The Washington critic., 1886-02-15
SOME WASHINGTON CATERERS.
How Elegant Dinners are Served In
This and Other Cities.

THIS ana Other Cities.
"Thcre are caterers and caterers" AT
least that's what prominent restaura-
teur told THE CRITIC young man, who
was investigating the subject of cater.
ers. "To begin WITH" said he of the
white apron, "there's your French
caterer who gets you up an elegant
banquet for certain amount of money.
lie furnishes everything, rents lot of
fine china and cut glass for the oc.
casion, gives you a set of polite walters,
in dress suits, and takes charge of the
whole affair. even TO attending the
door and calling the carriages. Your
guests think all these servants belong
to your establishment. Thus you are
relieved of all anxiety. You do not
know, yourself, what the viands are.
He has list of your guests and seats
them. He engages the music, lights
up the parlors and looks after the heat
and ventilation. You have nothing to
do but receive your guests and foot the
bill next day.
What would such an affair as that
cost?"
"Well, If you want terrapin, cham
pagnc, pate dc Jot gIas, troubles, boned
turkey and the etceteras he will get IL
up for twenty-five guests for $500, but,
of course, the price depends on what is
furnished.
Then there's the caterer who will
sell you so many articles for so much
a dozen. He delivers the goods at the
house, you hire three or four extra
waiters--with whom you are almost
afraid to trust your silver-rush around
attending to things and at 8 o. clock
you are tired out. Just as your guests
begin to arrive, the waiter rushes to
you with, the wine has not come or
the soup is scorched.' When you foot
up your bill, counting your own worry
and your veXation about certain things
that went wrong, you will find it would
have been cheaper to have engaged a
caterer
"There is custom coming in vogue
now that is just running our business.
1t is this: A gentleman who has his
own man cook and three or four SER
wants, tells his cook to get up ban.
quet. The cook calls in his fellow
cooks and walters to help him, and
when they in turn want to get up a
dinner, the other fellows come over
and help them. That's mighty bad on
us, because it's these little jobs that
count"
"ls Washington good point for
caterers p
Yes, it is; have catered in every
big city in the country, and there s
more good eating and drinking going
on here than any other city ] know
Of. They eat here on the slightest
provocation. Boston is the hard place
for caterers. the Bostonians do not
consider it 'culchawed' to banquet;
they prefer feast of reason, but
your average Washington society man
wants his little supper. In Chicago
they want fried oysters and cold
chicken, bottled beer and sweet ca,
tawba, and little cheap claret on spe-
cial occasions; in New Orleans, fruits,
Rhine wines and sweetmeats; in San
Francisco they want everything. II
does my heart good to see a healthy
Frisco belle tackle well stocked ban
quet table and leave wreck.
There is another kind of caterer in
Washington; he sends meals to people
| Nho iiNO III upuithCHto. iiC huo q
large tin box with tire-pan beneath it
For $15 to $50 month he will send
you breakfast of coffee, rolls, BIZ
of steak, an egg and potato and a din
ner of beef, potato, bread pudding
When 1t reaches you he has forgotten
the sugar, has not enough bread, the
coffee is spilled over the steak OF
something else is the matter.
ut is just as much of an art to be q
good caterer as good tailor. Some o
these caterers are dishonest, too. l
they think you don't know the differ
ence they will serve you Virginia clare
and charge you with St. Julien, o
dish up mud turtles and call them ter
rapin. But the Washington socet,
hostess is too well accustomed to goot
living to be fooled that way.
HAS this been good season."
"Yes, tolcrable; there have bee,
quite number of elegant affairs thi
year that we managed and that pai'
| nc yell -