The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-01-13
Who Eats Pie I?

GLOW many pies do you use III q day 2"
asked u reporter of Mr.. Henry N. Smith,
Of the Grand Hotel New York.
'We don't use very many" he replied.
eff you want to learn something about the
consumption of pie go to some hotel kept
on the American plan. There they give
away their pic here we sell pic. You sec
when a man sits down at table d'hote he
knows he has &l.50 topay any way, and
he begins with three kinds of soup. Then
he takes six or seven rOasts. and finally tells
the waiter to bring hun little of every
thing there is. Of course no gets piece
Of pie; maybe three pieces. Now, if he
should order that way at our table, where
we charge for each dish, it would break
him all up. We use, perhaps, twenty-five
or thirty a day. Maybe nine or ten mince
each of squash and lemon and cocoanut or
some other kind. We vary the bill of fare
each day, of course.
AT the Windsor Hotel the greatest inter.
est is felt in the subject of pies. Mr.. Mel
chior the steward, conducted the reporter
through the kitchens, sampling choice pies
in all directions and introducing him to
chief cooks Of various departments. Eugene
Mehl, the chGf of the hotel, spoke emphati-
cally on the subject of copper and clcanli-
ness. 'Dirt Is POISONOUS wherever it is,"
he said, "and copper is deadly if you put
any acid in 1t or let anything stand in it
after 1t stops boiling. remember twenty
five years ago some people died after eating
oysters at the Metropolitan. it wasall laid
Oh the oysters and nobody found out what
the poison was or where it came from, but
we knew in the kitchen. 1t was copper. "
1t appeared on further conversation that
about one hundred pies were eaten by the
guests of the Windsor every day. Fifty
apple pies arc made every day the year
around ana fifty of some other kind, there
being always two kinds on the bill of fare
Each pic is scrvercd in four pieces.
GLOW many people do you feed ?"
''On an average, about four hundred, "
said Mr.. Melchior.
"Thcn everybody cats pie?" ..'..,
swell, yes, pretty nearly everybody, al
though few take two pieces. 1t averages
about a portion to each guest. though"
AT the Gilsey House about ten pies and a
dozen tarts, or small pics, are used. They
are cranberry, lemon, mince, p,lmpkin
squash, apple, peach and custard. AT the
Hoffman House the second clerk said I:
''Pies! pies2 How many pies do we cat ?
l don't know, really. Tracy, how many do
you cat day2 Skip Tracy smiled eve
don't use many" said he. sProbably rot
more than six or eight. But Lord, you ought
to sec the size of 'em. They are big" o
At the Union Place Hotel Mr. Samuel
Smith said their consumption varied ac-
cording to who came in during the day.
"Pcrhaps about thirty, but when some of
the pic-eaters come in it runs up to fifty
At the Astor House over four, hundred pics
are used daily and sometimes as many as
five hundred, mostly at the lunch counter.
At the Metropolitan seventy-five is the daily
figure. At the Stiirtevant,, where there is a
well-patronized lunch counter, 1S0 pies
disappeared daily. Florence, tho pastry
cook at the Grand Central, makes over fifty
pies day. At the Rossmore not more
than twelve or fifteen pies day are ncccs-
sary. The bill of fare is varied from day
to day, cranberry, mince, apple, apple
nleringue, custard and cocoanut being tho
favorites. At Parker's, mince, apple, cram
ten day being the total. At the st. Cloud
a whole one The daily consumption aver
Washington, d squash, 4, and about seven
Is largo variety but small consumption
OF pumpkin, mince, apple, peach, straw
berry, custard, lemon and cocoanut not moro
than ten or dozen pies daily are eaten.
AT the Fifth Avenue seventy five pies day
are used. At the st. Nicholas at least one
hundred and fifty arc sold daily. At tho
Brunswick one proprietor was out and tho
other was busy; but Mr.. Mccartney was
instructed to give all possible information.
MIR. Mccartney said that personally he
cared little for pie. When he was child
he spake as child and ate as a child, but
when he became man he put away child
ish things, including pic. The patrons of
the Brunswick cared very little for pie OF
course they called for some pic, but the
principal demand was for fancy pastry, and
he showed the reporter q bewildering dis
play of the same. .. ...r.,l ..0..