The Savannah morning news., 1904-12-18
-S-<eS
HOW TO ORDER A DINNER.
whether to Have it A La Carte or
Table d'HOte a Matter of Choice,
From Chambers Journal

From Chambers Journal.
Coventry Patmore wrote a poem
which he called 1.-THE Angel in the
House." and if it be your good for
tune to have an angel in your house
who gives a little thought to the prep
aration of your dinner you will never
md any dinner so good as the one
you eat at home. When we go into a
library we do not all choose the same
books; neither when we go into a
restaurant do we choose the same dish
es. have never known any one who
would not eat strawberries, but once
knew man who disliked green peas.
The most perfect way to dine is to
dine la carte. selecting the dishes
yourself, the dinner being specially
cooked for you and ready at a speci-
fed hour. If you dine at the table
d'hote in the Grand Hotel in Paris
eight francs), and drink as much red
wine as you like. it is the same as
specially prepared dinner a la carte
The table d'hote begins at 645 o'clock,
and it is all over by s. If you dine at
the table d'hote in the Hotel Metro
pole in London the system is different;
the dinner is ready at 6 o'clock. and
goes on until $50. and you may sit
down at any time that is convenient
to yourself. Under these circumstances
many dishes have to be kept on the
hot plate for time, and you cannot
expect your dinner to be so perfect as
it would be if you dined a la carte.
Pascal, the chef at Philippe's restau-
rant in Paris. once observed that the
most simple dishes begin to lose value
every five minutes after they have left
the kitchen. More delicately conceived
,,f,aoc 70 xyaf moro SuSCaptihIa. some
sauces sulk when they begin to feel
cold.
can recollect the time when, from
the poine of view of Mr.. Casimir, Of
the Maison dor, in the Boulevard des
Italiens, there was only one restau-
rant in London where you could dine
Verrey's, in Regent street. How ones
heart goes out in sympathy with YER
rey's, the little restaurant at the COR
ner of the street that leads up to
Hanover Square; the windows partly
of stained glass, and above the glass
the printed cards, Ices, dinners, icesi"
1t now belongs to NJ. Krehill. l have
never known the time when l could
not go to Verrey's and be sure of a
dinner a la carte nicely served and
perfectly cooked. One night l dined
at Vefours's, in Paris; the following
evening I dined in the Cafe Royal in
the same dinner. l thought the dinner in
the Palais Royal the better cooked of
the two; but that was in the days
when Vefours's was one of the most
popular restaurants in Paris. The Cafe
Royal may be said to be the first of
the great restaurants on the French
system in London. Now We have the
Carlton, Princes and the Savoy, all
following in the footsteps of M. Nicol,
of the Cafe Royal. 1t would be diff
cult to name a more successful res
taurateur than NJ. Nicol. During the
many years l knew him l cannot say
/ ever saw him do any work in his
restaurant; he seldom, if ever, spoke
to a customer He was fortunate in
his marriage; Nine. Nicol was indus
trious to a degree. Then came NJ
Delacoste to help him. If you had
a mission to visit the restaurants of
Europe, M. Delacoste would be a
charming companion. For many years
he was the best judge of claret and
Burgundy in London, and he did for
NJ Nicol what Bismarck did for the
Emperor William /.
1t has been the custom to speak of
the Cafe Royal as an expensive restau-
rant in which to dine. l never thought
so. You are charged, say, two shillings