The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1883-05-26
ABOUT FRFE LUNCHES.
The Lunch Ficnd-Devlcessf for l5eating
the RarkeePer--Some Amusing Scenes.
Lcincinnatti News Jppnal.l

bor in the quality Of liquor, he placed
before customer, but to-day the quail
ity and variety of the free lunch which
graces his table is as essential to sue
cess in business as the grade of his
liquors. Indeed, there arc many who
prefer good lunch with poor drinks
to poor lunch with good drinks,
especially among the beer drinking
classes.
There are but few saloons, where one
can not obtain a passing! glimpse a. OF
what is intended to be tempting lay
out of cold lunch to attract the. passer
by, who may be hungry yet not dry
and cause him to imagine. himself
thirsty, and, as a natural result, step
in and buy Il drink for the privilege Of
sampling the lunch. .a's, 49,,
Each saloon has certain hour for
setting out and replenishing its table,
and it is wonderful to what perfection
the boys get onto the scheme of being
on time for fresh bite; so the more
frequently the table is replenished the
better patronage the proprietor re-
ceives. The lunch fiend has also 9
great faculty Of keeping posted regard
ing where the best lunches are set, and
by this means secures q good lunch
route, which relieves him ofthe monot-
ony ola board bill, subsisting entirely
on several glasses of beer and what
lunch he can grab for each meal. He
never takes two consecutive drinks at
the same place on the route. This
class, fortunately for the proprietor, is
comparatively small, as the. majority
of his customers merely take Il bite or
two for their stomach $ sake. In many
places, where certain crafts make their
headquarters, dainty sandwiches are
prepared and placed in a tempting
pyramid on the just after working
hours, thus OBTAINING and attracting
custom. Nor docs the saloon keeper
become the least discouraged as pyra.
mid after pyramid disappeared, but
hastens to keep up the supply, know
ing full we'll that the demand for beer
will keep pace with the disappearance
of the lunch. tG 7z.l's3tH u tos1f ~,
The quality of these spreads varies,
in accordance with the classes who.
patronize the establishment, the menu
being more toothsomc as the prices for
liquors advance. For instance, at a
saloon where ten cents is the standard
price for glass of beer and other
drinks proportionately high, the
patrons are generally men of means
who eat square meal when hungry,
consequently the proprietor can set out
such dainties as cold turkey, salads,
cold meats, different vegetables, bread
crackers, &C., of the finest quality. But
at the commoner places the ravages Of
one or two customers on such bill of
fare would ruin the proprietor in less
than week; consequently everything
is procured with view to its cheap
ness and "staying" qualities-that is,
such as will require but little to satisfy
or disgusta Il man. The average lunch
consists of cheese (very Loudly, head
cheese, rye bread, slaw, bologna saus.
age, cold liver, and sometimes onions
or radishes. The contrast between the
refined lunch faster, indulging in a
bit of cold turkey, jelly, and white
bread in a first class barroom, and a
full fledged lunch grabber raking over
a basket of dry rye bread and picking
over bits of cheese next door in q. five
cent schooner dive, is striking and
seems to show that human nature is
SONCE1Cl NY CtlCuiklotstuCGS. Lrt.
Tho cost of maintaining these lunch
tables is comparatively small. A
saloon disposing of five or six kegs of
beer per day, to say nothing of other
drinks, will set lunch costing from
80 to 50, while So lunch insures the
sale of eight to ten kegs. tr. -
Many amusing incidents are connect
ed with these lunch counters, ard the
various schemes resorted to by. the
chronic lunch beat to evadc buying
beer, and at the same time partake of
the lunch.
The sold timer" can be readily dis
tinguished by the businesslike air with
which he enters and makes directly
for the table, where he generally sue
ceeds in putting away several impro-
vised sandwiches in the short space of
time required for the barleeper to
draw his beer, after drinking which he
quietly helps himself to another bite
and proceeds on his way only to dis
appear behind the mysterious green
blinds of the next saloon on his route.
Tricks are also largely INDUCED in at
the expense ofthe "grabber." A small
piece Of soap is thickly coated with
sugar and placed on the table, which
results in a sputtering and swearing
shortly afterward, as the poor fellow
cndeavors to clear his mouth of the
taste. Why he should make such a
fuss over piece of soap when he can
stand and eat cheese that graces the
same table is a mystery. Perhaps tits
because of his aversion to soap on gen.
cral principles. One old fellow made