The San Francisco call., 1909-02-07

ent. They arc out 20 see the world. TO
find ont things. to eat strange dishes,
and they explore tlfr mysteries OF the
menu card To the furthermost limits.
As a rule they are ont to spend money.
and one good way to do il is 70 call for
a high priced dish with a sounding
name.
For one thing the menu cards are
palmer The chefs are held within
bounds in their attempt to give impos-
ing nomenclature to dishes In the
past there has bsen "A good deal OF
fraud practiced by the lords of the
kitchen They have given strange
titles to ,the simplest things. In their
anxiety to fill the card Up win French
they have Gallicized such humble things
as potatoes and eucumbers. and don't
doubt that they would have plastered
the lowly corn pOne with feur de lis
if this southern speciality had not been
beyond them. \ distinct blow has been
aimed at that fraud whereby the chef
pretended 10 give you something eN-
elusive. when in reality he did not.
To illustrate: Suppose you came in
here and saw on our card Steak a Ia
Astor.' You reasonably expect TO find
something new. This may prove TO be
merely a steak a Ia BOrdelaise. for
which perhaps. you do not care. The
chef has been guilty OF culinary plag
the thumbs and given nine slaps on
the wrist. I think the menu card OF
the up TO date cafe should call a spade
a spade. Tt has contained too many
trihing mysteries hitherto. It IS all
right to give French names TO French
dishes but the tendency should stop
there.
"a big hotel must be thoroughly
cosmopolitan in its cuisine. In New
York it must cater to every nationality.
and eating is a matter OF national. al
most racial taste. The Germans and
the English also, IN a large measure.
run to heavy foods. The French and
Italians lean toward rich but delicate
foods. In the preparation OF dishes 20
suit these varied tastes. one must be
aware OF counterfeits. They should
and must be all that they pretend to be-
and the only way 70 have them 80 IS TO
give an exact-weu, replica-of the
dish as It is made in the country from
which Il is imported II is the only way
to be artistic II want to reproduce
a room after the style OF a certain
country go there to copy IT. And II
have a Hungarian soulash IN the bill
IL must be the same as the dish pre-
pared in Hungary. Don't think am
waxing f1orfd when I call the chefs vo-
cation the art cuisine. II Is the broad
est and most catholic OF all arts and in
its development every civilized being IS
interested
There Is no change TO simplicity in
the matter of service. Patrons won't
permit it, They take an esthetic
pleasure in snowy napery and the glis-
ten of silver and glass. You can't have
too much splendOr IN this respect so
long as IL is in good taste.
Desserts are more varied There
are more fruits and more foreign del
icacies and fewer puddings and pre-
pared dishes. ] regard this as a step
toward simplicity for the fruits and
conserves are far more healthful than
the strange mixture OF sweets that are
the dread of every dyspeptfc. Women
seem to incline toward the fancy sweets
and to care less for ice cream than
they used to. A woman viii order "A
biscuit tOrtoni. while her escort. as
likely as not Will select Ice cream.
Salads so far as / can judge. are about
the same. The heavy salads have not
been in favor for a long time. and L
regard this as a step forward.