Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1886-01-19
New York sun.l

There had been some enter tainments at q
handsome house on Madison avenue the pre-
ceding evening for the canopy still stretched
from the door to the curbstone. The hour
was a. m. A dilapidated wagon stood In
front of the house, drawn by an aged
horse. A belated reporter chance to pass by
and noticed two men hurrying from the
cart, with empty pans and pals, into the
basement of the house, and returning speed
lily with the same filed to the brim. For
moment it looked like a burglary, but the
presence of policeman on the nearest cor
ner was assurance to the contrary. Ono OF
the men paused as il to rest for moment,
and the reporter accosted him:
"Whats the racketP
"The same old thing. Free lunches, cheap
restaurants, and Eyetalians."
II don't quite catch on What are you do
ing in the placer
"why, don't you see, they've had party
there tonight and q big supper. They've
left three times as much as they've eaten,
and we're buying it up from the steward.
Wen take IL around to our regular custom
ers and sell it all before o'clock to-
morrow"
Regular customers2 Why, is this regu-
lar tradel"
@Of course it Is, and has been for over ten
years of my own knowledge You see, there
are a hundred parties and over given every
night here in New York. Nearly all Of them
are supplied by regular caterers. About
half are noticed in the daily papers Now,
at these rackets they always put up a lot
more than they want They can't help
themselves, because 1t would never do to
have Just as much as their guests
needed and no more. 1t would look
just as if they were dead broke. Old fam
lilies order generally twice as much as
they're going to use, new families about
three or four times as much, and shoddies
five and ten times as mulch. Why, last
week we took in swell place where they
had fifty people, and they had enough grub
for 500. Now, what happensi The party
or wedding is all over, and there's all that
stuff left untasted. All they can do is to
throw it into the swill barrel. That's where
we come in We come along and buy itup
Sometimes we buy it from the caterer. 1t
saves him trouble and time, as we clean of
all the dishes and leave them ready for his
washers Sometimes we make the deal with
the cook or the butler, and sometimes, but
not very often, with the old man of the
house. Anyway, we manage to connect and
get the stuff"
"What do you payp ..-s, -
"Well, that depends With q reliable
caterer we can find out what win be left
overland can make q fair bid With cooks
and servants we generally stake him with q
50 or IS note. Almost always we come out
ahead, but now and then we get left. Cooks
are getting two smart and want too much.
With the head Of tho house, though, it's
easy work. and V will satisfy him every
time.r
what do you do with the stuff"
aSell it to our customers There's, first,
the cheap restaurants. They're always
ready to take anything cheap If they can
get a chicken salad for So that would cost
them S. to make they'll take it every time.
You see, they can afford then to sell it at
20 cents plate and make money. Why,
one time sold lobster salad, thirty pounds
for 81. 25 1t cost the restaurant keeper 8 cents
plate and he could sell it for 10 and make
money. As matter of fact, he sold it all
before o'clock for 10 cents plate Then
there's the free lunch saloons. They want
sandwiches, pickles, bread cheese, olives,
and ham. They don't pay much but they'll
take all you bring. There's one place town
where they give fried oyster, sandwich,
or something with every drink. That man
is one of my best customers.
"After you've worked the restaurants and
free lunches, you can always sell out what's
left to the Eyetalians. They'll buy anything
If it's cheap enough. I've sold them melted
ice cream of different colors, half eaten
Charlotte Russes, chicken bones, and broken
cakes. At a street cleaners restaurant In
Marion street last year l sold the leavings
from the plates Of big wedding reception
for 81. They made about three pailsfuls,
and had over fifty different things in them"
what do you get mostly from partiesln
aFirst, leavings from plates; then melted
Ina avt Htuir hac and tIa,a he
Occasionally We get Charlotte Russo and
candies. In the old days we almost never
got salads; but since they've used veal and
boiled beef in making chicken salad, we get a
good deal On warm nights we collar a
good many fried and picked oysters; on
cold nights almost none at all. When they
put up cold ham, corn beef, turkey, and
venison, people don't eat quarter of it, and
then we come in solid.
"But you see it all depends on the kind Of
party it is. Literaries are the worst of all;
they only have bouillon, coffee, sand witches
and salad and there's nothing left over
Musicals are almost as bad Kettledrums
and afternoon rackets are not much good
either. The best is wedding. They send
out 1000 invites and set up for 700, and then
about $50 come. Receptions to public mon
are the next best Then come birthday,
christening, and tin wedding parties. Wakes,
too, are sometimes boss. The only way to
size them up is to know the caterer and get
all the points from him"
ado you ever get any winei"
aNa-ol The old man of the house always
comes down and collars what's left II he
DON'T the walters drink it, and they're
always helped out by the servants I've
been in the business ten years, and never
got even half bottle. That is didn't get
the empty bottles. They don't pay, though,
unless you get more than fifty, and the n
they bring you in about $10O. But I've got
to stop, as Pm off now to Washington market
for our first customarn