The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-09
IN 4 RESTAURANT
A Chicago LunchroOm Where Orders
Are Given by Signals.

The other day a man slipped into al
Monroe street lunch room, ordered med
ium boiled eggs and when he had doneI
so he ducked insiinctively that the waiter
voice might pass over his head; but i'll
didn't.
The waiter snapped his fingers vigorous
ly, looked across the room and then rails
ed his right hand with the thumb andl
forehnger held to form a circle and thel
other three fingers in the air. Then hel
turned to an urn TO draw the coffee quiet-
~ and in good order.
Ain you going to order my eggs?"
the man asked fearfully
Eggs Is ordered, sah-gOt EN- on thel
fire now" replied the waiter.
How is that?" asked the customer
suspiciously
Il ordered EN- as soon as you gave md
the order said the waiter. "All / got I'd
do is just that" and again he made thd
caballstic sign with his thumb and fore1
finger above his head"
The man was almost overcome by surI
prise. At last he had found the place I'D
had so long sought, where he could eat
in quietness. When he had finished the
eggs and coffee, he sought out the mana
ger OF the house and said:
Il want to buy a ticket to eat here thb
rest of my life. And | want to find Quit
some things about This system OF yours. l.
The manager took him aside and told hilh
the secrets Of the queer messages which
had passed from waiter TO head waiter
and back 10 the kitchen. The distance is
too great for waiter TO walk back and
transmit every order to the cooks, and thch
return to his customer. Years ago two
walters who should go down to fame fOt
their service TO dyspeptic and unhappy
mankind devised a system of signals for
all the articles of the bH of fare At first
the system was quite simple and the signs
were few, calling only for the principai
things on the card, but 1t has grown with
time until now there are over one hun1
dred and fifty articles of food which can
be ordered by waves and motions of th4
hand. No other restaurant in the country
has a system like 1t.
AAeaa.A ll-4q-iIer- r-h!s assistant stands in
z the center of the floor during the rush
hours and keeps an eye on the walters be-
hind the long counters, surrounded by
stool climbers" If a customer orders
roast beef medium, the waiter snaps his
fingers 10 attract the attention Of the head
waiter. Then he makes a cut across his left
hand with his right and sticks up his right
thumb. Instantly the head waiter repeats
the signal TO a man I'm the back room, who
transmits 1t to the cook, and the roast
beef is being prepared before the waiter
who took the order could have gone five
feet toward the Kitchen, and there is no
noise or fuss about il. If a small steak is
ordered the waiter holds his right hand
at the height of his head, palm out, fin
gers Joined. If il is 10 be medium he
clnches his hand quickly and let's his
thumb project. If the customer wants it
well done the open hand sign Is followed by
two quick blows of the right fist on the
left palm.
The eye of the interpreter must be quick
TO catch the changes in the sign, for
certain move of the hand following anoth-
er means something entirely different from
II certain move means if originally
displayed If an oyster stew is called for,
instead of shouting stew one" in stri-
dent tones, as is the custom in many res
taurants of the lower price variety, the
waiter snaps his fingers, and when he has
caught the eye of the interpreter he ex-
tends his left arm with the fist closed and
the thumb In the air. If the order is half
dozen fried oysers, the right hand Is
thrust out with the fingers spread far
apart. For ham and eggs the waiter
places his right palm against his check
that being the signal for fried ham. and
then extends his arm with the palm Of
the hand up and the fingers closed which
means fried eggs.
Some of the signals are continuous mo-
lions, indicative of some process through
which the food must pass. Thus, an or
der for cOrned beef hash is transmitted by
a shaking motion of both hands backward
and forward indicating how well shaken
the ingredients OF the hash are before be-
fore being served For baked beans the
waiter holds up his right hand and beck
ons rapidly with his four closed fingers.
For liver and bacon the waiter scrapes
his right index finger with the forefnger
of his left hand, showing how the bacon
Is sliced, and then places a forefnger over
his side about where he thinks his liver
is located. Pork sausage, too is signal
easily discernible. The waiter links his
two little fingers together, Indicating the
links of sausage.