Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-03-09

SCENE NEAR THE MANUFACTURES BUILDING. |
kicked because there was not more time
to eat it. Then when he got to the end OF
his journey he kicked because the trail
was Is minutes behind the schedule time
Nothing but train wreck would have put
an end to that mans kicking, and his fell
low travellers would have been more com
Portable If an individual smashup had been
especially provided for his benefit.
But chronic kickers" are no more popu.
lar in San Francisco than elsewhere, and
the great majority Of Midwinter patrons
realize that they have no kick coming" as
Californians phrase it, The food is certain
ly good Of its kind, and there are kind.
enough Of it to satisfy all sorts of tastes
The service is as good as can be expected,
considering the daily variations in the mum
Der of those waited upon. The prices ar,
certainly high, but as a large percentage is
turned over to the executive committee
those who hope for the fairs success should
have no fault to find on that score
An attempt is made in some of the res.
taurants to render the enforced waits az
little tedious as possible. In the American
cafe, The Model, there is a good orchestra
of mandolins, guitars and harp, and in
the French, German and Italian restau.
rants patrons also eat to musical accom-.
paniment. The Vienna Prater is always
crowded, and regular" dinner may be
had there for 35 or so cents. At the Heidel.
berg castle German dishes are dispensed &c
the music of German band, and at the
Flemish dairy and the Swiss chalet milk
and sandwiches are the staples of diet.
In the Marine restaurant you can hav.
a fish caught and cooked for you, and in
the Indian village an old squaw will bake
you tortilla on a sheet of hot iron over a
brushwood fire. japanese girls will serve
you with rice and tea in their typical vii.
lage, and in the mining camp there are
plenty of beans TO be had and many things to
drink. Nearly every one goes to the Cey-
Ion booth, in the Manufactures building,
for a cup of tea or coffee and sight of the
quaint little Ceylonese men who serve 1t,
and very few visitors neglect the Mexican
tamale house, though the comestibles
served there impress him who eats them for
the first time with the notion that he has
swallowed some disguised Greek fire or
other sort of Fourth Of July enthusiasm.
The Mexican fondness for chill peppers
reaches it's apotheosis in the tamale, of
which Californians are very fond.
Every one goes to the Hawaiian restau-
rant as a matter of course to eat poi. The
restaurant is really an arbor with a roof,
but no walls. From the roof hang punches
of unripe cocoanuts by way of decoration
There is variety of peculiar eatables, but
what every visitor especially desires to
sample is the historic poi. In front of the
booth a Kanaka woman sits pounding the
roots and mixing the ingredients of which
/ the dish is made. When ready to eat, it
looks like thick uncooked paste with a
blush tinge, and the taste of it cannot be
compared to any other thing that humans
/ put between their lips. He who has not
eaten poi can have no conception of what it
is like.
! Poi must be eaten with the fingers. 1t is
too stringy to be dipped with spoon.
There are three varieties, designated one
finger, two finger and three finger poi, from
the number of digits required to eat them.
No individual dishes are provided, and ev.
cry one at table eats from the same bowl.
The motion from the bowl to the mouth
must be very rapid, and prudent novices
tuck napkin beneath their chins. Begin
ners should attack the one finger variety
first. 1t is the thick paste, and enough for
mouthful may be wound around single
finger. Two finger poi is thinner, and the
first and middle fingers are used.
Three finger poi is very watery and looks
like boarding house milk. Three fingers
must be used at time to scoop it up, and
then you don't get enough for mouUhful
unless you are an expert. To achieve this
distinction takes n long apprenticeship, and
very few Amerie 4, would aspire to it, 1t
is not a particul ly nice way of eating, but
is decidedly novel to any one but "A Kanaka.
When group of Hawaiians gather about a
bowl of poi, however, there is flying OF
fingers and a steady stream from the bowl
to each ones mouth.