The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-01-08
Ben ButIer's Big Appetite.

The astronomical pecuharities Of great
men are frequently made a subject Of COM
ment. OF all the public characters who visit
Washington, ! am told that Ben Butler
heads the list as far as bis ability FOR slowing
away food is concerned. He literally takes
the cake for the steaming pancake is his
weakness. and il is the testimony here that
the most agile cook in the district cannot
turn the farinaceous fl1pj1,k fast enough 70
meet the demands Of "Beus' appetite. In
the lower part of Pennsylvania avenue there
stands a little hotel, an unpretentious little
caravausary. noted for the correctness OF its
cuisin. aud its excellent service. Il is q quiet
resort. with all the comforts Of an old English
tavern and the seclusion so dear to the aver
noe c-ormandizerl Ben Butler frequently
comes % this place TO order his favorite dish.
81 have heard Of appetiteS, said an at
tendant to me the other day, but / never
knew exactly what n real appetite was before
| saw Mr.. Butler. remember the first time
ne came here he ordered two porterhouSe
steaks, a dozen fried eggs, with fried onions,
raw fried potatoes and pancakes to suit. |
thought j. was for a party of four, and |
fixed plates, napkins, knives and forks &C
cordingly.
"'\Nh hat the - are you bringing all tl~se
dishes in here for2 Do you suppose I've in
vitel a regiment to dine with mei Take
them away, shouted MIR. Butler.
"While | cleared away the deck Mr.. But
Ter sat there impatiently with a fork in one
hand and a knife in the other, waiting for
me TO set the orders on the table. There
were twelve pancakes on a plate. These he
sliced through at one blow, cut out a section
and apparently swallowed it pretty much as
the average man does an oyster after giving
il one bite. Another section followed in the
same way. and before | could turn around be
Numbered out:
"'Bring i'm some more pancakes
II rushed back 10 the kitchen and detailed
the situation % the head cook.
"'lyhy, dat must be Mr.. Butler, said the
cook, knowingly, and, calling 10 an assistant,
he told him TO make up a big painful Of pan
cake batter and to be mighty quick about
il. for dar is a man in de dinin' room wild IN
appetite like a rat hole. When | got back to
the dining room one of the porterhouse steaks
was missing 1t had disappeared 50 quickly
that | began to doubt whether | had brought
il or not, when my mind was settled by Mr..
Butler, who said, as he wiped his mouth and
chin:
THAT steak was just right, but this one is
not quite rare enough
"But he fell TO it all the same and destroyed
it in large sections, supplemented by mouth
fuls Of egg, potatoes and onions, and an oc-
caSional half cup Of coffee.
where the 49, are those pancakesF he
shouted, while glaring at me with one good
eve, and then he turned as if 10 the cook:
"'Bring in those - pancakesl
"Well, sir, you may believe me or rot, but
Mr. Butler got away with four dozen pan
cakes, and as for the steak, egg and pota-
toes, there wasn't enough left TO feed a cat.
And then he got up and walked down the
avenue as briskly as if he had only lunched
on half a dozen raw oyster. New York
Tribune.