The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1888-08-02
Some Rare Delicacies.
HIGH LIVING FOR THE EPICUREs OF THE T.
CIFIC COAST.

| HIGH LIVING FOR TIE ErICURES OF THE PA
| CIFIC COAST.
| Come and take lunch with me tomorrow, :"
The speaker was plethoric individual, we'll
! known as a famous good liver from Maine to
san Diego, vet the Tribune man hcsitated \
| year or so previous an invitation of the kind
had been accepted in an Eastern city. where
the big man was the President of the Orhago-
| rieas Club, and the memory of the past still
| hung about the writer like. we shall say. a
nightmare. However, the lunch was accepted.
and upon the following day, after having eaten
Il hearty dinner, the man of ink presented him
self at the door of Il small two-storied house
not Il thousand miles from Chinatown. The
door was opened by Il mandarin. if dress goeS
| for anything, and passing by two grote>Que
| figures that might represent Cog and Magoe.
| the luncher was nshered into the holy of the
| holies of what seemed IL Los Angeles branch of
| the old Orthagorieas Club.
| The room was about twenty feet long, hang
| with banners and flags of Chinese and Japan
| csc design; overhead, clingin% to the wall. was
| a seine, borrowed from some San Pedro fisher
man, perhaps, and i'll it We're star fishes. Shell
| fishes of various kinds, Il real mermai,l-all
| hanging, producing an artistic effect admirable
| in the extreme. lii each corner was "A green
|
| some of his friends, and altogether tile room
| resembed, aS was the intention a cave be-
| meath the sea. In short. a fish dinner or lunch
| was about to be served, that for originality OF
| makeup and design has never been seen be-
| fore in Los Angeles county. Around the table
| We're Il bakers dozen Of men familiar on the
street, and moment later the writer was
seated among them. provided with bunch of
sea weed as napkin and toasted in bumper
| of sea water fresh from Redondo Beach.
q of tbl fal, ,ta shal tblt
weighed at least $50 pOunds-a half valve of
| the gl eat clam 1ridacha, filled TO the hrm with
crawl >h salad, and ornamented with the red
Whips of those much bewhskered cru>tacean>.
Other dishes were arranged here and there
| containing materials intended for the stomach,
| and destined TO astonish it. While the writer
was taking in these accessories and responding
| to the greetings extended, soup was served.
II can recommend this. said the president.
ITS something new. You Know >hark-iln
| soup has been known for years. not only in
China, but among the Chinese on this coast.
| over S3O.0OO worth Of fins being used i'll the
trade; but this soup Is made from tile I'm OF the
basking shark. one of the rare>t OF it> Kind.
one was caught last Year and | secured the
ms lit Il large price. These waters are made
from the liver. powdered, then soaked in null
Ell cIaret and drcd.'
mat the soup was Of last years vintage 1t
was needless to explain: and il was undoubted-
~ an acquired taste; one had to become artli-
to bllse water, not as the latter tastes but as it
smelis, YET tEere was something about II at
tractlNe. After soup, some fruit. apparently.
was served that looked like Florida oranges
aitef severe fro>t; drie'. plnthed ana oval
objects fearfully and wonderfully made. They
proved to be sea urchins on the outside and
star llsh Wlthlh, all lalllilS from Long Beach;
IN short, they We're heNlled star fi>h. The
echinl,' SAID the president Of the club, "i> an
old dlsh IN Europe In Corsica they eat the
melon ethlnu> techlnu> melol. Whlle IN Naples
ana otner citle> the ecllhtis iNlii> l. most e>-
teemcd. lhey are called sea EGGS from the
reason that after the SplncN are rubbed oi' the
animal Is boiled and eaten with spoon after
the manner OF an egg. These which we pre-
sent are merely the shell OF Tie cciinu> and the
meat OF the star hsn.
lttle OF inns, Ike musk. went Il long way:
yet. to the cultivated taste. 1t was undoubtedly
delicious. The meat was red. Or scarlet. high
~ seasoned with various condiments, and ta>t-
ed net unlike shrimp, something oId in shrimp
that might nave been III the lahiiy Tor long
time, but Wlthal. good and aromatic Follow
!ng this came dream (night. marel in Il long
dish. The ordinary mortal would have pro
nounced them Oh shoes, very old ones. but
they We're holothurlanS IL Santa Monica.
The holothurian. il should be cNpiaincd. i 4
distant cousin OF the star i'>!i--a long. lcathrry
object lookin" like Il cucumber, and i'll the MAJ
lay country considered some what Of Il dcilracy.
About lltty vessels are engaged III The business
of collecting them in southern waters. and
thousands OF dollars are invested IN the indus
try. The Malay fishermen collect the >ca rl'-
cumbers, dry and smoke them. pack them in
bales. and ship them to China. where they are
mahc INTO soups and thousand ;iih one arti-
ces of supposed delicary. Some idea of the
toughneS> OF the animal may be imagined. The
writer once visited famous ground for them.
and having speared one could not take it from
the barb without cutting 1t in pieces. The
flavor of this bonne bouchc Is inde>rribafe,