Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1895-04-04
DINNERS In FRISCO.
FURIOUS COSMOPOLITAN RESTAU-
RANTS ON THE COAST.

One of the features of cosmopolitan
San Francisco is its restaurants. Every
foreign colony boasts of place where
| its native cooking can be had, and ad-
! venturous San Franciscans who care TO
! look these places up can dine in the
manner of a different country every
! night in the week If an elaborate Chi
| nese dinner, with its numberless impos
sible courses, each accompanied by
! sweetmeats, proves unattractive, Ha.
waiian dinner, with poi and sailed fish,
can be had by walking few blocks.
For those who like highly spiced dig
ners there are the Italian and Spanish
restaurants to choose from, and for thcEe
with small aDpetites, who look for nov
| city in service, there are the Turkish
restaurants, with their UnpronounCeable
dishes and delicious coffee.
The most popular Of the foreign res
taurants are the Italian. There are sew
eral of these scattered about the Latin
quarter, which are much frequented by
San Franciscans on account Of the excel
lence of the cooking. Most of them are
dirty, very dirty, as to floors and walls,
and the Italians are not oversQuoamish
| regarding the table linen. When party
! of Americans enter, however, there is
general shuttle among the walters to Sc
| cure the service of the table and the
prospective tip. The question of prece-
dence being settled, the wine stained
tablecloth is whisked off and replaced by
one not always newly laundered or else
suspiciously damp.
These restaurants are rarely on the
main streets and have to be approached
| through dark alleys. One situated be-
hind the county Jail occupies the back
room of a small Italian grocery store.
In going there one is reminded Of dark
deeds and sharp stilettos, but the dim
ner is worth the journey. The chef Of
this place is famous for cooking Italia
RIM, " paste made by himself and cut
in strips and cooked with a sauce made
of tomatoes, spices and mushrooms.
It is extremely rich and very peppery,
but all Italian dishes are strongly dashed
with chilli peppers.
The dinner is attended with great
ceremony. A bottle of their sour Clarct
is served with each dinner. Every Ital
ian drinks about two quarts Of it with
his dinner, so the bottle supply some
times russ Snort In this event the
waiter goes to the bar, fills an empty
bottle from z demijOLn, drives in cork,
and then carries the bottle to the table
where it is needed sometimes four feet
from the bar, and impressively prOduc-
ing his corkscrew draws the cork as
carefully as though he were handling the
finest burgundy. His demoanor is SO Sc
rious throughout the performance that
one dare not look amused.
A very popular restaurant is Baz-
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 1t is also frcquentod by the Ital-
ian vegetable gardeners. who drive in
from the outskirts Of town, and after dis
posing Of their stock stop to dine. When
the place is reasonably we'll filled, there
is babel of voices. They are all talk
ing at once, and out of the confusion
the word "scudi" is distinguished above
all others.
This means money, which the pro-
qrietor says, with q shrug, "they talk
about all the time, all the time" 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 tables and
in full view of the room, is a merry fell
low, and between his juggling feats, toss
ing his pan into the air to turn the cook
ing fish or meat exchanges gossip and
jests with the diners. This place is
kept comparatively clean. The floor is
covered with sawdust and the ceiling
festooned with gaudy colored paper cut
in fanciful designs. Two parrots add to
the general din, and all sorts and con-
ditions of cats 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 a liquor, the
| nOsG pOurs generous grasses Oh Clareb IOr
himself and his guests, and these are
speedily tossed off. A casual visitor, aft
er witnessing this ceremony about %
times in quick succession, 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 be-
ing absinthe and settler his case seems
even more alarming.
This restaurant, at 1880 in the even
ing, when dinner is in full swing, pre-
sents 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 round their forks and
dexterously transfer it in yard lengths
to their mouths. A butcher, with all
the marks of his trade about him, occu-
pies table with the policeman on the
beat, who gets the best service of all; a
few men about town, who have heard of