The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-05-30
Y PARTISAN DINING ROOM.
one ot the Extraordinary Restaurants O
the Gay Capital

MIND the present high estate of King
Demos, | began a series OF observations
oil his Majesty's Kitchen and table sery-
ice. The glorious Emperor Charles
Qulnt, L had read, used to have for his
dinner whole roasted pic served up
on golden dish. What does that
many-headed emperor. the sovereign
people, have for dinner? Under the
very shadow of the peoples palace, in
the hue de la Verrefie, | found Demos
table spread. At the end of black and
sooty courtyard men and women were
passing in and out through swinging
doors. On one side of the doors was
the tariff: Plate of meat, twenty
centlmes; wine, twenty confines; soup,
bread, vegetables, and dessert O., each
ten centimes. On the other side of the
doors were placards, one stating that
it was forbidden to bring bread, meat,
or drink into the room, and another
stating that the table utensils were
placed in the safe keeping of the public:
Lies Verres, cOuteauX, fourchettes, ct
cuilleres sont places sous la surveillance
des honnetes citoyens "
10 the right of the doors outside is a
ticgNeNoflice, where you buy as many
two-sou zinc checks as your purse and
appetite permit. | took five, and fol-
lowed the crowd Each one, as he
entered, stopped near the door and
Cn1tnhnd rrln IS i Al 4
stood there. Then, bearing leftward, he
approached a wire grating, through
which is seen an immense kitchen and
furnaces charged with huge cauldrons
holding hogSheads of steaming food
and running On rails. This grating is
pierced with fi7e little trap-doors; at the
first is sold soup; at the second, boiled
beef and cabbage, sausages, herrings
and greasy stews; at the third, beans
and lentls; at the fourth, dessert, con-
sisting of stewed prunes, jam, cheese
and bread, OF which you get about half
a pound for your two-sou check; at the
fifth you can buy one-third of litre OF
very sour PiqueHe wine, or the same
amount of cider for two checks. Each
diner makes his choice, and gets served
at the different trsp-doors, takes knife,
fork and spoon out of q basket, and
with his bread under his arm, his
soup in one hand and his plate
of meat in the other he goes and
sits down wherever he can find a
place, and eats in peace. The room
is apparently courtyard over which
an iron roof has been thrown; at one
end is fountain and at the other bust
OF the Republic, with the words ''PaiX, "
Travail, " "Concorde' on the pedestal;
on the walls are big painted maps of the
departments of France. and here and
there notices, ''No smoking" '.Aidez-
vous les uns les autres." and 4 request
to give up your place as soon as you
have done eating. The floor is paved with
red quarries; the chairs are of Austrian
bent wood, and at the long. narrow
handicapped tables there arc seats for
800 people. There are no walters, no
overseers; the only servant in the whole
room is man who strolls round with a
baSket-truck into which he collects the
dirty plates and knives which each one
leaves on the table when he has finished
eating.
Here, indeed, you see all sorts and
conditions of men-workmen, washer
women, beggars, organ-grinders, clerks,
shop-girls of low degree-all degrees OF
| poverty and misfortune. Many come
in without buying checks, and Loaf
around on the chance of picking up
scraps. After tasting my plate of stew
| apparently composed of horse-meat,
potatoes and thick, dark gravy, | con-
cluded that it was too greasy, and laid
| down my knife and fork for a moment.
| Suddenly an arm was extended over
my shoulder, and a hoarse voice whisp.
cred in my ear; ''Citoyen, vous ne man
! gez plus?" and, almost before / had
time to reply, my plate had disap-
| peared. Nobody seemed to think the
| phenomenon strange, and after further
observation | noticed that it was quite
common. Pieces of bread, half-fnished
bowls of soup, humps of cheese, were
being constantly appropriated by
| the hungry, so that the dish collector
found only clean platters and no leav
ings. As | was sitting and meditating
over this truly democratic dining-roOm
a man and a girl came in, sat down anC
! began to exchange remarks and crit
cismS as to the fare and those who were
| partaking of it. &c sont DIES curieux,' >
said one woman in a drawing nasa
voice to her neighbor at nv table; I'll,
rigolent present. And her neighbol
replied in loud voice, so that the young
couple could hear, "On devrait assassi
ner DIES gems qui Sc moquent dune mis-
ere pareillen' The young man and hi,
companion disappeared promptly aftel
| this hint and we all went on eating in
the most orderly manner, what littl,
talking there was going on in low tone
The portions at this Pension Almen
taire, which is a specimen of severa
| similar establishments in the populou
quarters of Paris, are bountiful, but the
food is naturally of the coarsest kind
and horribly greasy. and the sour wine
is not calculated to fill the heart of mar
with joy. Never have | seen NOR,
gloomy and depressing sight than these
| 300 indescribable waits and strays o
humanity silently eating their miserable
dinner. And to think that this one es
tablishment feeds from 1000 to 3,00C
people day. Still. even here there il
progress to be noted; each man serves
himself, there is no spying and over
looking, and no suspicion. 1t is no
like popular restaurant which visitet
some years ago, near the Place Maubert