont
street is only occasionally respectable,
and then never more than for n block
together. Yet, as We have poetlcal au-
thority for the assurance that the dark,
unfathomed caves of ocean hold many
n gem Of purest ray serene, so the
reader of these peregrinations has my
assurance that Dupont street, with all
Its faults, holds
The Best Rcstaurant In San Fran-
cisco.
Right in tho Chinese quarter, In the
very last place that one would expect
it to be, in the midst Of Chinese gam
bling-houses, opium dens and temples,
surrounded by cellars from which come
odors mysterious, by alleys that reveal
gllmpses of Asia at Its worst, circlRd
by the Barbary Coast, and environed
BY all the sights, sounds and smells
that are common to that delectlblc
precinct, with an exterior rs humble
as the oyster that held Cleopatra's
pearl, and with an interior promising
little but performing much, stands this
paragon of culinary establishments,
this perfection of epicurean resorts.
Behold! Its breakfasts shine with reputation;
Its dinners are the wonder Of the nation;
and rs for its lunches and late suppers,
they are like spots Of sunshine IN a
dark day. Some men arc so constituted
that they would
Quarrel with mlncc pie. disparage
That best and dearest dish, plum porridge /;
f1d P Ss: and gsSs sps .isslf , SPpN; ;S.ir nose.
10 such unhappy individuals, it Is al
most unnecessary to say that
The Reii.serie doe Geumets
offers 10 attractions. They would
probably be unable to distinguish be-
tween its .fhets de sole a Ia Smitdne and
baked bass; between Its rendison a la
gelu de pstites groseiiles and n slice of
mutton ; or between Its ome'ettes sogj-
.Nu and eggs turned over. There 1t Is
perhaps equally superfluous to remark
that our Rotisserie is only frequented
by educated palates-palates that can
appreciate good cookery and know
when 1t Is good. The Rotisserie walter
Is generally a Frenchman. If you can
muster enough French to order a dim
ner, 1t Is MS we'll to address him In that
language. lie will then have n ma
tional pride In addition to a profess
sional ono In bringing you the best that
the kitchen affords. But don't shout
"Garcon imperiously aid then fall
back OIL English. If you do you are
lost. Antolne-he Is nearly always an
Antoiue-will not forget your assump-
tiol rs n linguist, and the consequence
will be n meal far below the usual
standard of excellence. The Rotissc-
ric has no special forte. From soup to
liluer, everything Is good, with per-
haps q shade OF superiority In It's roasts,
The wines vary from one dollar to five
dollars a bottle, and if you want real
Veuve Cliquot, you can 60 even higher
than thai. The frequenters of the
house are mostly wealthy Frenchmen,
who believe that to dine well Is the
summum Jonum of existence. There
are five Rotisseries In san Francisco
at least that Is all that | can count up
ut the present moment, and Of these
no less than three are situated on Du-
pont street. The lowest charge ut any
Of these latter for a dinner without
wine is two dollars, but there Is 4 place
on Sacramento street where they only
charge one. They have all found that
the turnpike road to peoples pockets
lies through their mouths, so that ev-
cry two or three years there Is n change
Of proprietors. Monsieur retires with
wife and family to his beloved France,
and Antoine becomes Monsieur. and IN
the course Of u few years follows his
predecessor. A properly managed
restaurant, whether a Rotisserie or q
Rawbone, Is rs good rs n gold mine In
San Francisco, and will continue to be
80 until the present nomadic style Of
city lite is superseded by the multiple
cation Of homes.
Before summing up the result Of my
Investigations into San Francisco res
taurant life, there are one or two other
types Of 1t to be mentioned. The
first Il
Tho Coffee Stand
and Its patrons. Coffee stands are III
varlably kept by Italians. Their mis-
sion seems to be to supply the public
with doughnuts and cranberry pie.
Small boys are the coffee stands most
reliable customers. Perch a small boy
on n high stool In front Of n counter,
with his back to the street, his face to
a mirror, n doughnut in hand and
a Il of coffee in the other, and you
~ ,,o,,th ,,bn l. avn~artonninO ono