Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-02-12
EATING AND EATERS.
II IS NOT GOOD FORM TO 90 MORE
THAN TASTE AND SIP.
II Invited - Smart Dinner, Dine Bs6oze
You Co-Hov Dinners and Banq1sHs of
Fabulous Cost Are Got Up and Served ~

You Go-HoW Dinners and BanQ1s1s of
Fabulous Cost Are Got Up aad Served ~
Caterers.
An American author and musician
told a queer little story the other day
that ran like this:
went to the opera; sat in q box
with two ladies and three men; social
leaders; very swell; felt out Of place;
heard nothing but talk and chatter;
missed all the singing and music; after
the opera, supper at the Waldorf; ex-
pected that, of course; went prepared
very hungry; all the dainties Of the sea-
son on the table, hut nobody ate; wine
in abundance, all drinking; more talk
and gossip: wouldn't eat alone, SO
starved; not polite to eat nowadays,
I'm told; proper to mince along, taste
morsel and talk; don't like it; no
more fashionable suppers for me!''
Another man, an habitual diner out,
remarked:
81 invariably eat my dinner at home
before going ont to dine. Nobody thinks
of eating at a public dinner nowadays.
1t is the height of i'll breeding! At pri-
vate dinners with ladies he who eats
is voted bore He must sip and taste
| and talk; that's all that is expected of
him. II I didn't eat at home I'd starve
| to death.
Perhaps something in recent years
has altered the belief that the nearest
way to u mans heart is down his throat.
Hosts used to feed their guests to put
them III good humor, to make their Wis.,
its agreeable. Everybody at the table
ate and drank and all went merrily.
Better dinners than those provided
today the world never saw, but they are
not eaten. New York dinners are supe-
rior in many respects to those of any
other city in the world. The people have
money and are willing to pay for the
| best the market affords, and there is no
| doubt that the New York market is I'M
surpassed. There are more refinements,
| too, at an American entertainment than
| elsewhere, more variety. Still it is well
| to dine ut your own table before going
| to the house Of fashionable friend. At
the latter you are expected to entertain,
not to partake Of what is set before you.
Leave that to the servants or to the ca
terer Rich folk used to have their own
servants prepare the dinner when guests
were expected, but nowadays every
thing is left to the caterer. It is so
much less trouble, you know. Why
worry for days arranging dinner for n
dozen or two of ones friends when it
can be better done by the caterer? We
have plenty of caterers. Some have
| grown rich and proud ON the feasts and
banquets given by the fashionable set.
| When millionaire wants to give q
dinner he sends for his favorite, tells
him the number of guests expected, ad-
vances n few ideas OH the general style
| Of the entertainment, names the day
and hour, and says, II leave everything
to you" The menu is submitted, and,
if satisfactory, both as to price and dish
es, the preparation goes ON.
| The entire dinner is prepared at the
establishment of the caterer, after
which, on the day appointed, it is care
fully packed in hampers and boxes and
conveyed to the house where it is to be
eaten. Most private houses are fitted
with excellent ranges, and on them the
caterers chefs do the cooking Positive
ly nothing is left to the home cook.
The caterer takes entire charge of the
kitchen. Hecould not be responsible for
the dinner otherwise. The dining room
also is turned over to him, for the din
ner itself is scarcely more important
than the arrangement of the table or ia
bles.
<,o,to;,, ,,x,x,,c;tto,, v,, los ovo fo11oxv,ox1
in this respect. When there are less than
20 persons they are usually seated ut
one large table, rectangular or round
but when that number is exceeded it is
the custom to use small tables, as they
can be better served. Six persons to a
table is the rule. The expansion Of So
ciety in New York in the last 12 years
has been very great. and the size of the
private dinner has increased enormously.
1t used to be considered big thing to
have 10 or 10 gues.s-- hut now it is COM
mon enough to 90 to so.
Where receptions 4 rev years ago num-
bered from 500 to 400 guests, they now
number from GOO to 1000.
The cost of a dinner depends ON the
wines and flowers. An excellent dinner
can be served for, say, 90 persons at $40
a plate. tho flowers will cost about $lJ
and the wines from 81 to 315 a head.
At Mrs. Astor' IS famous ball, in the win
ter of lSs9-90, the finest entertainment
she ever gave, the wines ON the supper
table were very select. Her Steinbergel
Cabinet cost SIS bottle.
The dinner to Charles O'Conor was
one of the finest ever given in this city.
1t was managed by Sam Ward and cost
over $50 plate. The menus alone cost
Sc apiece. The decorations were most
elaborate, the tables being literally COW
cred with rare flowers. The wines wert
the costliest that could be had. Some Of
Sam Wards priceless Madeira wa
handed around. The guests numbered so.
The dinner to President Andrew John
son on the occasion of his visit to New
York. in 1866, cost 500 q plate. Leland
Stanford's dinner to Mrs. Grant, about
five years ago, caused great deal ol
talk all over the country. 1t was be
lieved that the Is guests ate from plate.
of gold and silver; that the tableclotf
~