Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-08-02

s'RES'TAURANT BUVAL.o
The Great Eating Houses Of Paris
How they are Conducted and Sup
cd.

price OF nineteen sous. Just rs in the baZars
Where all objects aresold at franc. less one SOU
These were Familiarity known as cuisines mera-
rae'fs and perhaps to them may be traced the
relative diminution of the population of France.
No assurance company was ever known to
accept the life of person who frequeated such
an establishment. From 1910 TO 1S45 the Bouil-
IONS HoHdnddiS rose and tell, till, nothing
daunted, the BoutHonS Durdl appeared in 1854.
Duval was born ''of poor but honest parents
IN 1911. at Montihery. in the department of the
seine-et-Oise. He cameto Paris at the age of
thirteen. as an apprentice butcher: he died in
1910 The restaurant Duval is a type in itself
founded on sound principles, and conducted
with Intelligence and sagacIty. Exteriorly it
has been. not initiated. but paroded, but
never with success. The difficulty did not lie in
inducing the public to enter. but in the means
to retain them by satisfying them.
Paris has two millions of stomachs to be daily
looked after and the great majority depend on
the restaurants to be fed. Now the restaurant
or ROOM or hall set apart exclusively for re-
pasts dates only from the revolution. which
broke up homes. abolished old customs and
scattered families The leading restaurants are
close boroughs for the masses; their sliding
scale charges are too uncertain for limited
purses; their mode of serving is comprehensive
Ior two. four or six persons, but serious loss
for one. three or five individuals.
Duval based his calculations on the fluctua-
lions of the market, the only loyal as we'll as
safe plan of working. Then ne aimed to have
table we'll served. with the freshest and best
ailments prepared by efficient cooks and suit
client.
On entering one Of the Duval establishments
the controller from his sentry box hands you
caro-, adapted to one or more persons On this
card, which may be called the keystone of the
whole organization, is marked the prices Of
fruits and wines. At a glance you feel that
everything is well-ordered, and the machinery
running well. The hail. more or less vast is
well ventilated; cleanliness reigns supreme;
You take seat at white marble table, and
each table can accommodate two or more per-
sons Another card, the menu. is presented,
detailing about sixty or seventy different ar
tlcles of food. calculated to satisfy the appetite
of a GargantIa. Opposite every article is its
price.
Each waitress has a division for SIX
teen clients; she marks the number of
her division on the card you received
from the controller, and while you are
from the menu. she has placed before you a nap
KIM knife. fork and spoon. cruet-stand and
carafe are permanently on the table This is
called the conuert, and for which one sou stands
printed to your debit in advance. You would
like tablecloth rather than the bare marble
your wish is executed at the cost of an extra
sou with Aladdin-slave rapidty. Do you
wish ice; Will you commence the battle
against hunger with oysters, shell fish,
olives, mOrtadelle or other appetite-whetting
klckshaws? Having been served with your
choice, the waitress marks down the item oppo-
site the price, in its category on your card. You
can, ii q ready reckoner, count your cost and
without your host, while eating your dinner.
Thus you escape
"a reckoning when the banQuet's DER,
nd popn y1n -
You may retire after partaking of only plate
OF soup as unnoticed as if you had patronized
half the menu You feel so easy, and the prices
are so modest, you Will remain and indulge in
extravaganza to the extent Of two or three
francs
You have several sound wines to select from.
but no highpriced brands, whosetari suffice to
provoke apOpleXy in bread-winner. You can
order pint. half or quarter-pnt; the carafe will
make it go further. You have choice OF fried
or boiled fish, of roast, brOiled and boiled meats
or cold joints. of made-up dishes, of game. of
vegetables. of salads. cheeses confectionery,
fruits conservcs. liqueGrs. winding up with
coffee and cognac. No cigars are supplied
And all these victuals are purchased at the same
markets as where the leading restaurants and
hotels lay in supplies.
On leaving. you present the card previously
marked. paid by the lady cashier to the con-
troller who gave it you entering. That card
is the check, the tel-tale of the establishments
bookkeeping. 1t passes through too many indie
pendent supervisors to admit of even the posi-
bilty of collision. and. in addition, is checked
by the customer himself. The client pays his bill
himself. There are walkers" as in large dra-
perry shops
Young Duval. having no capital. commenced
by opening modest butchers shop in the rue
Coquilliere. He married Mademoiselle Ber-
trand. She had not long purse. but she had
her fortune in her head. 1t was she who urged
her husband forward; for retail butchers live
from hand to mouth; their business is very un-
certain. Duval did not hesitate to open his
first bOuiuon restaurant in the rue de la Mon
naie: he then sold only soup and beef The pub
lie stationed itself I'm crowds at the door for adj
mission as If before theater. Next he rented
premises in the rue Montesqueu. This is still
regarded as the chief establishment, and is now,
from Its gorgeous decorations and organization,
called a Palace" Only men there are walters,
generally the husbands or brothers of the
mattresses In the other establishments The
building had once been theater. Duval fitted
it up with all that was modern thirty years ago.
His vast steam-cOOking apparatus under
ground; his system for laying on soda drinks by
pipes at the tables. proved failure, and in
yOlved loss of 200. 600 francs. He was all but
ruined. Yet his clients did not forsake him.
He went to work again. and this time he was
nigh ruined by success. There was a Roman ma
trOn who was crushed to death under the weight
of her own jewels Duval lost 1900 francs
day, from Inability to control the receipts, dur
Ing two months. when Madame Duval imagined
the controller and card, and SO eXtinguished the
robbery. His troubles were not at an end; the
public refused to accept the card on entering:
Others declined to give it up On leaving. Ulti-
mftely good sense. frmness and courtesy
triumphed.
Another battle remained to be fought Du-
vafs idea was to abolish the OdiOus plan of gra-
tuities to the mattresses. He posted up in the
refectories that these employees were paid fixed
salary. The public opposed the reform
made in their own interest. left some sous I'M
der plate, among the debris of fruit in the
''struck," and Duva had only to bow to neces-
sity.
All the mattresses are married women as rule.
are steady in character and cheerful and civil in
disposition They have a salary of sixty francs
month"; commence duty at nine in the morning
and end at nine at night. During the interim
of the dejeuner and dinner they assist i'm the
general work of the house. They receive two
meals, and are supplied with a toilette, in
black or grey alpaca. according to the season.
white apron smart tulle cap and white linen
sleeves They are the models of cleanliness and
order. AS each has sixteen clients to serve, and
frequently more than half of these are habittes,
a waitress can often make five to eight francs
per day In gratuities They generally invest
their savings in the shares-a good paying spec
the Duval Co., for it has been con-
yerted into company since the 1867 Exhibit
tion and every facility is afforded them to pay
the price of share by installmeDts.
1t was the discovery of the simple control
card that sealed Duval's success. He died
after arriving first in Paris without
q sou, and walking his way to the capital in