The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-27
SECONDHAND FOOD SOLD.
LEAVINGs OF RESTAURANTS USED IN
PARIS MARKET STALLS.

PARIS STALLS.
They Consist Usually of what Is left over
on Side Dishes, and When Tnstefully
RenrranRed Make n Not UnnttrRctiva
Meal Mt Cheap P~rices-Th6so Who Buy.
Nothing is wasted In Paris. and even at the
hotels and restaurants all OF The food that 10
left on the table after n patron has finished his
meal Is saved carefully. This Ia true not only
In the third. class places where the leavings
will be utilized In rngouts and other mysteries,
but even in the most famous OF Partisan res.
taurants. and dessert, salad. fish, are pre-
served, as we'll as the meat and vegetables,
which have greater possibilities In the line Of
reincarnation. A visit to one OF the great
Paris markets will explain the destination Of
he collections Of food scraps. and though occa-
slonal weak. stomached tourists object to this
particular variety OF French thrift the scheme
has much TO commend It. -
Paris markets are not profitable fields for
strangers OF inquirinR dispositions and weak
stomachs. The snails squirmlng frantically
about in big pals, the live cells writhing in
water tanks or on the chopping boards. the
many unatt ractive but delcctable delicacies
that are usually encountered only in q state OF
apotheosis on a French table. are disconcert-
ing in their primitive state. and take away .
mans appetite. But the stalls where the ho-
tel and restaurant food scraps are sold are
really rather appetizinE. The merchant who
owns the stalls has an arrangement with GER
tain hotels and restaurants. and each day
calls for their refuse food. He pays little tor 1t.
and naturally the management cannot afford
70 have the food OF different kinds collected
separately. All Of the fragments are put to.
gether. but they are saved in q careful and
clean way.
The merchant separates the food. putting all
the pieces OF fish In one dish. the meat In an.
other, the potatoes in another. Then comes
the tesJ Of his genius. 1t isn't easy to make .
plateful of those ~leavings look savory and ap-
%petizinE. but the thing may be done more often
han one would think possible, and the amount
OF art lavished upon the ARRANGEMENT Of those
viands would make a man famous in America.
The proprietor of the stall and madame. his
wife. w-rk culinary miracles with those de-
spised leavings. which over here would prob
ably go to the garbage carts and be Of use to
no one. Madame selects all the potatoes. ar
ranges a pile Of them on a paper or wooden
plate. or sometimes upon porcelain. Beside
them she lays a small piece Of beef. adds q
spoonful OF peas. garnishes the dish with pars-
ley. lays a slice OF lemon on the meat. and, 10
VOLTA! 1t is infinitely more appetizing than
the food at the American CHEAP restaurant.
Rows and rows of plates are arranged along
the stall. Some hold two or three kinds OF
food that go well together. Some contain onlv
one kind. A plateful of rich salad has been
rescued from mussiness. picked out. scrap by
scrap. from the general melange. regarnished.
topped by fresh slices of the egg that was it's
comrade in earlier and better days, and there
Biz salad for four sous. P~erRapsSscme
gamin's taste is for dlet with mushrooms. 1t
E @arSs. 1 one can an have f"s Ito It Tor H a very modest ode e. sumo ime
To be sure it needs warming. and the mush-
rooms have come together from many, sources
and naVAr ar mot IN HlAt nrhnn
the flet itself is oddly cut, but a slight dose OF
melted butter and artistic, taste can make the
dish exceedingly presentable.
There are customers who are not satisfied
to make n meal Of one or two thing s-.who de-
ready for them. On a large plate he has put a
small supply of each thing that goes to make
hat hR he d mnss o GS%% soup T. ri The s5 It f5Iss cbsr hi@
ter Of that item OF a menu bars it from a soci-
e,ty. where each member must preserve its in
asuiraasi. with Ihnt stra Gs;enin not :? IN 'H its set T. the
menu must begin with fish-",y a bit Of sole
r retains the flavor q good society. :" Then comes
a slice OF roast. garnishcd Will, tiny POTATOES
spoonful Of beet salad. and following, it a sweet
and a morsel OF cheese. A few. GOALS. a stew
which the menu has been. prepared. and one
has a dinner fit for a nabob.
are ef the sM thinss 81 that aeI @ost s snT lily T Tefase S 20 sse
sumo their pristine charm under the skiliui
ic'As 10Y WA uAA " tbA
chicory will wilt. but aven with them much
may be ACCOMPLISHED. and they are not SO
much in demand as meats and vegetables, Sd
the supply OF them need not be so large. Fas-
tidious persons may.object to the hit-and-miss
character of these food supplies. and:rnankind
in general has an aversion to .'1eavings.nn but
evidently the prejudice isn't universal in Paris.
for the stalls have a thriving trade.
The business has reached great proportions.
ana is a recogn ized factor In Partisan life. The
hotels reduce their losses In waste, the mer-
chants make a small profit, and the CUSTOM
ers get better food than they could afford to
buy in any other way. The only objection to
the system Is n matter of and that,
objection Is weakened by the TACT that the foods
sold to the merchants is not taken from plates.
but only from side dishes in which 1t has been
served. Food left uDon plates would be too
mussy to be OF any use, but whenever n man
Is served with one order oil. anything at q good
restaurant he almost invariably gets more than
his plate. The rest is left upon the dish In
which it was served. and in Paris that part OF
the order goes to the stall In the market. The
idea isn't so disagreeable after all. when one
gets used to II. Many a diner orders u 81 so
steak at a restaurant. and leaves half OF II. for
which he would gladly pay n quarter the next
morning. IL the thing were possible.
The customers OF the secondhand food
stalls are not of the poorest classes. Filet
with mushrooms. even second hand, Is too
rich for many poor wretches of the Paris fau-
ing class whose wages are small, whose sous
are few. who are good patrons OF the second
hand stalls. and many a thrifty housewife who
could afford to market more ambitiously car
ries home a plate of salad or a cut OF meat whose
origin she will keep secret from the family.