The Cairo bulletin., 1905-07-31
Are Thick in Cairo and Lunches
are Numerous
MEN HERE WHO NEVER EAT REG
uLAR MEALS But FILL UP
DAILY AT THE SALOONS.


A meal with every drink is not ex-
actly the truth, bur man who knows
the lunch routes and takes the proper
hours for his peregrinations can come |
mighty close to making it the truth |
The lunches are so varied, both In |
the hours of serving and in the kinds |
of meals that are servel that II is
quite possible for a man to live and
live well on free lunches alone. That
word free" is not TO be construed !
too literally 1t does not mean abso-
lutely without price. for although In
most cases there is no direct charge
for the lunch itself. the eater thereon
is expected to buy some sort of a
drink and the usual rule followed Is
to take at least enough liquid food
along with the solid so that the bar
tender will be justified in keeping out
a dime. He will only look hard at
you. though, If you confne your con
sumption OF liquid joy 10 a solitary
glass of beer and hand over a nickel
Men Who Live on Free Lunches.
And there men in Cairo who have
the reputation of not eating meal
from one months end TO another eX-
capt what they get at the free luncn
counter. They DO not look starved
either. They have to have the drinks
anyhow. food is a secondary matter,
and while some of it is necessary for
existence vet they regard 1t as a waste
Of money spent on food alone and az
long as they can obtain il without
cutting short their supply of liquor
they regard that as the eminently
proper thing to do. You couldn't get
those fellows to live any place except
Cairo that Is unless they could find
place with more and better free
lunches.
Three Lunches a Day.
Some saloons have three lunches a
day. From 8 10 Ii o'clock in the morn
ing, from 8 to o'clock in the after
noon and from 9 to III O'Clock at night.
In the morning, taking as an example
some of the big downtown places that
feed hundreds every day there will
be served a bowl of soup, generous
slice OF some roast meat with gravy
and potatoes and some sort Of a pick.
lea ash. cabbage, beets or something
OF that character, with wheat and rye
bread. This is served at tables and
silver plated knives, forks and spoons
are furnished. The afternoon lunch
II will consist of from five to ten kinds
OF cold meats, sausages and the like,
several kinds of picked fish, cheese
pickles. celery, fadishes, various typ
ical German dishes and great stacks OF
bread To that you aeIp yourself and
} eat it standing, And don't forget the
beer. At night much the same lunch
! is set out. In some saloons there are
several different dishes for you to
choose from and no one TO say yor
{ nay if you wish to try them all
) And as for distinctive German
dishes, well ii there Ii any kind d
! German cooking that is NOT service
Y in some saloon in Cairo just name it
D Many of the saloon men are Germans
2 Germans form a considerable part o
The city population and those German
wives Of the German saloon men arr
generally famous housewives am
cooks and they hit the German palate
= and many thar are not German
nicely. There is scarcely luncl
y saloon that does not have some on
7 or more spacialries in the lunch lin
\ and that often brings trade, for tn
y reputation Of some special dish wi
y spread and people come from far an
near to try il. and trying general
e come again There is profit in bee
! and when the luncher buys severa
2 there is apt to be something on tn
q right side Of the ledger, even il he di
:, dip into the lunch a little
p Saturday the Great Lunch Night
y Saturday night IS eminently FIRE
lunch night, then everybody and hi
y neighbor try TO outdo each other an
>, all the fiends. and many who are M
q fiends at any other time, make tn
L rounds From to II O'Clock the fea'
II is on. Table after table is fielled an
q emptiea and filed and emptied agail
2 Soup, roast meat, potatoes, beans {
~ maccaroni with pickles celery and otl
~ err relishes forms a sample that is a
" average. One place in particular serve
~ more elaborate lunch every now an
r then and perhaps will give You half
q chicken or generous piece of due
le Of goose. oyster soup Is another I
vi yorite dish in winter, and auotht
" place makes speciality Of rabbi
~ particularly in the form of "hasse
pfefer" or sour rabbit That Is anot
err dish, and when the sign Is place
out in front "hassenpfeffer tonight
Ia the place Is sure To- be crowded fro
IN until IL or as long as the toothson
Ia dish lasts. This article does not pr
a ten1 TO tell all the dishes that are Sc
It. we'd in these free lunches nor TO emu
liz crate all the different hours al viii,
I'd lunch is served Some places In IA
d. serve lunch AZ all hours and II Is
ID continuous performance.
Down ON the icveo there is salo,
to that has a steady stream Of custome
all day and far into the night and 70
y out Of the Ave customers that eni
70 the place walk right up ~ the lar