Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-07-09
A DINNER Foa A DIME,
kpicupean. San Francisco Brags About It's
Cheap. Clean Eating Houses.

Kpicupean San Francisco Brags About Its
Cheap. Clean Eating Houses.
What L. the limit Of the cheap eating
houseS II has been dropping in price for
years and Jeems TO be still going down.
San Franciscans may not realize it, but
they are living in the cheapest fed city Of
the United States and one that cannot be
beaten very much even by the world famed
cheap cafes Of the Partisan Latin quarter
OF course II one wants to live high in
Fan Francisco he can do so. There is
nothing but his financial standing to pre-.
vent his eating canvasbacks, washed down
with the best quality of Sec, or blowing
himself for English pheasants at So per
pair, or genuine diamondbaeks at 500 per
dozen. But to come down by degrees and
not make the contrast too sudden, he can
get as good meal with as good service as
a man could want for 81, or he can
dine sumptuously, with wine, for so cents.
He can get full meal for quarter, fair
meal for Is cents and a clean, savory and
tolerably filling feed for dime, or even an
apology for q dinner in not very elegant
surroundings for q nickel
The 10 cent restaurant made its appear
ance about four years ago. Prior to that
the cheapest sort of q meal cost is cents
But the first dime joint did such busi-
ness that nearly all of the then Is cent
houses had to either come down to dime
or make considerable additions to their
bill of fare. But when some of the lowest
of the beer and wine joints about year
ago began to advertise two schooners for a
nickel or two glasses of native wine, with
some sort of free lunch on the side it
forced another drop in meal prices, and
the 8 cent hashhouse bloomed forth to a
paying business.
Competition has been sharp, however.
their customers the option of "wine, beer
or coffee with the meal, which latter is
of slender proportions. Still the hard
pushed or economically minded may get in
addition to their wine. or other beverage
1.-TWO rolls and sinker," which last is
technical for a Goldfish ball, or "bread
three snakes and coffee" as one of the
lunchroom signs reads. The "snakes" is
no tribute to the power of the chemical
wine sold, but is only verracular for
frankfurters. If one does not care for
Snakes" or "sinkers," he may fill out his
bread and coffee with fair sized plate of
hash, mysteriously compounded, stew of
even more doubtful origin or doughnuts,
pie or cakes.
The lower ends of Pine, Clay and Sacra-
mento streets are where the cent joints
most do congregate, and about them all
6aU haTdd a nrpxVI Of tho nj txyIc
washed, some regular FOUNDERS, but most
of them merely the unfortunate out of
work and down at the heel variety who in
the intervals of "rustling nick" on which
to feed stay close by the source of supply
for the company of the fellow sufferers they
are sure to find there.
One of the effects of the cent reduction
has been practically to close the kitchen at
the mems shelter of the Salvation Army at
1870 Oregon street. Two years ago this was
the only place in the city where q cent
meal could be had Scores of men were fed
there every day in winter and almost as
many in summer, and there is yet a big
kitchen plant that has cooked Christmas
dinner for $500 people. But the meals
served there were much better than those
of the cent joints outside, and, in spite of
considerable donations of material, cost the
Army more than a nickel each. So, when
the outside restaurants came down to j
cents, the Army which makes practice of
never entering trade competition, gradual
ly closed down on its meal system, so that
now only few are served each day.
To revert to the 10 cent houses, which
are the minimum of even comparative
comfort, cleanliness and satisfaction, some
Of them go so far as to give half bottle OF
wine with 10 cent dinner. They say that,
such as it is, 1t Is cheap as milk or coffee
and attracts certain amount of trade. The
menu of the dime houses consists of bread
and butter, potatoes, coffee and one sort NJ
meat-either liver and onions, steak, chops
or hash. To this are added oatmeal and
milk for breakfast and soup for dinner,
that being the chief and only distinctive
feature between the two meals.
There are perhaps Il dozen 10 cent houses
in the lower end of town, two on Second
street, three on Kearny, and the cross
streets east of Market are all well supplied
These little cafes cater to an immense num-
ber of shopgirls, small clerks, mechanics
and laborers, who find it cheaper to live in
that way than to attempt light housekeep-
ing.
The number of patrons is necessarily
large, for the margin of profit on 10 cent
meal is microscopic, and it takes quick
sales and lots of them in day to keep the
business going. But it goes, and the fact
remains that San Francisco isa cheap place
to live.-San Francisco Letter in Washing.
ton Post.