The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-30
BEAUTY OF NOT SEEING TOO MUCH.
Curiosity Concerning Hotel Kitchens
Should BE Curbed.

The Criterion.
When Alexander was in West Twenty
third street, toss from Roster & Bal $,
and / had as a guest a prize friend whom
l wanted to treat to the finest steak in New
York / always took MIN to the German
basement introduced him, had an abSinthe
frappe and ordered sirlion for two. A griz-
zled veteran of the grid, woman of sixty
presently sent waiter to know II we
would like to see the broiling. We had al
ready inspected the cut and pronounced 1t
in it's raw state satisfactory. She cooked
it over deep charcoal furnaces, end when 1t
came upon the table. three inches thick,
1t cut like butter and had flavor the recol-
lection of which makes my mouth water as
l write.
Astoria ever set before customer could ap-
proach one of Alexander's steaks His price
was as dear as theirs. An ordinary steak
cost 49, The old mans upstairs rooms fell
urder suspicion, and the police closed the
house.
) lat particularly liked about the place
was it's cleanliness. 1t is a wise plan to
turn your back on the kitchen and leave
nothing to the imagination. Statistics are
not at nand and as mater Of pit faS Ie a n
understand that hundreds of thousands OF
New Workers live in restaurants on one,
two or three meals a Gay, most OF them OF
man reduced to this style of existence
would dare visit restaurant Kitchen In ac-
the ordeal. The walters must not be re-
garded too curiously. Observe nothing:
Take things as they are thrown at you ana
swallow your squeamishness with rein
Mr. Bdidt has been much annoyed by
crowds of persons seeking cards OF adnlis-
sion to the Waldorf-Astoria kitchens. When
the Holland House was first opened there
was a crush in the culinary department.
Delmonico has enchanted swarms of visit
ors in the lower regions at Fifth avenue
and Twenty-sixth street Eating being one
Of the chief ends of man and woman there
is q morbid appetite for kitchen explora-
lon, 1n rafo he a -
meath resorts of fashion and millions.
Being one day at dinner In Delmonico
customer Gust ~ at an ADJOINING table, carelessly
spill two rolls on the floor. He was a. po-
lite fellow, and with many apologies has
tened off to fetch two fresh NlennaS.
japanese screen obscured the door through
which he dived from every patron OF the
place with the unfortunate exception OF
myself and imagining himself unobserved
the rascal deliberately wiped the spilled rolls
on his apron and returned them to his Gus
toner, who received them with pleasant
intimation of a forthcoming tip, spread the
butter on and proceeded with great relish
to their devourment. | was sorry to have
seen the performance, and thereafter sat as
far from the screen as possible and never
turned an eye in its direction. OF course,
we know that this sort of thing happens to
us every day in the best regulated restau-
rants, but we don't want to witness it.
Making a tour Of a famous hotel kitchen /
chatted with salloW-faced, emaclated SOUL
lion woman of some twenty years, remark
ing that she seemed weary. . 'Tain't that.
soT.'' she replied. Il can't eat the food they
gives me. The cook makes the hashed cream
potaters wild is fingers and the soup is the
leavin's from the tables" 1t strongly re-
minded me OF a question / put to old Aunt
Ann my mothers after-de-war kitchen
genius "Aunty, how do you keep your
finger nails SO clean?'' Her reply. completely
upset me. ''Workin' de dough- chile.
/ believe that all of us harbor lingering
belief that the undrunk soup is poured back
in the general pot and the uneaten pieces
of meat are literally assessed for hashes
and stews. But let us not yield to the con-
clusion Let doctors pirate their loudest OF
the contamination of food and drink, and
make unhappy the weak minded. We can
enjoy life through the mental assurance that
the claret left in glasses by polite people
never finds it's way to the table a second
time in bottles. The walters drink it as they
carry 1t out!