The Washington times., 1901-09-08
PARIS RESTAURANT LIFE.
Sights Confronting the Visitor at
the French Capital.
Where to Dine Is One of the Serious
ProbIems-Cnfes of All Sorts and
Conditions to Choose Erom-Night-
Iy scenes ON the BouIeyards.


PARIS. Aug 29-For sightseers il
Paris there is one ever present ques
tion, Where shall we dine?" TIL,
question is the same in sens,
morning. noon, and night. and tht
answer involves a great deal. The so
luton of the difficulty means a careful
consideration of tastes desires, mood
and pocketbook, particularly the latter
and a consideration of these factors
really means a counting over of all the
resources of Paris.
To know how to dine just to suit ones
desire on any particular evening one
must know Paris and Partisan life
There are restaurants everywhere, ant
you stumble over them not only on the
corners, but in the middle of the blocks
Bus beware how you drop haphazard
into themI The restaurant at which
you dine must be chosen with delibera-
tion and calculation, or else you are
sure to be disappointed.
From the number of cafes and res
taurants and the number of people who
frequent them the inference would be
no more than natural that no Partisan
dimes at home. That is true. No Pa
risian dimes at hcme, especially during
the summer, # ne can help it. The
summer life OF Paris is restaurant life,
and the restaurants are therefore the
places where life is gayest.
There is something electrical in the
atmosphere that surrounds a first-class
Partisan restaurant, say on the Boule-
ward des Italiens. At every table the
flood of gaiety and enjoyment seems to
be at full tide. Women chatter, laugh
and sing and their eyes beam over the
tops of the cognac glasses. The men
loll at their ease, with after-dinner
comfort radiating from their counte
nances. Over ali falls the bright light
of myriad gas jets. making all jewels
sparkle and heightening all color. The
sidewalk tables are the most crowded,
and even there there is no lack of light
Long aproned garcOns scurry to and
fro among the people, while the head
waiter. in striking paraphernalia of
scarlet plush. gold lace and silk stock
ings wanders slowly about, keeping his
eye on all things and greeting with
acquainted.
Each restaurant and cafe has its reg
ular habitues, who may be found at
certain hour at a certain table reading
q certain paper bought at a certain
hour from a certain newsboy. Paris is
full of such types and characters. And
the newsboy-he is almost as essential
a part of the restaurant as the walters
''Newsboy" is a misnomer in his case.
for he is usually a full grown and
bearded man, who has developed a
stentorian voice which he scruples not
TO use at its utmost power. He is one
of the many beings occupying the half
lighted circle just outside the cafe, and
whose object in life is to sell to the
habitues useless little toys, using such
methods of persuasion as he may.
These little penny marvels that are so
persistently showed forward and press
ed upon you are frequently amusing,
and often marvels of ingenuity. Me
chanical mice and snakes-automobiles
In miniature that really go-fighting
dogs and cats and a host of other
things are brought around by pictures
quely ragged men, by women with
babies in their arms and by toddling
children. Books and views of Paris,
photographs of rying degrees of de-
cency and indeceEcy are especial favor
ties among the itinerant vendors who
make the rounds of the cafes. No one
who has spent even one evening on the /
boulevards listening to the music and
drinking at cafe will forget the dozens
OF takers who approached him with the +.
cry, Post cards; feefty deeferen' po-
sitions''
The restaurant is a necessity In Paris 4
because so few people live in houses of /
their own. 1t is very well-to-do fam |
lily indeed which can afford to occupy a |
whole building. The common custom is I
TO live in apartments and when one |
lives in apartments it is much simpler |
to slip downstairs with wife and chill /
dren, turn the corner and find a meal /
in restaurant already cooked than to /
keep a girl in the house and cook in a |
stuffy kitchen.
With this understood one who goes
to Paris and sees the thousands of eat
ing places of various size and descrip- |
ton need not marvel that they get 1
enough patronage to support them. He /
certainly will not marvel when he I
passes them about midday or especially /
during the early hours of the night
They are full in the summer when
travellers most frequent Paris, because
of the travellers and because, while |
madame and bebe are away at the sea 1
side, monsieur has dispensed with the I
servant. If he had one. and is making
merry with Jeanette or CIotilde over
a bottle-and a bird.
There are as many kinds of cafes in
the gay French capital as there are
people, and there are as many kinds
of prices as there are cafes. 1t is the
high world that dimes on the Boulevard
des Italiens and occupies seats in front
of the cafe Richie or the cafe Suede or
the cafe American or the cafe Julien
1t is also the people with fat pocket
books, foi in those places the score
runs high There is fine music. Hun
garian bands and singers TO make the
hours pass quickly on the wings of
sound; but the piper, he has TO be paid
But the fact that you pay nigh in the
Boulevard des Italiens does not mean
that Paris is an expensive place Take
II all in all food is about the cheapest
thing to be got there and this is not
-faaS far-famed Bon Marche
gloves. II you choose to walk up Rue
Turbieo from the Boulevard Sebasto-
pol you will find not far on your right
a little place on the second floor where
dinner is 1.25 franc. about 25 cents. and
while the variety is not great. the cook