New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-11-24
EAST SIDE COFFEE-HOUSES
CURIOUS PHASE OF NIGHT LIFE BE-
YOND THE BOwERY.
TITLE HUNGARY AND ITS PECULIARLY HUN
GARrAN NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
AND THEIR TIPS.


After midnight the entire East Side Is dead now
adays Not even a side door" gapes open ,.'
won,dbe jewellers. and the only real sign OF HE
among its many dark streets comes from the "e'.'
closing restaurants that for the most part. dot the
| Bowery and are infrequently TO be found IN '"e
great region that lies beyond to the East river.
Besides these restaurants the Bowery iseii ~ uea'
at this time OF night. The people, men anu "o''."
bo,h that used TO wander up and down e. now hide
| themselves where they are not 10 De iouhp' ''o'
ing is left but the quiet, close-cur'a'heu conee.
houses on the side streets and these are not quite
| rart OF the old order. As they exist anu carry VII
| her business to-day they are new.
| II is malny a page from Continental HE tnat
| thov nresent n page wlthsl, that belongs 50 much
to its own part OF the town that propaDiy ie" .o"
Workers know definitely OF 1t. Little hungary
contring in East Houston-st., Is the quarter "nere
| those conee-houses abound. and on Stanton hiic"'
| Elizabeth st. and the nearby highways they heS'se
| costly by the Strictly Hungarian are my
| as a general rule. in Mattresses ana mahase. m,
| though the German quarter to the east OF Inn"
ave- south OF Fourteenth-st., has several exce.ieh'
| ones Vet the coree-house OF New-York at us
best Is Hungarian and it Is only in SUCH tnat coi-
| fee worth the drinking Is served.
one and all they have this peculiarly interesting
feature: they are little shops of the night. None
open before MONDAY. or only scattering "" c.
| the best Only a minority Of them do any business
| that begins their harvest. With neatly cur'ai'ei
| windows and door, so that the curious stroiler-by
cannot see in, but with the door readily 10 ne
onenel and with the lights quite visible from the
| street they keep open, generally TO good Uaue'
| through all the silent watches OF the night
QUIET SMOKERS AND COFFEE DRINKERS.
Never n sound or a sign floats into the street
| from them Within men Of all classes ana condi-
lions sit smoking hour by hour slipping cupful after
| tark
| thew are repIaced by others. Beside them, wnea
| there IA no sewing to be done at the m omen the
witnesses sit, each slipping her tiny glass OF HUN
garlan wlne-her pour bolre-whlch customer
should always offer. and which Is ih'ariaoiS az
cepted.
Az The conee-houses themselves differ in their
fittings some being dingy or tawdry some fun OF
comfort and brightness. do the serving maids
vary In the poorer rooms-a conee-house se'doh
has more than room-they are sloVeniy anu
their gowns are old and soied But, DOCK away
behold a/cosey CHEEKY room, with pretty MAJ"
from one OF the provinces OF Austro-ftunsary
dressed even with a coqu.ttsh air and with oan-
eerously fascinating eyes and a rufiied apron,
bending forward to take the order from the visitor
When she mas brought the steamlng dem'-tasse
with three Jumps of sugar on tiny pate 10 20
with IT, she. In conformity with coffee-hcnse GUS
TOM settles comfortably down in the nearest va
cant chair asking with her eyes. even, Indeed, II
she does NOT ask outrieht with her lips, for her
peraulsl,e Of a thlmbeful-hardly moreof red wine.
This red wire red nearly always, though some
times white Is substituted Is the one luxury ABOUT
a cofee-house. 1t costs ten cents, a hlgh price
when the size OF the glass is taken into considera-
,ion Men never seem to drink 1t. and there is IL
tie wonder for Il tastes Ike coorel water ana hot-
ing else These girls never sip coffee as they sit
M the tables but cling this Hungarian wine that
they call by a strange name not to be accurately
caught by American ear.
Not every GIRL OF course. comes from Hungary,
though the most Of them claim to, and speak III
some patois that IS Magyar. All. however. are OF
the Continent, French, German or Austrian. Some
speak an English quite Ineligible and extensive
But most have Just a few English phrases here
and there and they jabber them off with pretty
accent II is all the better for the visitor once the
door is closed. is longer in New-fork he Is IN
the centre OF Europe where he may make himseif
understood and he may not
SMALL ROOMS SOON FILLED.
All the rooms are srn.n. and six or seven little
tables completely fiji them. In some there are only
three or four Eight or nine men, therefore with
the Mattresses Owo three in number make a
coffse-house seem full. There larger establish
ments OF the sort occasionally 10 be met with but
these are not fairly typical. The true coHee-house
depends upon its cosiness and It's homelke picture
for its popularity.
An American. or any one speaking English, in
parors. For business purposes the girls have
picked up their little stock OF English. But they
really seldom need II. The brightest and prettest
ones do the most OF their talking TO people not Of
their own country with their eyes. though they
and do chatter bravely enough when one OF their
compatriots comes In.
A LIMITED BILL OF FARE.
The menu is limited. Nothing whatever is served
to eat. and besides coffee there be had only
hoo and oily nj ~
sort is never sale Cigars and cigarettes may be
purchased. and the maid from Hungary may join
the visitor In the latter But she seldom cares 10
smoke Her working hours from al night 10
in the morning when the last reveer is ready
TO 60 home. and 1t Is a good. long nights work for
her, more than even shopwomen have.
AT the same time that the coffee-house has begun
20 enter largely into East Side life. old East
Side feature has disappeared-the BARRIERS shops
that never closed. one by these seem 10 have
grown discouraged with keeping open all night
NOT many years ago, months almost. these shops
were one Of the East Side sights from midnight
until dawn Not that they ever did so very much
shaving exercised any branch Of the tonsoria
ART to any great extent but they were always
bright and glar,ng. and an immense attraction 10
street wanderers of both
The extremely lower class shops OF this sort
combined with razor and scissors little cigar and
tobacco stand and In the early hours OF the morn
Ing, when tobaeco-stores generally We're closed
did an excellent trade therein, especially in snun
which many women used 70 buy This went all
street at night. But when It's decline came the bar
bers shops gradually began 10 close midnight,
barber during those hours then. and there was no
longer sufficient profit In the connecting cigar-stand
Bcwery and far up into Thriavs. and see e only
one BARRIERS shop that Keeps open all nlght-one-
half block from Chatham square. Ana there the
clgar-store. with A shaving and harcuttng annex
In an s sh am e Is s aa s the
the conee-houses OF hungary tand few of Little