Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1895-02-18
GASTRONOMIC CURIOSITIES.
THE QUEER FOODS NEW YORK
FEEDS ON.
Dishes-Peculiar Italian Cookery
The Hot Tamale Man..

n r EW WORKERS eat all sorts
N of things. From the Battery
| v to Harlem, for to-day's din
ner, many viands will be
eaten with relish by some New York
ers which have never touched the pal
ates of others.
The thought of birds nest as an en-
tree would nauseate the German, who
delights in strong smelling cheese rid
died by fungi. John Chinaman would
turn up his pug nose at the sight of
the unsavory Limburger, and find the
very quintessence of earthly Joy in a
dish of birds nests imported from his
native land
A surfeit of salt meat on shipboard
naturally makes Jack Tar eschew meat
of all kinds when he is on shore. So
he goes in for butter cakes-a remark
able and peculiar kind of butter
cakes. Nobody but sailors and few
other gifted mortals can digest them.
They are about three inches in thick
ness and three inches in diameter.
Six are piled upon plate in pyramid
al form, and they are fairly swimming
in hot butter, which shows its origin
in strong odor of lard. These and
black coffee are taken down the sailors 8
throat with keen and gratifying rel
ish.
A wealthy shipowner, who has not
digested meal in comfort for thirty
years, stood watching q sailor as he
made sad havoc of six eggs and as
many butter cakes in as many. minutes
one day, and he gasped out: II would
give half my fortune if l could eat like
that |"
Chinatown delights in its individu-
ality. 1t has two prominent restau-
rants. One is on Doyers street. The
other is on Mott street. The Doyers
street one is on the ground floor, pre-
tends to some style and serves great
many dishes in American style. Par
ties from Fifth avenue often visit it
and enjoy meal prepared by %
Chinese cook. The Mott street res
taurant is orthodox. Therefore, it is
upstairs. The tables are foot or
more higher than those in On Ameri-
can restaurant, and the pig tailed
guests sit on high stools, twisting
their legs about and resting them on
the rounds underneath. Here is
served every rare and luxurious Chi
nese dish which can be obtained in
Pekin itself. Here Cinnamon, who
were serfs in their own country, hay
ing prospered by washing shirts, have
enjoyed for the first time dainties
from China because they were too
poor to buy them on their native soil.
He who thinks that the Chinaman
lives entirely on rice, and that rats
are his only luxury, does John On in
justice. Only few of the Cinnamon,
the poor river Cinnamon in China,
who are glad to get anything to keep
body and soul together, cat rats. 1t
can safely be said that the Gilman an
in this city who makes $4,000 year
spends more on his food than the
American who realize the same in
come. John is On epicure. He likes
to eat. He sits at the tables in gos-
siping threes and fours, masticates
his food thoroughly and always spends
an hour at meal. The good health
of the Chinaman may we'll be attri-
buted to his strong and well cared
for digestive apparatus.
The Cinnamon like soup-a sort of
noodle soup of their own peculiar
manufacture. A yellow layer OF
dough, made OF -four and other
things, is nodded by bamboo pole
for half day.
The maDfish is one of tho most ex-
pensive OF Chinese delicacies. It
costs the restaurant S1.60 per pound,
and portion costs tho restaurants
patrons something like $500. Ju5g-
ing by its name one would imagine it
to be some submarine monster who
made human beings its prey. Really,
it takes two mantish to make pound.
The manfish is egg shaped. Its color
is of amber and it is almost trans
parent. For all the eye of the Amer
ican can tell it might be strip of
gelatine wrapped like piece of leather
blistered by the heat. When cooked
its taste is delicious, so the Cinnamon
say.
The Mott street restaurant adver-
tiyes that it has for sale only first
quality bird's-nest. The raw BIRDS
nest is kept in candy jar on one of
the shelves in front OF the bench
where tho Chinese cook mixes his con-
coctions. 1t is composed of little
pieces of hard gray matter about the
size of medicine capsules and of quite
the same shape. A portion of birds
nest costs from 81 to SO.
The fat6sh, sharkfsh and shellfish
are other very queer marine subjects
whose habitat is China and which are
eaten by the Cinnamon of New York.
The German baker sells cake at
the rate of sixty-five cents per hun
dred, which is about double the size
of breakfast biscuit. 1t is made by
rolling up strip of dough into a cir
Gle. which gives the top an appear