Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-10-15
Our Cuisine.


The Archduke Alexis had, in the de-
scription of his travels in America, so
far forgotten the dignity of his high
position as to touch on American cooks
and kitchens, and not In a way hatter-
ing to either. James W. Parkinson, of
Philadelphia, for forty years ali Ameri-
can cook, restaurateur and caterer to
the astronomical tastes of the inhabit-
ants of the City OF Brotherly Love, has
come forward as the champion of his
country, his country's cooks and
kitchens, and demonstrated how little
an Archduke may know about cooking.
Snatching few moments leisure from
the arduous labors of his profession,
he has entered the lists against his i'm
perlal antagonist and come out the
victor. Indeed, after reading Mr..
Parkinson's defense of American dishes,
we feel a just pride in our national
cookery. The Duke is no match for
the cook when the scene of the contest
is the kitchen and he fares about as
well there as Parkinson would before a
Russian needle-gun. The Grand Duke
had the rashness to say that in America
there are no American cooks and no
American dishes. What a terrible
awakening he must have had from his
imperial SAUNDERS when Parkinson
sailed out of his restaurant in Phila-
delphia and appeared in the panoply OF
print, living American cook, deter
mined to convince Alexis of his exist
ence and the existence of others like
him. Alexis has now very good reason
to believe that there are American
cooks-at least that there is one, Mr..
James W. Parkinson, of Philadelphia.
The Duke had said that he frequently
requested the proprietors of American
hotels to set before him some peculiar
ly American dish. But the peculiarly
American dish was never produced.
His hosts assured him that the Ameri-
can cuisine was like that of France, and
that the cooks in all the principal no.
tells were Frenchmen. Mr.. Parkinson
tells his Imperial Highness that he
went to the wrong source for the lnfor-
nation he needed. What do hotel
keepers know about cooking? The
proprietors or keepers OF American no.
tells are not cooks, but capitalists.
They are not men who, like the keepers
of restaurants in France and Germany,
have graduated in their profession,
who have risen through all the degrees
of cook, up to the dignified position OF
hotei-keeper. The qualities that dis
tinguish them are not a knowledge of
the virtues of dishes, but knowledge
of business and remarkable organizing
and executive ability. Of the art of
cooking they know just as much and
just as little as bankers, manufacturers
and other capitalists. Parkinson
grants that in most of our hotels the
cooking department is under the charge
of French cooks,--of such, for the most
part, however, as were not able to get
along in the business in their own
country. This he says accounts for the
fact that hotel tables frequently pre-
sent such wretched fare, while the tables
of wealthy private gentlemen afford
such excellent eating. AS far as French
cookery goes, the French get the credit
of a great deal that does not belong to
them at all. They nave a wonderful ca
pacity for adapting and appropriating
| to themselves the dishes of other ma.
tions. 1t is too frequently q weakness
of which foreigners are guilty to give
French names to their dishes, and thus,
great many dishes not French, at al
come to be regarded as such. Only b.
q comparison of the dishes of the vari
Gus nations can their relative merits be
ascertained, and Mr.. Parkinson pro
poses that, at the Centennial Exposi
ton to take place in Philadelphia, sucf
a comparison should be instituted
The result, he predicts, would be that
many of our own best dishes would bt
rapidly introduced to the favor of Other
nations.
To convince the Russian Grand Duke
that he was not rightly informed as t.
the merits of the American cuisine, Mr.,
Parkinson displays bill of fare made
up of American dishes which ought tc
make his noble mouth to water when
| he thinks what there is in store for him
should he be SO fortunate as ever to
visit these shores again. In the first
place there is the American oyster,
large, sweet, delicious, glorious, unlike
its pigmy caricature called by tie same
rame in France. And then Mr.. Park
inson presents them prepared in the va
rious ways,-all of which are peculiarly
American, fried, roasted, stewed, scol-
loped, PANIED, boiled, griddled, and
spiced. Next come our American soft
shell crabs, our turtles and terrapins,
of which Europe lives in blissful ignor-
ance. Canvas-back ducks, the fin ly
game in the world, and our turkeys, SO
far superior to those of Europe, follow
after. Among our fish there is the shad,
the sheep's-head, rock-fish, Goldfish, hal
ibut, brook and lake trout. Wild duck,
SQUAD, grouse, quail, reed-bird, plover,
prairie chicken, the buffalo, antelope,
bear opossum, mountain sheep, the
rabbit, and woodchuck are mentioned
as samples of our game. In the vege-
table kingdom, among our specialties
are the tomato and cranberry. In the
region of ice-cream, sweetmears and
desserts generally We beat the world.
Nor will the champion of the Ameri-
can cooks and cookery allow that we are
wanting in originality in our dishes, as
is proved by the New England chow
der, our pumpkin pies, buckwheat
cakes, corn mush, corn-starch pudding,
White Mountain cake, Washington cake,
etc., etc.-Chicago Tribune.
Who SWUNG DAT LAMP?-As the