Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1897-10-16
GASTkONOMtC EXCHANGE.
L Queer Restaurant Where Walters Blow
In Their Tips,

L Queer Restaurant Where Walters Blow
In Their Tips.
Amy tips todayi"
dollar eighty"
"What did you get out Of the old
fellow who ordered the So dinneri'
"Only gave me 20 cents, and l
worked two hours babying him.
"Look ouH boys, for swell tall
gent with gold glasses who's going
the rounds and puts you off by say
Ing he's short and'll remember you
next time"
These are bits Of conversation
heard in New York,s queerest res
taurant. 1.-THE Gastronomic Ex-
change" is its name. It is on Seventh
avenue, and, according to tho pro-
prietor's printed card, it is head
quarters for hotel employees, sup
plies managers, stewards, chefs,
head walters, walters, etc"
The manager caters especially to
the patronage of cooks and walters
of the better class of restaurants
and hotels in the city, men who are
paid from $40 to $50 month and
gather in from 81 to 81 day in
tips. The establishment consists Of
a barroom and cafe on the ground
floor and a restaurant on the floor
above. The proprietor has been in
the hotel and restaurant business
for more than quarter of centu-
ry and declares that, as class, his
present patrons are the most profit
able he has ever had.
At any time Of the day or night
walters of almost every nationality,
walters with smooth faces, walters
with mutton chop boards, walters
with pompadours and others with
well oiled hair may be found drink
ing and dining in the Gastronomic
Exchange. There were 46 there at
one time last Monday evening. Most
Of them looked prosperous.
The absence Of the white caps of
the cooks and the aprons and jack
cts of the walters makes marked
change in their appearance, and a
stranger, not knowing the character
of the resort, would vita difficulty
recognize among these well dressed
men standing at the bar or slipping
coffee and smoking at the tables the
men whom he had been tipping aft
er his meals.
Not all of the men have a pros
porous appearance. Occasionally
one is seen whose clothes are some
what shabby. He belongs to the
ranks of the unemployed, and he
hangs about the restaurant in the
hope of getting work, for, although
the Gastronomic Exchange is not an
employment bureau, 80 famous has
it become that hotel and restaurant
keepers of New York and neighbor-
ing cities seek their cooks and wait
ers there when they require help in
a hurry.
In this queer restaurant the pat
rons talk shop as they eat, drink
and play cards. 1t lisa sort CT cooks
and walters club. They talk of the
advantages and disadvantages of
their different places of employ.
ment, how easy or difficult their
work is, the salaries they receive,
above all, how liberal with tips the
patrons of the different places are.
As might be expected, the walters
In the GastronoNic Exchange have
most unenviable positions, and the
lot of the cooks il even harder.
They complain, and justly, that the
patrons are Il most exacting class
It does not take the customers long
to detect faults in the cooking and
service, and they are not in the least
backward in speaking about them,
A steak not done to a turn is prompt.
ly returned to the overworked
cooks, with more minute instruc-
tions than were ever given by an
ordinary diner.
One OF the strangest features of
the place is the tipping. The waiter
patrons tip the walters who serve
them just as they themselves are
tipped when they are at work.
New York Letter in st. Louis Post
DispatCh.