The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-17
MANY CURIOUS DINNERS.

l VIII lJiInef tlI I1NIAiHtAh bs
 [From the New York sun.l
 One of the features of cosmopolitan
 San Francisco is its restaurants. Ev.
 cry foreign colony boasts of it's place
 where it's native cooking can be had
 and adventurous San Franciscans whc
 care to look these places up can dine in
 the manner of a different country ev-
 cry night in the week. If an elaborate
 Chinese dinner, with it's numberless i'm
 possible courses, each accompanied by
 sweetmeats, proves unattractive, Ha-
 wailan dinner with poi and salted fish
 can be had by walking a few blocks. For those who like highly spiced din-
 ners there are the Italian and Spanish restaurants to choose from, and for
 those with small appetites, who look
 for novelty in service, there are the Turkish restaurants with their unpro-
 nounceable dishes and delicious coffee.
 The most popular of the foreign res
 taurants are the Italian. There are
 several of these scattered about the
 Latin quarter, which are much Ire | quented by San Franciscans on account
 of the excellence of the cooking. Most
 of them are dirty very dirty. as to l floors and walls, and the Italians are
 not oversqueamfsh regarding the table linen. When a party of Americans en- | ter, however, there is q general scuffie
 among the walters to secure the service of the table and the prospective tip.
 The question of precedence being set | tied, the wine-stained table cloth Is
 whisked off and replaced by one not always newly laundered or else suspie- | iously damp.
 These restaurants are rarely on the main streets, and have to be approach ed through dark alleys. One situated
 behind the county jail occupies the | back room of an Italian grocery store. Tn going there one is reminded of dark deeds and sharp stilettos, but the din- ner is worth the journey. The chef of this place is famous for cooking "Ital- iarini," a paste made by himself and cut in strips, and cooked with sauce made of tomatoes, spices, and mushrooms. It is extremely rich and very peppery, but all Italian dinners are strongly dashed with Chili peppers.
 The dinner is attended with great ceremony A bottle of their sour claret is served with each dinner, so the bot tie supply some times runs short. In this event the waiter goes to the bar fills an empty bottle from a demijohn, drives in cork, and then carries the bottle to the table where it is needed, sometimes four feet from the bar. and, impressively producing his corkscrew, draws the cork as carefully as though he were handling the finest Burgundy. His demeanor is so serious throughout the performance that one dare not look amused.
 A very popular restaurant is Bag zuro's, which is situated near the water front. This is greatly patronized by the Italian fishermen, who file in after their days work, still wearing their gum boots and smelling strongly of their craft. It is also frequented, by the Italian vegetable gardeners, who drives in from the outskirts of the town, and after disposing of their stock stop to dine. When the place is reasonably well filled there is babble of voices. | They are all talking at once, and out of the confusion the word "scudi" is | dlstinguishable above all others.
 This means money, which the pro- prietor says with a shrug, they talk about all the time, all the timev The | fishermen bring the best of their days | catch here, and the gardeners offer | their choicest vegetables The chef | whose kitchen is back of the dining ta- bles and in full view of, the room, is a | merry fellow, and between his Juggling | feats, tossing his pan into the air to | turn the cooking fish or meats, ex- changes gossip and jests with the din | CTS This place is kept comparatively | clean. The floor is covered with saw dust and the ceiling festooned with | gaudy colored paper cut in fanciful de- | signs. Two parrots add to the general | din, and all sorts and conditions of | eats prowl around the floor.
 The restaurant is conducted by two | brothers, one of whom waits on table | while the other attends bar and looks after the cash receipts. Every Italian after dining stops at the bar for chat and a drink. Instead of liquor the host pours generous glasses of olaret for himself and his guests, and these are speedily tossed off. A casual visi- tor, after witnessing this ceremony about twenty-five times in quick sue cession is apt to grow nervous about the health of the host, but he appears none the worse for his conviviality at the end of the evening. The younger brother sometimes relieves his brother at the bar. He is quite as hospitable, and, his invariable drink being ab- sinthe and seltzer, his case seems even more alarming.
 This restaurant, at 7:30 in the eve ming, when dinner is in full swing, an odd sight. The Italians sitting around the tables, most of them with their hats on, gesticulating and talking excitedly across the room. while they roll the spaghetti around their forks and deXterously transfer it in yard lengths to their mouths a butcher with all the marks of his trade about him, occupies table with the police man on the beat who gets the best ser vice of all; few men about town, who have heard of the chefs fame, and for get the unsavory looking company in their enjoyment of the plates, and of- ten table or two taken by young so- t,1e