The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-07-30
ORIENTAL DINING.
A Turkish Meal Served by denu-
Inc Egyptians.
Constitute the Regulation Fnre
of the nIol,amme<lan
GOurnlnnd.

On Washington street, that great
street full OF foreign markets, there is n
Turkish restaurant, says the New York
Recorder. The entrance is not inviting
end the arrangements inside nro u triflo
tho worse for wear. The divans of rcd
velvet urc not very clean but the carpets
arc genuine Turkish and the walters
arc not American colored men but gen
uine Egyptian blacks They speak
Arabic and Turkish and very little Eng
lish, though they triflc with French
You ask for dinner. A quaint oriental
bottle with designs In gold, rcd and
blue, together with tiny liquor glass
similarly ornamentcd, was brought
upon u bronze tray and placed upon an
octagon ball table beside the low divan
upon which you have curled yourself
The magic word ''ralSi" is all that is
uttered and you help yourself to glass
OF the Mohanmedan's favoritc anisecd
smelling bitters to give you an appetite
and to help You digest what is coming.
a pure white cloth Is laid on the carpet
in front of you md howl of tepid
water scented with roses md towel
from the next dinner appliances
Then comes plate after plate of sweet
meats arranged in front of you, to-
gcther with all sorts of dried fruit
Everything Is candied The names of
some are interesting, though somewhat
'bewildering. Rahat lakhoum, hndji
bckir lokooIn, loz hclva tahin helv1s,
.lScafte (grapes), abdil-lcziz "a very nu-
tritious African fruit), tout Gnulber-
,rics), kishnish, fousdonll, green pis-
tache, almonds, figs, walnuts in u sort
OF paste. apricots In pastilles, and Sub
tana raisins- But you don't begin yet.
There is the piece de resistance, the
pilau, a sort OF stew made of mutton,
onions and rice Koushlzousct, or
caushcousch, rs it Is pronounced by diff
fercnt dialects, is brought over to this
country ready prepared to mako this
really delicious dish None but an orr
entail can make 1t properly. The rich
gravy In which arc found the tender
morsels ofsheat favored with invisible
onions sends up most savory smell,
and the white, mealy rice which sur
rounds the whole countcracts the eX-
trcme richness. Then there are beans
and peas and lantis "a species of lenti).
Now comes the glut of swcetneats,
and after or with them the black tea or
coffee IN tiny cups and very strong,
and the few delicious whifPs from
narghile or hubblebubble pipe, or from
the long chiboul, taken while YOU lie
back sleepily on the soft pillows of the
divan- Now, too, you may indulge in
bottle of Cyprus or Salonican wine,
for wine must be taken otter nnd not
during meals
The atmosphere of the restaurant is
not refreshing, but you get accustomed
to it, and before you arc half way
through the rich and almost voluptuous
meal you quite understand why Turks
are so fat and SO easy going, why they
love to sit and dream and smoke and
shy nothing; why opinion is not neces-
sary to them; why they are Emphatic
and lazy, and why they can never be
reused to push and struggle and con-
pete with occidentals- Their very mode
of living and feeding is conducive to
happy-go-lucky lazincss which only
wakes up to drive bargain or to fight
for that heaven which their religion
teaches them is sure to be the final lot
OF every man who falls in battle with
his face to the foe.