The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-12-31

ure. Oyster houses were opened ev-
 anywhere, oyster salons were at every
 corner. Now oysters are common.
 "Quails and small birds began to gair
 favor about the time that oysters were
 at their zenith of popularity. But the
 taste for them came gradually. Their
 price on menus and in markets remain
 ed high.
 Now they are plenty, they are un-
 derstood and appreciated. They are
 not cooked as they deserve to be here
 in the North, but they are served by
 the hundred each day during their sea
 son.
 Salads and sauces are the two items
 in which the most progress has been
 made. Salads were years in gaining
 recognition, that is, the green salads.
 You would be surprised to know
 the number of American homes where
 a green salad is never served. They are
 yet regarded as a frivolity. The
 Frenchman and the Italian know the
 value to the dinner and to the diner of @ salad, dressed in oil.
 There used to be prejudice against ] the lobster. It was considered danger ous by many old fashioned people who 1 had essayed it in combinatio with l ice cream. Since that time the lobster has become so immensely popular as "a food that it is threatened with extnc-
 ton.
 | 'The present time of year in a city | like this offers field for choice that is marvellous. Not in London, in Paris. in Vienna or even in St. Petersburg, the paradise of the epicure, will you find any such array of things to be selected from and in such superb condition and quantity.
 'The oyster has come to be the usual preference to every dinner, but the Blue Point is to generally ordered. 1 There are other superior oysters on the market now, for the truth is the so- called Blue Point is really small oys- ter chosen for it's size.
 'It is good enough, but there are ex- cellent Cape Cod and Buzzard's Bay oysters and there are Lynnhavens to vary the inevitable mock Blue Point Only at the clubs and the very best restaurants are there any real Blue Points to be had at all and not always at those places.
 But the name of Blue Point will continue to carry 1t irrespective of it's flavor or lack of it. You may not be able to detect the Blue Point that is bogus but you will never mistake the real one when you taste it.
 'Soupe. we have improved in, and why? Because firm of French soup so far the superior of all the soups a1 tt1o@ +a what soup really was.
 This was the method in which edu- cation crept in upon us in this line. Now you can get good green turtle soup and excellent bisques at hotels in place of the old washy Julienes and the consommes made from beef extract and hot water.
 As soupmakers and appreciaters we are still far back of the French and Italian, yes, even the English but for all that we have learned and we are grateful
 "At this time of the year in town no one should neglect to have terrapin or the oyster crab when in the propinquity of good cook. At other times the shad and the soft shell crab. thab luefish and other sea food offer their timely freshness, but just now the terrapn and the oyster crab are at their best and should not be passed over.
 Tn another month when the cold weather becomes settled and the ice forms in the river, the live codflsh will offer another welcome sea dainty, l esteemed by many as superior in flavor to anything that ever came from the water
 Game is delightfully."- abundant now. The canvasback duck and the smaller varieties are plenty; partridge, wood cock and quail are fat and well flavor ed. To. my mind, it is mistake to have any interlude between terrapin and game.
 "A heavy roast, or a dish of any de- cided flavor, mars the selection l Oysters, soups, terrapin and a duck or , small birds make a sufficient dinner | for any one but day laborer. Salad, ] cheese, coffee and a sweet may com | plete the meal
 If an entree is desired, there are 1 fine fresh mushrooms broiled or in pat ties, artichokes, asparagus la i There are innumerable l dishes to select from, but the intrusion of a roast, to my mind, is quite as in- l as serving small delicate l bird like quail as a game course after ! a tremendous turkey
 "The sweet is getting lighter and | there are no more hot buildings thank the fates! Pie has gone out. Modera- ton is one of the rules of epicurean ism, and the over-crowding of dishes at a little dinner is barbarism
 But there are a few rules that may always be observed Oysters may pre- cede anything, and game should follow without any serious course be- tween Sauces and soups must not re- peat themselves.
 Variety is the secret of choosing din- ners properly. Unfortunately, we be- come addicted to one corner of the club lining room to one table, to one waiter to one cigar, to one wine.
 Sometimes man will take 1t as an affront if he be told that his favorlte fish is gone out of season. He will im- nedia.tely have it sent on from the South or the North, or wherever it may De obtainable, instead of taking the other foods that are sent as a substi- ute for it.
 This is a mistake. The markets lere offer constant variety. Things Ire always coming in, and while terra ,in and game are now at their very pest, and will continue through tEe win