Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-07-21
QUEER RESTAURANTS
Two Of New York'S Odd Eat
ing Houses Described.
Places with a National Reputation Whose
Surroundings are Unsavory,


achieved national reputation, although
as unpretentious as Oliver LIitchcock's
bcancry. 1t is on Fourteenth street, near
Third avenue. You enter narrow and
dirty hallway, ascend a dusty flight of
stairs and are ushered into diningroom
filled with tables covered with linen any,
thing but snowy in color. The chairs
are rickety, there is little ventilation and
the rooms are usually filled with the
fumes of garlic coffee and tobacco. The
walls are lined with pictures of illustri-
Gus Italians, from Cavour down to Cam.
panini and Cristadoro. The portraits are
rusty and musty, the restaurant is stulIy,
the plates and cups are nckcd and
cracked, the walters are slovcnly and out
ward appearances are far from appctzing.
Yet some Of the most noted men and wo-
men of New York dine there. Moretti
himself does the cooking, and everybody
praises and apparently enjoys it. The
proprietor Frequently leaves his stew pans
and chatting dishes and wandcrs out among
his guests in his shirt sleeves. IIcusually
has a cigar in his mouth. lie always
wears soiled apron and invariably looks
as though he had just come out of
stable. Yet millionaires and literati press
his hand with delight and the ladies of
the haut ton greet him with their sweet
est smiles. He has been the rage for
years. The artist Page first discovered
him nearly thirty years ago. William
Henry Fry, Charles A. Dana, William
Stuart, George Arnold, Fitz Greene Hal
lcck, William Cullen Bryant, Henry Ward
Bccchcr, William Henry IIurlbct, Joseph
Howard, Jr., and mcnof that ilk quickly
recognized thcimportancc ofthc discovery
and the cook began to get on his feet.
Politicians, merchants brokers and men
aDOul-lOWH JOuh lllc cue anu lUlOWtU
suit, and Morctti became famous. His
place has been throngcd for years. 1t is
almost impossible to secure a seat at
table at the 6 o'clock dinner hour. All
the dishes are Italian in concocton and
dec0ction. To the uncducatcl American
palate they are simply nauscating; yet
bon vivants revcl in them. You get soup,
fish, meats, game, maccaroni, salads and
desserts, all favored with oil AMI garlic,
and to a farmers boy all tasting alike.
Half the native Americans who drop in
there masticatc the food with an imarin-
ativc relish, and are sick for days after
ward. Yet all vie with the bon viyants
in praising Moretti's provendcr. Each
man wants to be thought an expert in
testing cookery, and therefore eats and
commcnds everything set before him. Men
eat cheese and game birds at Morctti's |
tables who would pitch them out of the
window if they were served at home.
Moretti is as shrewd in a business way as
he is in the gastronomic line. He makes
no effort to branch out in gorgeous mag
nificence like Martinclli and Morcli. lie .
sticks to his original plant and lets his
cooking speak for itself. lie enjoys his
squalid surroundings, and makes no effort
to gild them. lie takes no vacations
He spends no money in pleasure. His
life is bounded by his coo'lshop; beyond
its confines there is no happiness for him.
Morning, noon and night, both summer
and winter, you will find him stcwing
and sweating in his Italian kitchen and
ladling out his dollar meals. How much
he is worth is secret known only to
himself. The figures must run up among
the hundred thousands.
Lately however, competition has reared
its head. A bcctlc-browcd little Span
lard of the name of Pedro, some years
ago started a small restaurant in Duane
street. 1t is in little squatty wooden
building, within stones throw of O'Don-
ovan Rossa's den on one side, and of the
Five Points on the other. Pedro de-
votes his attention to Spanish dishes.
His table linen is rarely clean, and his
crockery looks as though it had Just
come out of q tenement house. UntutOrcd
stomachs would declare the cooking to be
rxccrable. The smell of garlic is about
suffocGtng, the bread is the color of ma
hO9any, ard the wine as sour as cider
vinegar; yet William Stuart, Charles
Gaylor and other veteran gourmands
assert that the cooking is perfection it.
self, and go into ccstacic' over his din
lers. Stock brokers give select dinner
parties in his shanty, and armies Of flies
welcome them Tom-cats scattered among
he tin cans littcring the yards near by ,
urnish class music and Pedro himself, 6
'rraycd in badl soilcd garments, dishes q,
lila podrida and other choice Spanish =
fishes, streaming with onions and garlic.
Ladies frequently grace the swarthy {
'paniard's gastronomic sacttlm ani Pc, ,
lro is on the highway of fame, gathering t
n fortue. lie already sells more cham. I
'agnc than Morctti, but whether this is l
wing to the digestibc or indigcstiblo
nature of his dinners is question. One
hing is certain. 1t takes well trained
tomach to appreciate his cooking. A 1t
borough Western COW boy would probably
hoot him on sight if confronted by one =,
# his dishes.
Kind of lIeadwOrk lie Did. T
'IIow is this, Bromley? You told me t
he other day that young Cummings is b
elbow of great intellect. Whv he's n -