New-York tribune., 1896-11-15
RESTAURANT DINNERS.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST OF THEM
| NATIONALITY IN DIsHEs-THE QUESTION OF TIPS
roNpI ANTS THAT COUNT.

NATIONALITY IN DIsHEs-THE QUESTION OF TIPS
COMPLAINTS THAT COUNT.
There are many people in the city Of New-York
and few elsewhere who have to depend for their
physical sustenance on restaurants. Life In resau-
rants is bad enough for those who know how 70 hve
IT, for those who do not 1t Is inexpresso.y pa'netc
1t is terrible thing to see one VINO mas iookeo on
better days" and sat at good mems feasts naV'hs
to sit three times a day in restaurant. ana never
knowing how to conduct himseh 50 Dc " ''~"e ''
afiiction light possible.
To him who would hear and proft py aov'ce ~.
his own good In living among restaurants ''o .S
advice TO be given !s Don't" DO not suppose tnat
the humble effort here made to mitigate an evi can
turn II into good. 1t can't First. then' 90" i've
at restaurants. but II you must. them
Probably nne-tenths Of your trouble VIII pe !" "o'
knowing how to order 1t is pitiable 10 see perso"
quite unused to restaurants trying to order meal
The California miner who tod his partner 1ha' w"e"
he had made his pie he meant 10 go 70 >e" %"
and to Demoncos and order the best dinner .na'
could be got up he didn't quite know what' Out nam
and eggs anyway was not so different from sooo
MANY other people Everybody who frequents such
scenes knows the poor wretch whose sole IDEA OF d
luxurious novelty Is fried oysters ana also the ons
who always orders rare roast beef, OF which ne -
tired 10 DEATH for fear he might get something thas
he would not like 50 well
The most common difficulty in ordering on the part
Is In making much fuss about 1t. Don't bother 70
read the whole bill through Unless you are as famil-
lar with the place the chief cook himself you can
not possibly guess what Is the best thing ln mousse
from a printed list. Have little OF the spirit OF
the gambler about you. order things by guess ana
you will be surprised TO find what good Things you
will get now and then among all your mistakes
The next rule may sound like partial contradlc-
ton Of this DC not try to make your entire faro
consist OF novelties Try TO think what sort OF dinner
you would have at home, II you had home and JUS:
the kind Of dinner that you wanted in It, Then try
order dinner nearly like that as the Dill OF
fare will permit -
Adapt yourself to the restaurant in which you are
dining. Nearly every good restaurant has severai
dishes that II prepares particularly well. II has
others because some persons insist on having them
but they are good and often they are very
bad II you go the same place often you will read
y learn what the good things are and with care ana
practice you tell pretty nearly a good many
times In a place with which you are unfamiliar
For instance keep in mind the national character OF
the house that you in. French restaurant may
have sauerkraut and buckwheat cakes on the bill OF
fare Do order either OF them. as you value your
life. If you want saue-kraut restrain yourself I'll
you in German restaurant, and II you want
buckwheat cakes so TO an American establishment
for them. Never drink beer IN French restaurant.
They may keep It, because there are persons who like
bau beer better than beer. Turn your back upon
Il and drink wine. But do not try claret and Bur-
gundy when you are in German hands. Stick TO beer
then. or TO Rhine wine.
A good waiter will be your greatest help II you
will let him. Take his advice as Var as possible,
after you have found that you trust him. about
all you order. The resources Of every restau-
rant vary from day to day. You do not know what
the variations are. but the waiter does. Perhaps
you do not In the least whether you eat
chicken partridge. and II you decided by chance
you might decide for chicken. But the walter
knows that on this particular day the chickens are
not quite all that they are sometimes. while he
has seen some unusually nice partridges. Give
him chance to tell you that You can have the
chicken other day. when II happens to be
especially good. II you go to the same place often
try to find good waiter and always sit at one OF
his tables when you II you do your part
rightly he will quickly learn your tastes. he will
often know what there is in the house that you
would like much better than you could find out
from the bill OF fare. and he will add enormously
to your comfort and enjoyment.
HOW TO TIP THE WAITER.
III you do your part rightly" means II you treat
| him like a human being and give him reasonable
| tips with regularity. The question OF tips is
| large enough one to Ill volumes In ITSELF there
! Is not room to argue It here. There are doubt
less many people still who think that all tips
radically wrong. but the most OF these do not
frequent the New York restaurants. New I0rkerS
who hold this view for the most part driven to
recognize thai II tips are wrong ethicay they are
unavoidable practically
II Is not likely that the question OF tips will
bc settled In any good way. OF course. the utter
! abolition OF tips would be fine thing. but the
| only way 10 accomplish that l. by total reform
Of the whole system. refusal TO give tips by an
| individual here and another there Is not a good
| way. The proprietor of q restaurant might raise
the wages OF his walters and the prices on his bill
OF fare print request TO guests not 10 give tips
mssal for the waiter. That might or might not do
some good. The custom OF requesting guests not to
| give tips and Of charging small sum for service
| In the BILL is done in some restaurants In Eng
| land. amounts TO nothing at all. People who are
| used TO tipping tip just the same. and the only
| practical difference Is the additional charge OF
thrcepence whatever II Is. on every bill.
The existing condition which has to be dealt
with Is that q good waiter has TO be a man OF
| some ability and experience just as man must
| who is good anything else and that men OF
ability and experience cannot De had at the wages
| which are paid to walters. The good walter Is
| absolutely dependent tips for his living. His
| EMPLOYER fixes his wages, and he accepts them In
| the perfect confidence that he Is TO receive tips
| The question Is. then. how TO give tips so as
| 10 get the best results
| They need not be large. and In fact. they should
| not be- The tip that an American walter expects
| would make English walter. II he were not