Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-03-01
Partisan Geurmess 1t Danner.

Partisan G0urmet0 ot Dinner.
A couple of diners who belong TO that brother.
priest, enter the Cafe Anglais. They are past
the prime Of life, as are the greater part of the
clients OF this celebrated restaurant-which, &C
cording to these elders, is q compliment % the
have uncultivated palates and hence limited
knowledge Of food ana drink. The two elderly
diners saunter in and leisurely take their seats.
They have been preparing themselves since
out-of-dOor exercise, for nothing annoys them
30 much as not to be hungry at the appointed
hour. They select their sA0w-white table near
one Of the windows looking on the boulevard,
in order that the sight may be pleased with the
passing prone naders at the same time that the
taste is gratified with nourishment. They settle
themselves comfortably in their easy leather
chairs, as soft-voiced waiter presents them
with the bill of fare, without asking what they
want, well knowing that they require time for
rensetion: In an ordinary restaurant he fires
he gracefully retires to leave them to that medi-
tation which the Importance OF the subject de-
mands. Their sight is not so good as their pa
lates and they have recourse to the rsosocis or
eyeglasses, to scan, as a Mohammedan does the
Koran, the choice bit Of literature which the
waiter has left with them, and taste of the b an
the preliminary pleasure of the dinner, and is
counted as one of its features Having care
fully read through the bill of fare from potage
to desert, there is discussion as to seiectior-bnt
discussion of an easy kind that rather sharnens
than dulls the fine edge of appetite. Were they
seated in the Foreign Affairs Department, on
the other side of the Seine, they might be taken
for diplomats discussing each separate provision
of an International treaty.
At length the selections are made; or ex-
ample, simple soup, carp Ia Chambord, a
capon stuffed with Perigord truffies, pleasant
Ia Sainte Alliance, tenderest OF asparagus
with sauce Pomazome, dish of ortolans la
Proyencale, a pyramid of meringues q la va
nile, and finally bit of Brie cheese-for the
- H. LII
without cheese is like pretty woman with only
one eye. And the swift but smoothly-giding
waiter takes the prandial programme to the
horn OF plenty in the rear, which pours out its
treasures year IN and year out before the most
critical clients of Europe. The wine is more
quickly chosen, for these sybarites know the
cellar by HEARTBEAT celebrated cellar which
runs midway under the middle of the street.
One course after another is taken leisurely, and
the pleasure of the occupation long drawn out.
They say, " We are not pressed; let us eat az
our leisure, for We always have the time to de-
They are of the highest guild I'm gastronomy
and are able to discover the superior flavor of
the leg Of the partridge on which it has slept,
and on what latitude grape has ripened from
the wine they sip. In eating they experience
what they call the three sensatiOns-the direct
the complete, and the sensation of the julg-
ment; In drinking, in addition to these sensa-
tons, those Of gutturatioh and the last-Ihe af-
ter taste of perfume or fragrance which for a
time remains pleasant wit and gentle cachin-
nation are courted as auxilaries tn lengthen the
Ill.
q half to two hours isdevoted to the repast. and
when the end Is reached three bottles of their
dear friends from the cellar are pleasantly at
work under their waistcoats, in assisting diges-
ton. In their gentle exhiaration they feel the
need OF lOcOm0tiOn; they saunter out on the
boulevard arm in arm, nj find each other and
all the world delightful. They lounge to the
Rue de Ia Paix or the Madeleine and back to
the Cafe Napolitain, renowned for its coffee
where they take seats at one of the outside ia
bles on the broad asphalte. and sip fragrant
Too tn fr..s ant al,
the coffee pushes the dinner, which is followed
by the sacramental tiny glass Of cognac, in its
turn. to push the coffee. Thus the dinner
marches in its single-file discipline from som
to cognac, like the queen entering a popular
theatre. Or il is construction of regular
layers, whose cellar Is soup, the ground floor the
Pece dc resfsteT7ce, the upper stories the lighter
courses, and the browning of the edifice coffee
and cOgnac; the chimneys being the wines
which run through them all-after leaving the
cellar-tO warm and brighten.
ne happy twain, according to Lavater, are
born gourmets they have round and square
faces, sparkling eyes, small forehcads, Short
noses, full lips, and round chins. They con-
graduate themselves that they are what thew
are; that they are not absent-minded business
men, nor ambitions men, who eat and think at
the same time. The aphOrisms of their high
prizes priest are often on tongues; such as, Tell M
and - The fate of nations depends on how thev
are fed" They belong to an extensive brother
hood. The stranger brethren may not recog-
niZe each other away from the feast but from
the moment they sit opposite each other over a
savOry dish or a t0OthsOme glass, the recogui-
ton is mutual; as soon even as the incense of a
soi9nc potGge rises to their nostrls, the ties
which bind them are revealed. Then they are
happy, for next to eating q good dinner is the
pleasure ofa comrade to eat il with-a comr ade
the genius Of the palate, who is able
To march breast through all the delightful laby-
rinths OF taste. companion of the baser
kind, who eats to live, is worse than none, for
his presence wounds the sensitive soul of him
who lives to eat.-"VieW Abroad by Albeit
Rhodes, an March GALAXY.