The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-05-27
NEW YORK FREAK DINNERS.
Some Famous Dizzy Society Affairs
on Manhattan Island.


This is the era OF freak dinners. says
the Chicago Inter Ocean. Fine food is
not enough for New York's epicureans.
The multiplied courses must be served
IN frea kish, if not barbaric, manner
Society has its own way of doing things
mere. The music of popping cham
payne corks is no longer enough.
The dinner given by c. X G. Bill
llngs, with each diner astride d bloOded
nag, and with the viandS served on
plates anchored to the saddle, was the
climax of all the freakish ones which
have been planned TO tickle the jaded
appeutes of the equity '550." Mr.. Bill
dngs halls from Chicago, and, of course,
he is nothing if not original, and it is
the opinion among the set that he has
outdistanced even Harry Lehr in the
Way of doing something different"
To Jimmy" Breeze prOba bly, belongs
the credit for the earliest freak banquet
he had freak dinner long before Mr..
Seeley dreamed Of his Wondrous meal
where his father was his guest of hon
or. Mr.. Breeze does things very clever
~ at his studio. His is a place where
he takes interesting photographs for
the love of the thing
One night some years ago Mr.. Breeze
bid choice company of clubmen to
dine there with him. The viands were
superb, the wines perfection. 1t came
time for dessert -Four stalwart negroes
bore in an immense pie. The guests
wondered It was planted in the middle
OF the table. Mr.. Breeze beamed.
Suddenly the crust broke. Out of it
burst 16-year-old girl. Before the as
tonished gaze Of the diners she did a
serpentine dance on the table till every
one fell victim of her charms and
graces. Mr.. Breeze was congratulated
Tor his cleVerneSs and even to this day
his surprise is talked about among
those lucky enough TO be present.
Harry Lehr vowed he would not be
outdone. He knew a monkey. and a din
ner was given in honor of the simian
The cream Of society was present ant
enjoyed itself immensely. The monkey
didn't. He wasn't able to say so, but
the disgust on his almost human fea-
lures plainly told the story of his feel
ings. He was dressed, as were the
guests, in faultless evening dress, and
there are those in society who are cruel
enough to say that he exhibited even as
much intelligence as the other guests
Compared to this feast the dinner
given by the De Reszkes. Nordica and
Eames sounds like a Sunday school
tale Their surprise was little negro
boy, served by husky darby on a sill
yer platter.
The Vanderbilt dinner story was
never published, or esle the S. P. c. A.
would have had a good chance to take
a hand. After the formal dining ana
the many tOasts the young men present
amused themselves, so the walters said
by spearing the live goldfish with their
forks. Mr.. Vanderbilt protested in vain.
They didn't stop till the miniature pond
in the center Of the table looked like a
fish market.
NJ. J. O'Brien'S dinner was a huge
joke a la. Barmecide. The guests sat
down with elaborate menus in front Of
them. The card began: Oysters r
Not Good in May" and empty plates
We're placed in front of everybody.
Cream of Lettuce proved to be little
jams OF complexion lotion; Fish au
NaturaT' was one tiny goldfish swim
ming in a bowl; "Spring Lamb with
String Beans" was a tiny wool lamb
with string of dried beans about his
attenuated neck; American Punch"
was a f1ve-oUnce boxing glove But
this ended the joke and superbly
chosen dinner followed
Maurice Meyers dinner was notable
for the fact that it lasted nearly
twenty-four hours. 1t started as a,
breakfast, continued as a luncheon.
broke into a formal dinner and wound
UP as a supper in the wee sma' hours.
The children began it. The wives
Joined in the luncheon, the men came
in for dinner and when the babies had
been put to bed everybody sat down for
supper. 1t is supposed to be the long
est meal on record and it cost Mr.. Ney-
er several thousand dollars.
James Henry Smith s dinner was based
on the proposition that you can give a
midsummer dinner in midwinteT if you
have money enough. He proved the
truth of his proposition. When the
guests came to Sherry's they found the
F,v 10 int
summer treIlis, with 10000 roses inter
twined in lattice work overhead Birds
sang in hidden cages and the soft splash
of fountains sounded like the twinklfng
of the brooks in summers heat. Even
the room was heated above natura%
temperature to give the impression of
the dog days and TO add to the heavy
scent of the roses.
The guests enjoyed themselves i'm
mensely. The sum Mr.. Smith paid was
a mere bagatelle to him, because his
uncle had lust left him a fortune of
$50, 900 600. 1t would have given 1000
poor children two weeks in the country
each.
But in spending money per capita,
Randolph Guggenheimer left Mr.. Smith
at the post. His dinner cost but $4,000,
but so few were the guests that the
price was $3.50 a plate They walked
amid a garden laid out in the myrtle
room at the Waldorf Astoria There
were growing lilacs, tulips palms,
grass, hyacinths and roses The guests
plucked grapes as big as plums from
growing vines Nero would have turned
pale with rage and Lucullus blush for
envy at what was served.
Blue raspberries from Nova Scotia
was the star dish, each one worth its
weight in gold. Nightingales and ca
naries sang in giided cages The viands
were. served in gilded dishes, the wines
in gold trimmed cut glass
Every wine served was the best of its
kind Many of the vintages cost enough
for each bottle to feed and clOthe a
family for month. Gold aigretteS and
jeweled match boxes were the sOuve-
Mrs for the guests. When it was over
Mr.. Guggenheimer drew his check for
$4,000. He had given the cOstliest din
ner ever served in New York.