Morning journal and courier., 1884-11-14
RUNNING A HOTEL.
The Mysteries of the Kitchen of a Large Caravansary.
 From the Washington Star.1

Large Caravansary. l From the Washington Starl As Star reporter was standing in the of fee of one of the largest hotels in this cit 1 talking with the proprietor, day or tw ago, the conversation was interrupted by
 voice speaking in gruf tones: "Say, can
 sell you any nice quail to-day?"
 ''I don't know" responded the hotel man
 'tthat will depend on the quality of the bird and how much you ask for them. When dit I you shoot them and where are they now?'
 ''They are out in my wagon, and I sho them up in Montgomery county this morn 1 ing" replied the countryman. ''WelI, take them down to my storekeeper 1 and if he wants them come back here and will buy whatever he recommends" :" The bird hunter walked briskly away, and the Star man, turning to the host, said: ''DC you buy your game to any extent of local sportsmenf"
 'eNo, not as rule," was the reply, ''but once in while, when they bring ill game which is fresh take it."
 "Do they ever try to fool you!' was the query.
 ''They used to, but am too old bird to be caught by their chaff. That man claims to have shot those quail this morning. I'll soon know whether his allegations ara cor rect. My storekeeper will give the birds an examination, and if they are represented he'll let me know about it."
 ''Do you use much game at the present season?"
 f'Well, yes, although the real season has hardly begun. Still have now mallard blue wing and red head duck, wild turkeys and the smaller game which abounds in this vi cinity; that is, in circle having a diameter, say, of forty miles. Later in the year other game, such as young venison, from Virgin ia"
 ''Washington must be good game mar ket!"
 '"There is none better We can get every delicacy The diamond back terrapin, that delight of epicures, and the delicate canvas back duck are, perhaps, found more frequent New York. doubt if even there the con sumption of those two dishes is greater than in this city"
 If your time is not occupied at present have you any objection to revealing the mys- teries of your kitchenW
 ooh, mol If you will go with me we will look at the interior arrangements '' replied genial Boniface, who then led the way through a number of corridors until passing through a door, he exclaimed, f'Here is the store room" The reporter looked around over what seemed to him disorderly array of boxes and barrels, chests and drawers, but it was quickly manifest that there was per feet system throughout, and that everything was in it's proper place.
 FFYou see here the grocery department" :" continued the keeper of the modern hostelry; ''next is the china-room and further on is the meat-room.
 Passing into the china-room every article in the line used in the great house could be seen, the host explaining that duplicates were kept so that any loss by breakage other accident could be instantly repaired. Step ping next into the neat meat-room, the ob- server for an instant felt that he had walked into fully stocked butcher shop.
 'sHere," remarked the reporters conduc- tor, Gall the meat is received and hung until it is ready for the kitchen. You will see," he continued, ''that our meat comes only in the short loins, in the tenderloins and in stands of ribs for roasting. From the short 1oins the porterhouse and sirloin steaks only taken; for tenderloin steaks we buy the tenderloins themselves. /"
 EEHow about the old couplet concerning the goose hanging high?" inquired the scribe, who noticed some birds resting on galvanized iron plates which were surrounded by ice
 f'The man who hung goose to enhance its flavor would not have a palatable dish, was the terse response. "That idea is exploded The only meat which is not better freshly served is mutton, and that isn't kept long.
 
 pulsive, but in reality the practice has been relegated to it's proper place among the le gends of cookery"
 'sYou have some nice fish," said the re- porter, who noticed the shining scales of a ow of 0 corner in the room.
 ftYes,'' the reply, 'Ffor the various kinds of bass, sheepshead and Spanish mack erel Washington excels. The rest of the fish we get from New York"
 fWho arranges your bill of fare?" was asked while leaving the storeroom.
 f'The chef. He each morning sends to me his entrees, etc., and arrange from them the bill for the day. Of course I know pretty well what he will have, as I know what has been bought for the table,"
 ''When you entertain distinguished for eigners is 1t customary to prepare their food with reference to their peculiar national characteristics or habits?"
 ''Oh, yes, that is one of the courtesies, in deed, may say, one of the necessities which no wise host would omit"
 fFMay I ask the peculiarities which you have found most noticeable"
 stWhen the French and German guests of the Yorktown centennial were here they oc- cupied separate dining rooms, and the differ ence between the two countries was strongly marked. The Frenchmen were more formal and required much attention in the service of their food. They seldom called for more than one dish at a time, while the Germans dined en famille and would call for several courses and entrees at once. The Malagassy envoys, from Madagascar, were the most pe- culiar people whom have met. They would eat no meat, except, perhaps, a little chicken or some similar food. They were fond of fish and rice The latter they required for every meal; at breakfast, lunch, dinner and at mid night they asked for rice. The Siamese em- bassy, who, you will recollect, were here last summer, were much more civilized and were fond of American and European dishes. Still they were never without curry and other Qr1- ental food"
 tfHow does your chef know how much to cook? How can he calculate the number of people for whom to prepare the dinnera'' was the inquiry.
 stEach morning we make our estimate from the number of guests in the house, and guess at the probable number of arrivals. For in stance, we send to the kitchen and estimate sufficient for two hundred people. On that amount we could easily feed two hundred and twenty-five persons, and it rarely happens that calculation goes as far as that out of the way" o ,,,o ara connected directly with the culinary depart ment9'
 ssWeIl, including the storekeeper, the stew ard. the head cook the night cook and their various assistants, there are about thirty men"
 vantsw
 EtOh, yesl To certain extent the servants consume what is left from the guests table, but that is not their principal source of sup ply"
 the stewardT
 2 'eYes, I buy everything myself Come around some morning at six o'clock, and I'll take you to market with me and show you how it is done"
 By this time the office was reached again and the hotel mans attention having beer called to a business matter, he bade the re porter ''good-bye," and the latter returned | to his desk to write down his reeollections oi I how a hotel is managed. The latest riddle out: Why was my baby. last attack of eroup like this paragraph 1 Because it was very short, and ended witl that wonderful cure, Dr. Bulls Cough Syrup