The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-08-26
ERA IN EATING.
This Town to Fave a
Chinese Restaurant.
CheOng Sing Low Promoter
of the Enterprise.
Brought the Idea From the Metr0p-
oils Under His Pigtail.
Providence is growing more metropoli,

Prov1dence Is growing more metropoli'
tan than ever. Every oay there is some
new wrinkle to attract attention in one
way or another. The time is within the
memory OF great many persons when
the town had but two or three restaurants
or public places where a square meal
could be obtained outside OF the two or
three hotels and the several boarding
houses. Our grandfathers can tell OF
the old-fashioned oyster stews with real
Providence River oysters in 'em that
they used to get at Pettis' on old Wey-
bosset street. " An them chowders"
happy-go-lucky place that Pettis kept on
Orange street before the new building on
the corner of Westminste forced il out
and left only its memory to those who
first got their liking Cor Iittle-necks or
the half she'll at the unpretentious south
west corner Of that we'll -patronized re-
sort. misfortune befel the city when
this old-fsshioned shell fish emporiuL
made room for the march of progress.
The town has plenty OF restaurants
nowadays, however, from the cheap and
dirty TO the semi-palace where the privi-
iege to eat costs as much as the
food furnished. All sorts of experiments
have been tried in the eating line since
Pett IL hung cut his shiDgle AID Scott
started in the night lunch business years
ago. The signs of the eating times are
manif sted by the great increase in night
rambulating lunch carts. Besides
these nearly every corner has its restaa-
rant and wheat cakes and coffee are al
most as plentiful as are the dies IN some
OF the eating places.
Big city ideas come to Providence
slowly. 1t is not so long ago since the Ar
cade was one of the wonders OF the world
and the big railroad station on tho cove
lands when il is completed will ever re-
main side show IN comparison TO the
Arcade sensation of not SO very many
years ago.
New York rejoiced one day In the
possession OF a French restaurant and il
became a fad with metropolitan down
town business men and their customers
from out OF town. When the visitors re-
turned home the French restaurant was
talked about until Central Park became
Insignificant and Broadway side
street. You have heard them. The
French enterprise grew so popular that
competition sprnng up in the form Of
an Italian resort, ana finally all sorts OF
victusls could be found for the asking.
Every town I'm communication with the
metropolis followed suit and went on
like the sheep that followed the leader.
Providence came in for its share OF the
imitation. French and Italian cooks
could get jobs easily and frogs legs
They tried the French restaurant
scheme, but somehow the Rhode island
stomach wasn't adapted To hash served up
in all SORTS of ways with the main idea
10 deceive. They hadn't weathercd the
headland OF corned teef and cabbage, and
fried soup and taunton herring were in
vogue. The Frenchmsn failed.
Along about this time dark-eyed,
swarthy visngcd Calabrians saw oppor-
tunities in these plantations and came
over frnm Italy to increase the popu'a.
ton of Federal Hill. AS natural
sequence the Italian restsuranieur fol.
lowed. Tho Establishment dinn't make
much ~ show on the outsiae-or on
the inside for that matttr-bat II Won
had the whcrew ithal You could get lust
as good cinner ss Victor Emmanuel
himself could. TO be sure the table
gsrniture and dining room ombel,isn
menis we're not 50 olaboratc, but the grub
was just as good.
Lots OF good feeders in the city remem-
ber tina, little dining room very well-and |
tho wine-not 60 mention the other
things. IL was a pity when II had to |
quit. They tried the enterprise on
Aborn street. relieving that down town
would be profitable, but the little Count