The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-04-14
LIPTON's CHEAP DINNERS.
sfr Themss Provides Lonaen with
Thres Coarse. fsr Mine cents
(From The london DAILY Nsws.)

tAfom tne Lonuon OaflY NoUs.l
No one walking down City road about
midday oan fail to Be attracted By the
Alexandra Trust Dining hosmA which
Sir Thomas Upton has juss built at .
oest OF Rioo. COZ. In appearance this
peoples restaurant ressmblesa palstia
mansien, rathsr than . cheap dinins
room. Its white stone walls havs mot yet
had time to assume the modest gray Of
ths majority Of London buildings. A
bread flight Of steps lead MP TO two doors.
by which admittancs is gained 10 the
CENTRAL hall. The women enter By =
special door. wise pseoaut,on at present.
for the crush - the main entrance would
he far from pleasant preliminary TO the
three-oourss dinner. The hall 10 wide and
spacious, and from either side doors opsn
into the nugs dining room. capable OF
seating 500 hungry people. 10 was DECOR
atsd with palms and plants. -
On entsring. both men and women OBJ
tain eaecks for the amount they are
willing to spend on thsir midday meal.
The i-sd. dinners we're BY far thslmost
popular, and the ching hall was crowd
I'd. The brass ohsoks are presented 10 the
waitresses, who, In white cap and apron,
ssrse the meals over huge eountsr In
the middle of the dining room. Each
person gets his own dinner, which Is
ssrvsd on . little tray, and consists Of
three courses. Each day thrse different
dinners are prepared, and any one OF
them oan he had for the trifling sum OF
Z 1-sd. And an excellent dinner It is-the
BEST Of food, well cooked and we'll SCI we'd.
Here's the menu Of the I'D. dinners
for one day.
Soup; plats OF Irish stesw; plate OF
roast pork or large steak pudding; two
We vegetables; pastry, or mug Of tea, coffee
or COCOA. - - les
Men we're crowded three or four In
front of the counter waiting their turn.
As soon as the little tray had been So
curely graspsd they at once made their
way to the tables with which the rooms
was filled, and lost no time In despatch
ing their meal. Each table holds about
and pepper In csstera All sorts and
conditions Of people were represented
among the diners. They were most ca lily
classified by their headwear CAPS,
bowIers and felt hats were there almost
equal proportions, and even saw fev-
eral silk hats In the midst OF the hungry
crowd. There were factory hands. labor
eIs. clerks. newsbeys and few small
business men. Many had come out OF
curiosity.
Up stairs a similar eight was to be
| seen. The diners there, however, were
mostly women, with fair spri lkling OF
men who preferred to dine 10 carte.
| A ,..a.I ~, xhts fionr 1vorha 0rt n a aosna
what higher figure than o three-oourse
dinner. But the liss 10 select from is
very varied, ami almost as long as that
Of an American hotel. The dearest item
IL pork chop at Id. and the ohsspest
| the buildings costing led. each. Piatss
had for the modest sum Of 1874. The
portion IL large and the quality excel
lent. Whether tho .Pliuce did actually
consume the whole Of n thfee-courfe din
ner or merely tasted Il do NOS kDow.
He csrtainly could have eaten n with
out any gastrono mio oompunction.
The floor above VIII shortly be turned
into dining room, but at the present
moment Is not quite completed. Eash Of
the three rooms will seat 500, 30 that
| !. 500 people oan be accommodated at one
tima There IL little doubt that the
the other day the number OF people who
sat down to meals reashsd total Of 1000
To serve this great multitude about q
hundred people are employed, aud they
are kept busy from morning till night.
The dining hall opens at eight In the
morning. when breakfast can he had
BY the economical at penny, for which o
mug OF tea and bowl OF porridgs are
provided, and by the recklessly extrava-
CANT for 4 l-2 pence. For that sum q
large cup Of tea. bowl of porridRe with
milk and plate OF Irish stew can be en-
| joysd. Tea Is ready by i've o'clock, and
hearty meal can be hAd for a few half
pence. The doors are closed ct about
eight In the evening.
| The kitchen 10 situated at the very top
Of the building. IL ID connected with
all the floors and the basement BY servics
lifts worked by electric power. All that
10 necessary IL to touch o button and the
stsaming dinners glide noiselessly down
to the busy hands ready to serve them
out to the waiting people below. The
kitchen IL splendidly equipped In every
respect. Food by the ton and soup by
the gallon can be cooked without any
more trouble than II takes TO prepare an
ordinary midday meal. There are two
seventeen hundred weight of meat be-
tween them. Two and quarter tons
of potatoes can DO cooked within ar
hour. Five hundred gallons OF soup can
be boiled at q time. There are special
fish boilers capable Of holding l20 poundi
Of fish. Heated ovens are provided fol
keeping the plates warm. Each warmer
will hold Q, 100 platss. Tea, coffee and
COCOA are made By the gallon. By an
ingenious mechanical arrangement it Il
Impossible TO pour water over the ten OF
coffee until it has reaohed the boiling
point. In fact, every oontriS anoe that
the ir genuity OF man has devised for thu
cooking OF food and the minimizing o.
labor 10 to to found In this peoples res
taurant.
The building Is lighted throughout b.
electric light. The water comes from Z
well 800 feet deep sunk beneath the build
Ing. Lavetories are provided for both
men and women. where they can get q
free wash and brush-up. BootbIaoks art
alGo in constant attendance, who will
polish your b ,oss till they shine again fol
. half penny. A woman bootblack look
after the shoes Of the women diners.
talked to many Of the men who had rar
taken NJ the three -oourse dinner. and al
were agreed that sir Thomas Upton had
auoceedsd in solving. for them at least,
the problem which confronts Thousands
i In all our large oities-Where to obtain .
-